Beaufort, SC, and an outstanding overnight passage to St. Mary’s, GA.

We had a great stay in Beaufort – but when have we not? Over the past four years we’ve spent 33 days there, and to date nowhere has been able to knock it off of its perch as our number one U.S. choice to live when we swallow the anchor.

Beaufort has an abundance of Spanish Moss hanging off the trees.

Great classic car parked on Bay Street in Beaufort!

Tucked into our regular spot on Factory Creek, we enjoyed another week-long stay, walking around and hitting our favorite spots: Low Country Produce for tomato pie, The Chocolate Tree, Bill’s Liquor for great cider choices, Olde Timey Meats for excellent steaks to grill, and of course multiple runs to Publix. In fact, Publix was responsible for us having our first traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the boat since we started cruising.

There is NO way we would stop in Beaufort and not have our tomato pie. We start talking about it a few days before we arrive!

Our first year we spent Thanksgiving freezing in Carolina Beach, NC waiting out horrible weather. Thanksgiving dinner was some sad squash with sautéed onions. Not good.

Our second year was better. We were in Vero Beach where a local church hosted an annual cruiser’s Thanksgiving. The church members supplied turkeys, ham, and other meats (and some people brought sides), and the cruisers brought more sides and desserts. There were easily over 100 people and the food and camaraderie was wonderful. Of course, little did we know that Covid would upend everything a few months later, and to my knowledge the Vero Beach Cruiser’s Thanksgiving hasn’t yet resumed. Maybe next year.

For the third year we were in Vero again, but it was post-Covid so there wasn’t a gathering. We were scurrying to leave the next day to head to West Palm so we could cross to the Bahamas, so I have no idea what we did. My guess is nothing, since I can’t remember it!

But this year, since we had easy access to a Publix, we had a Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings. A thick cut of Boar’s Head turkey breast from the deli, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, gravy, green beans, pie. It was great, and definitely felt like Thanksgiving on Pegu Club.

Even better than Thanksgiving though, was getting together with Anthony and Annette. Now land-based, they were long time cruisers on M/V Magnolia and we met them a few years ago when they stopped at Shenny to see their good friends Al and Michele from M/V Kindred Spirit. Magnolia, Kindred Spirit, our friends on S/V Minx, and Pegu Club had a very enjoyable evening back then, sharing cruising stories over snacks and sundowners.

Anthony saw we were in Beaufort, and he suggested a get together a few days after Thanksgiving. He and Annette kindly drove us to West Marine, and then we went to a local brewery before heading over to the Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club and eventually wrapping it up at a great pizza place. They’ve settled down in Beaufort, and they patiently answered all of our questions about what it’s really like to live there.

Lots of laughs were had while we all shared cruising stories and just yakked away. We had a WONDERFUL time, and really enjoyed seeing a slice of Beaufort when you live there vs. when you just pass through on a boat. It was great to get together with them, and it will definitely be a recurring event whenever we stop there.

Eventually though, we had our weather window to hop outside from Beaufort to St. Mary’s. It wasn’t a great window – some sailing at the beginning and then mostly a motorfest – but it was the best we were going to get for a while so we decided to grab it.

We timed our trip so we could ride the current out of Beaufort and the Port Royal inlet, and then ride the current back in at the St. Mary’s inlet. As predicted, we had some very nice sailing for four hours or so, and then the wind died leaving us with VERY flat seas as we motored along. It made for easy sleeping for the person who wasn’t on watch, and it felt wonderful to set the autopilot and kick back.

The only thing that could have made it more perfect was more sailing, but as the sun rose I was literally dancing behind the wheel, listening to music and feeling SO happy and content. I LOVE being off the ICW. It absolutely has its benefits, but nothing beats being outside.

We hit 8 1/2 knots of speed over ground going into the inlet at St. Mary’s (sure glad we didn’t have the current against us), and instead of making a right to go to Cumberland Island like we usually do, we kept going straight and then hung a left to St. Mary’s. Yep, we were mixing it up again, keeping it fresh and going someplace new.

A second visit to Georgetown, SC.

One advantage of our delay at St. John’s was that we were now looking at a full week of favorable currents in the morning for motoring down the ICW. Our first year south we weren’t experienced enough to use the currents to our best advantage. We felt like we needed to just get started first thing in the day, no matter what. We’re much smarter about it now, and will sleep in and have breakfast (or cut the day short) if it means riding along with the current vs. fighting it. Big Red is only a 16 horsepower engine, so fair and foul currents make a big difference.

