Further Adventures Of SV Nutmeg

 11/30- Today we passed mile marker 500. I don’t know how many more we have to go because I don’t know how far we are going. Anyway we have done 500 statuate miles on the ICW. For those that don’t know a nautical mile is around 6000 feet. ( one second of one degree of the earth’s circumference) The ICW measures its distances in regular statuate miles.       We waited until 10:00 today to take off so we could get out of the slip at slack tide. I’d like to say it all worked like a charm but alas the boat had other ideas. When we put it into reverse the stern just went to starboard as the prop walk on our left handed prop would dictate. However it wouldn’t go straight at all. Fortunately the fairways were huge and we just went in a circle until we were pointed the right way and away we went. The dock hand walked away shaking his head. He can’t say I didn’t warn him about it.      This is a really pretty section of the ICW. The rivers were big and wid...

 11/28- I think I got the date right. It’s hard enough remembering what day of the week it is.      We rose with the sun this morning. It was chilly for sure but we needed to get on the move so that we could get through all the troublesome spots with a higher tide. We didn’t have any trouble except at the Isle of Palms. This is perpetual trouble spot on the ICW with depths as low as 4 feet in places. With 4 feet of tide on top of that we didn’t have any problems with the depth. It was the current that would just toss the boat to one side leaving us scrambling to straighten it out. This stretch had several inlets to the ocean that had big currents and as we passed each one we would have to do a little dance to get the boat back on track.      We are now in Charleston at this huge marina. When I asked about filling some jerry cans with fuel they said they would pick them up in a golf cart because fuel was at the opposite end of the marina. Driving a golf...

 11/26- Yesterday we froze our asses off as it was windy and rainy Although it didn’t really rain until late in the day. The minute we stopped I turned on the heater and we huddled around it until we thawed out a bit.      The anchorage we stopped at yesterday was where the river went around an island. It was a really large area and was reasonably deep for the area. They said in the guide book that it only offered protection from the south. Well the surrounding land was just flat marsh and old rice fields. The only protection might have come from the occasional tree. Then there was the current. The tide rushed through here at around a knot and a half changing direction every 6 hours or so. It turned out to be a fine anchorage for us as it warmed up during the night.      We had decided the other day to skip Georgetown as we would be spending several days in Charleston. That’s why we picked that anchorage as it was just short of Georgetown.   ...

 11/26- Well we did a lot better getting out of our slip this morning. Of course the wind was calm so the boat actually did what we thought it would. We weren’t going that far today so we left later and then didn’t push it much. It was fine even though we had the current against us until we were almost there.      Today was mostly motoring through cypress swamps. It was interesting to note that the chart plotter had a lot of the area surrounding us as water when in actuality it was forest. This forest has its roots in the water. There was lots of the hanging moss all over the trees. It was kind of eerie looking. This was some kind of park or preserve because there were very few houses.      We anchored off of Butler Island in a large tributary of the Waccamaw River. The current here is strong and I have been curious as to how well our anchor set up will work in a strong current. So far we have gone through two tide changes and as far as I can tell we a...

  11/25- Today didn’t start out too well. We had gotten out of the last two slips with no problem so we were thinking we knew what we were doing. All that came crashing down this morning. Trying to leave the slip the wind caught the bow and blew it down so we were across the fairway and still pointing the wrong way. The wind pinned us on the far side so we basically backed all the way out to the main channel. Our boat simply does not back up well so this was quite the feat. By the time we got the boat moving in the right direction we were pretty rattled.         Then it was out onto the channel and we had to wait for a bridge to open. The bridge tender was slow responding and so we had to spin around several times while we waited for it to open. Once we were through it was an easy day.        We traveled through the Pine Cut which is 28 miles of dug canal including the infamous Rockpile. Traveling through Myrtle Beach was a lesson in how the ...

 11/24- We finally got on the move again this morning casting off our lines by 0800. It was a pretty straightforward day with only a couple of inlets that required some careful navigating. At these inlets there is usually some shoaling where the tide brings the ocean in or out along with any sand that is there. The Army Corps of Engineers has been busy dredging many of these places so we can cruise down the channel with our 5 foot deep boat. Neither inlet today was very shallow but there is always strong current around the inlet. Depending on the state of the tide you can be doing 8 knots on one side of the inlet and then barely 5 on the other side. I guess it all evens out in the end.      One thing I was thinking about today is the amount of pressure treated wood that I see. We went by piers that were close to a half mile wide all decked out with this lumber. Every house along the channel has a pier many of which are several hundred yards long. These are all held u...

 11/22- We are still here at St James marina. Turns out this was a wise decision as it has rained pretty hard all day. I can hear the wind howling out on the ocean which is a couple of miles and an island away. We are very snug right here.      The staff here has been great. When I asked if they had a parts department they said anything I ordered would be here the next day. I had a leak in my galley foot pump. I had tried to fix it but I think I made it worse. So they worked with me to make sure I ordered the right one and sure enough it was here the next morning. I also was needing to refill a prescription and what do you know next to the office is a pharmacy. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised as this place is filled with retirees.     I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We will be celebrating with some friends on another boat. We will be thinking of our families and friends as we stuff ourselves as usual.