South Santee River

Thursday, May 31st

David and Jen and the two nips arrived yesterday. It is going to be a bit of a squeeze - David & Connor in the Vee berth and Jen & Fiona on the Pilot House bed (that had to be made up each evening)

We left Isle of Palms Marina at about 11AM. It was a bit awkward collecting everybody and getting organized, but Deidre had put on a "French Toast" breakfast and that at least got everyone on the boat. Both Kylie and Ryan had to work, so the only send-off we received was from the few "live-aboards" on our dock. We did not have far to go - just a couple of hundred yards down the creek to the marina where we picked up a 100 gallons of fuel as "reserve". Soon we were on our way north.

Secret Weapon

The weather was fine. "Beryl" had passed thru Wednesday with a few showers (about 10% of the effect predicted by the local news) and was now well north. The only real problem we did anticipate was "the attack of the marsh flies" and we had a secret weapon in store for them! In the previous days we had learned that all we had to do was put a penny and a small piece of aluminum foil in a zip lock baggie with a few ounces of water, and hang them on the bridge.We made 4 of the concoctions and dutifully arranged them in anticipation of attack. I think our preparations worked well, but I wonder if I had any converts on board as I found myself alone on the bridge!

Connor

The kids took turns driving the boat. Grandpa's trick was that I was really steering the boat with the remote control, so the kids could spin the wheel to their hearts content without effect. But after 10 minutes of that they were looking for the next activity. The surroundings were "a la Georgia marsh" and so it was not long before the DVD player was playing. We made it to our target anchorage on the Santee River without either of the toilets breaking down, and settled in for the night.

David and I retreated to the boat deck with a couple of beers and took on the awesome responsibility of cooking the brats for dinner, plus spotting for the local alligators, both objectives that were fully satisfied.

Crocodile checking us out.

According to the ICW guide book, the Santee is "alligator infested" and therefore water sports were not recommended. But its a good anchorage!