There are always things to see on the ICW, and we have a few favorites we look out for each time.

These homeowners relax in the back half of a boat instead of the traditional table and chairs at the end of a dock.

We rode the current to our regular anchorage on Calabash Creek, then started off a bit later the next morning to ride the current to the Enterprise Landing oxbow, which was a new spot. Typically we would go farther to Cow House Creek, but it’s impossible for us to ride a fair current all the way from Calabash to Cow House, so Enterprise is now our new anchorage for this stretch.

We think this is the radar for the Myrtle Beach airport, but we aren’t sure. Whatever it is, it’s weirdly fascinating.

Consistent with our goal to keep things fresh, we decided to stop in Georgetown, SC for a few nights. We hadn’t been there since our first trip south, but we had enjoyed our first visit and decided it was time for a second. We rode the current down from Enterprise to Georgetown and tied up at Harborwalk Marina where we had stayed before.

Our timing was excellent, because a cold snap was approaching with record-breaking low temperatures. Instead of freezing overnight at anchor in 30 degree temperatures, we plugged the heater into the electric at the marina and stayed nice and cozy!

Once again, Georgetown proved to be a nice stop. It’s the third oldest city in South Carolina and has a beautiful downtown district with more than 250 historic homes in and around the oak tree-lined downtown. More than 60 of them are on the National Register of Historic Places, and they’re gorgeous.

This is just one example of the many beautiful houses in the historic district.

Georgetown was a huge producer of rice back in the 1800’s, with its port exporting more rice than anywhere in the world. Of course there’s a Rice Museum, and I had wanted to visit it last time we were here, but we didn’t have time. I was hoping the second visit would be the charm, but between gazing at the houses and taking care of a few items (like stocking up on groceries and buying a new hotspot), the Rice Museum was a no-go again. So now we have another reason to come back!

As an aside, people in these southern coastal communities are so friendly. Buying the hotspot involved a walk of over 2 miles one-way, but we didn’t have to walk that far on the way back because a woman pulled over and offered us a ride. They can spot a cruiser at 500 yards! That’s happened to us several times – always in southern states – while we’ve been cruising.

The oak trees are everywhere in Georgetown.

In addition to beautiful houses and a cute downtown, Georgetown has plenty of restaurants. We were able to meet up with our friends Tom and Anita from S/V Lone Star for lunch at Aunnie’s, a solid restaurant serving basic Southern comfort food – think fried chicken, Mac and Cheese, and sweet tea that practically curled my teeth. I really like sweet tea, but I debating asking if I could have some tea with that sugar!

It was so much fun catching up with Tom and Anita. They met us at the dock to help with our lines before we went out to lunch, and seeing good friends again left me glowing. We hadn’t seen them since we left Shenny in September, although we did wave to each other as we left Port Washington, NY and they were coming in.

Over lunch we discussed the idea of buddy-boating together on a hop outside from Georgetown to Cumberland Island. It was VERY tempting, and the weather window was great, but it was still going to be VERY cold, and we simply didn’t want to freeze for over 24 hours straight. We also were reluctant to skip our #1 favorite town of Beaufort, SC, so we decided against it and waved goodbye a few days later, opting to continue riding the current down the ICW and be warmish down below each night.

After stocking up on fresh-off-the-boat shrimp for a song from the building next door to the marina, we left Georgetown wondering why we had taken so long to return. We definitely will not wait four years until the next visit.

We rode the current for three days of quick travel to Beaufort, and on our third day we were passed by this stunning 1926 Trumpy, MV Freedom. At 104 feet long, this beautiful wooden boat was completely restored in 2009, and I am totally jealous of the delivery captain.

We could hear him making passing arrangements on the radio as he approached boats for several miles before he passed us, and almost everyone on the radio was complementing him on the boat. I could see him getting closer on the AIS, and I was very curious as to what the boat would look like as he got closer to us. Needless to say, we weren’t disappointed.

I still can’t get over how beautiful this boat is. My picture doesn’t do it justice.

Only a few hours after picking our jaws up off the floor, we were anchored in our regular spot on Factory Creek. It was time to enjoy Beaufort – a place we definitely don’t mind waiting as long as necessary for a weather window to hop outside.

Palm Springs – among a select few spots at the top of our list – and back to Connecticut.

Our next stay after San Diego was four weeks in Palm Springs. We’ve been to Palm Springs twice before and have always loved it, but this would be our longest stay by far. Before we arrived we were thinking it could be a top contender for the “Can we live here someday?” sweepstakes. By the time we reluctantly left, it was running neck and neck with Beaufort, SC. We even briefly debated staying for an additional month, but logistically we couldn’t make it work.

With a great vibe and even greater weather, we made the most out of our stay. Since we had a late check-in, we took the long way around the barn to get there from San Diego. We went via Brawley so we could buy carne asada at Ramey’s and Jeff could see the Imperial Sand Dunes near Glamis for the first time. The dunes are massive – often reaching over 300 feet high – and several movies have been filmed there, including Return of the Jedi.

Since Palm Springs was only an hour away from Joshua Tree National park, we took a day trip there and were both very pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed it. The landscape was much more interesting than we anticipated, and we’d definitely go back again.

Joshua Trees:

The Cholla Cactus garden was amazing. I loved the way the light shining through them made them look as if they were glowing (it was better than the picture). If we move to Palm Springs, I would absolutely plant some. The cactus is also called “teddy bear cactus” and there are large signs warning people not to touch them. I could definitely understand the temptation because they looked soft and fuzzy. Note: they’re not.

An oasis in Joshua Tree National Park:

We also just enjoyed daily life, taking full advantage of the walking paths, parks for metal detecting (for Jeff), and local events. I even spent one memorable Saturday learning how to flag at a Flagging in the Desert event. Of course it’s obvious that I was a newbie compared to the second video with the people who know what they’re doing!

So what puts Palm Springs in the very top tier for places we’d be happy to live some day when we aren’t cruising? It has great weather (obviously). The city has a laid-back vibe with an all-inclusive population and fantastic mid-century modern architecture (which we love).

It’s large enough to have many things to do but not so big that it’s impersonal, and there’s no need to take the freeway to get everywhere. There are tons of hiking and walking paths, plenty of parks, and it’s close enough to L.A. and San Diego for getaways without being too close. Basically it checked almost every box we have, so we’ll see. Who knows what the future will hold?

But meanwhile, it was time to pack up the car and point the bow east (assuming a car had a bow, of course). After one last visit with Lyn and Ken in San Diego and family in L.A., we were off to Phoenix where we had a great visit with my high-school friend, Wes and his wife.

Wes and I have been friends for 39 years!

The next day was the start of two 700 mile days so we could spend more time doing a “greatest hits” tour up the east coast. 60 hours after leaving Phoenix we were pulling into my uncle and aunt’s driveway in metro Atlanta for two nights. We hadn’t been to their new house yet, and it was great to see them!

After that it was off for a two night stay in Beaufort, SC (we can’t miss having our tomato pie):

We took advantage of having a car this time to drive to Hunting Island State Park, less than 1/2 hour from Beaufort. It has a gorgeous beach – yet another reason why Beaufort remains neck and neck with Palm Springs

We also visited Wilmington, NC for the first time. It’s a detour up the Cape Fear River that we weren’t sure would be worth taking. After visiting, we decided that it most definitely is. What a fantastic downtown. It reminded us of a northeast city with the weather of the southeast (photos courtesy of Google):

A stop in Belhaven was mandatory (of course) and, once again, we took advantage of having a car by driving to Washington, NC to see if we might want to go there on Pegu Club (it would be a 30 nautical mile detour off of the ICW, up the Pamlico River). We loved the downtown area and will absolutely stop there again.

Last but not least, we enjoyed a great stay in Delaware with our good friends Vanessa and Kurt. We also had the added bonus while we were there of getting together with more good friends – and fellow cruisers – Jay and Tanya from S/V Minx.

And now we have landed back in Groton, CT where we are busily preparing Pegu Club to go back in the water. Shore leave is days away from being over. What’s next? Stay tuned!

Scooting down the East Coast.

We needed to make another trip up north so we decided to leave the boat in New Bern, NC. The marina was reasonably priced and it was a town we hadn’t seen before (but we had heard good things about). Win-win.

So after our two days at the Oriental free docks we cast off the lines and headed up the Neuse River to New Bern. We had great conditions for sailing and thoroughly enjoyed traveling without the engine as we made our way 22 nautical miles up river. I can see why so many sailors settle in the area. Continue reading “Scooting down the East Coast.” →

Holy currents, Batman!

Little did we know that from the moment we left Beaufort, SC it would be an almost continuous slog against some massive currents. It seemed like no matter what we did or when we traveled, we were lucky to be making four knots which is damned frustrating – typically we like to see five knots or more.

The first day we fought the current the whole way, anchoring south of Charleston. We planned to go outside the next day from Charleston to Carolina Beach, NC which would have taken us a bit over 24 hours, but by the time we fought the current to Charleston Harbor we weren’t comfortable with the size of our weather window and continued inland, still fighting the current. Our friends on S/V Mer du Jour did go outside that day, telling us later that we made the right call given the conditions and slower speed of our smaller Pegu Club.

The next day we hoped to catch a fair current as we approached Georgetown, SC, but it was so strong against us that by the time we hit the area where we would get a boost, the period for the flood current had almost passed. Gah!

What the heck was going on? Continue reading “Holy currents, Batman!” →

I wouldn’t be surprised if we live in Beaufort, SC some day.

After spending a week at Cumberland Island waiting for the weather to clear up, we finally decided that since we were in the south with summer approaching it simply wasn’t going to happen. Time to continue moving north.

Every day the forecast called for at least a 40% chance of thunderstorms, and every day we were lucky and didn’t have any. I bought a book about cruising in Georgia for the Kindle and it looks like there are SO many areas off of the ICW to explore. Unfortunately with hurricane season approaching we couldn’t really take advantage of it, but we are armed with knowledge of some new spots we’d like to see when we make our way south again in the fall.

In the meantime we mixed it up a bit. Instead of backtracking out of the anchorage at Cumberland, we continued winding up the Brickhill River until it rejoined the ICW.

Crossing St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, GA, we could still see the car carrier that had capsized and caught on fire last September. It carried 4,000 Hyundais and Kias, and is in the process of being cut into eight pieces and removed. The goal was to have it removed by hurricane season, but it looks like there is still quite a ways to go.

Continue reading “I wouldn’t be surprised if we live in Beaufort, SC some day.” →

Putting the hammer down.

We were poking along the ICW as we did last fall, content in knowing that we were three weeks ahead of schedule compared to last year and hoping that would be enough to keep the cold weather at bay. We had enjoyed a beautiful, leisurely trip down the Dismal Swamp, spent a few nights in our favorite small town of Belhaven, and stopped in Beaufort, NC for the first time where we waited several days for a strong weather system to pass.

**Blazing a trail through thick duckweed on the Dismal Swamp.**

Continue reading “Putting the hammer down.” →

A new addition to our “Could we live here?” list: Beaufort, SC

Our next planned multi-day stop after leaving Georgetown, SC was Beaufort (pronounced “Byoo-fert”, unlike the one in North Carolina which is pronounced “Bo-fert”). We hopped down the South Carolina coast, stopping in anchorages each night and sometimes for more than one night for – what else? – weather delays.

**The anchorages don’t offer much in the way of wind protection in South Carolina, but they sure are pretty.**

By now we were seeing dolphins every day which is so much fun! I don’t think we’ll ever get tired of it. We also saw our first alligator! I saw what appeared to be a log in the water and pointed it out to Jeff, and then we realized that it was swimming. Wow! Unfortunately it happened too quickly to get a picture but maybe I’ll get another chance in Florida. Continue reading “A new addition to our “Could we live here?” list: Beaufort, SC” →

Is it a cruise or is it a delivery?

At least once a week we ask ourselves, “Is it a cruise or is it a delivery?” We want to take our time going down the ICW, but if we stop and see everything we’re interested in, winter will overtake us before we get to Florida. As it is, weather delays have resulted in our being much farther north at this point than we had originally planned. Heck, we thought that we would be in St. Augustine, FL by the time we needed to return to Connecticut for Jeff’s doctor appointments. Where were we in reality? Hampton, VA. That’s a long way from St. Augustine!

As we left Oriental we decided we needed to start making some tracks south and switch from cruising mode to delivery mode.

We started off well, sharing an anchorage for the night by Morehead City with our friends from S/V Lone Star and S/V Duchess. The next morning we sadly waved goodbye to Lone Star as we headed off in different directions. They were going to wait for a weather window to make the seven day passage straight to the Bahamas, while we were continuing to take the slow route down the ICW. We are very much looking forward to seeing our good friends somewhere in the Bahamas!

After waving goodbye to Lone Star, we saw our first dolphins!

**They were really close to Pegu Club! You can see our halyard in the bottom left corner.**

Continue reading “Is it a cruise or is it a delivery?” →