On the Hook


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North America » United States » South Carolina
February 19th 2006
Published: February 19th 2006
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SunriseSunriseSunrise

Getting the boat ready to set sail at 6:00 am.
The weather has been wonderful this week, with a high pressure system over the entire area and big isobars. The ocean has laid down from the last storm and there is 5-10 knots of wind coming from the south. The perfect weather window, the perfect sailing conditions. So we decide to go on our first offshore sailing adventure, to head down south about 30 miles to the Edisto River and spend the night anchoring there in a fabulous spot the locals told us about. Our first night on the hook.

On Thursday we wake up at 6 am and start the preparations for the trip. Of course we first double check the weather to make sure that no storms are coming in, and it is still looking beautiful. Then we fill our water tanks, eat breakfast, and batten down the hatches. We go thru the entire boat making sure everything is secure, that nothing will fall over and break. Then we unplug from shore power and start the engine. We turn on all the electronic navigation aids and double check our course. Then it is time, we are off.

We head out across Charleston Harbor (which is quite large)
SunriseSunriseSunrise

Getting the boat ready to set sail at 6:00 am.
making our way towards the North Atlantic Ocean. We pass right by Fort Sumter on our way out, the focal point of tension between North and South and the site where the Civil War began. It is an interesting piece of history here and a very remarkable structure. You can even see the cannons still in place since the war.

We pass thru the jetties and are out at sea about an hour later. We are so anxious to turn off the motor and start sailing, our first time offshore with the Rum Runner. We unfurl our sails and set our course. The sea is very calm, and unfortunately the wind is only around 6 knots. We sail for about 2 hours, only going about 2 knots. At this pace, the 6 hour trip down to Edisto will take us 16 hours and there is no way we can get into the river at night. So unfortunately we have to take down the sails and motor on down the coast to ensure that we will be able to anchor before sunset. We are a little disappointed that we can’t sail but are very thankful that our boat has such
Fort SumterFort SumterFort Sumter

Where the civil war began.
a big engine.

We anxiously approach the inlet of the Edisto River; it is a very narrow inlet with an obstruction on the starboard side (probably a ship wreck) and shoaling on the port. We have to hug the channel marker coming in to avoid the area where there is only 3 feet of water. Of course we draft 6 feet and are coming in at low tide, so we watch the depth meter carefully and slowly enter the inlet. It is nerve racking to watch the depth meter drop from 20-30 feet of water to 8 in less than a minute. After rounding the buoy it opens back up and gets deeper. We breathe a sigh of relief as we enter the river.

The Edisto River is very beautiful. There are many beaches and sand dunes on the left bank and grasslands with giant oak and willow trees on the right. We go up the river about 6 miles and turn into Steamboat Creek, where we will be anchoring the night. It is a narrow creek that comes off the river and then bends to the right, giving us great protection from the wind and the river’s
SailingSailingSailing

Sailing out of the Charleston Harbor.
current. Truly a great anchorage and we are surprised that we are the only ones there.

We take our time to set our anchor and after our first attempt, we decide to move it a little more towards the center of the creek in case the wind shifts in the middle of the night. Unfortunately we weren’t paying close enough attention and we did something stupid. We were using the bow thruster to move the boat into the perfect location and didn’t realize that there was a line floating in the water, which promptly got wrapped up in our bow thruster. So we effectively broke the bow thruster. The good news is that we don’t need the bow thruster to set our anchor, so we continue with the task at hand and set the anchor for the night. Then we try to unfurl the line from the bow thruster but to no avail. The sun is setting, it is getting dark, and the water is too cold to jump in and fix the problem. So we decide to enjoy the night and just bring the Rum Runner back up to Charleston in the morning and have the service department
Preparing the sailsPreparing the sailsPreparing the sails

Jen on the foredeck getting ready to sail.
here take care of it. The bad news is that we have never docked the boat without the bow thruster before, so getting back to our spot in Charleston would be tricky. But we figure that there is nothing we can do about it now, and that of course we will break many things on this boat, and that this experience should not ruin our night.

Before the sun sets we decide to go ashore and let Kona explore a little. We were told that this anchorage is dog friendly and that there is a public dock in front of the octagonal building where we can bring our dinghy. So we all get aboard the sushi boat and head for land. The octagonal building is right on the shore and is a charming little dock house. But we are surprised to find that there are about 5 no trespassing signs posted on the dock and the land. So we approach hesitantly and quietly. Unfortunately there is no other place we can land our sushi boat and Kona is desperate. So we carefully, stealthily, and with much caution bring Kona to land for a very short stay. Luckily no one
Land Ho!Land Ho!Land Ho!

Rum Runner entering the Edisto River.
was around the entire time we were there, but that doesn’t change the fact that we don’t like to trespass. Oh the things we do for our dog.

Then we start cooking dinner and are enjoying the peace and quiet of being on the hook. This is the best part of the sailing life, enjoying secluded parts of nature while comfortably living on our boat. Since we have disconnected from shore power, we are now living on our batteries. As we have been warned many times, you always need to monitor your batteries when on the hook. So we check before dinner and we are fully charged, with 180 hours left at the current rate if consumption (we have the refrigerator running, the salon lights on, and the radio playing). Great- we are set. We grill up some sausages and start cooking rice in the rice cooker. We don’t really worry about our electric consumption while cooking dinner because we are fully charged. About 20 minutes later the rice is almost done and we are getting ready to sit down for dinner. Out of curiosity we check our battery levels and are shocked to find that our rate of
Edisto River InletEdisto River InletEdisto River Inlet

Very narrow passage into the Edisto River. Remember "red right returning" and you will be fine...but still watch the depth meter!
consumption is rapidly decreasing from 15 hours, down to 9, and then down to 4 hours within a minute. We are surprised to learn that our rice cooker takes 57 amps to work- egads! So we quickly turn on the engine to start re-charging the batteries and to finish cooking dinner. We figured that at that rate of consumption we only had about 5 minutes left before we had completely drained the batteries. Good thing we decided to check the batteries before it was too late, because we need battery power to start our engine. So it was a close call and a good lesson learned. Always check your battery consumption and never cook with the rice cooker unless you have shore power. Oh the things we will learn, and now we are very curious to see how much electricity the rest of our appliances use.

Besides all these little adventures and lessons learned, we still had a great time. It truly was a perfect anchorage, very scenic and very protected. We hardly needed our anchor at all. And there were so many stars out at night, now that we were far enough away from the city lights of
River BankRiver BankRiver Bank

Sand dunes and beach on the Edisto River bank.
Charleston. And it was so quiet and peaceful, we got the best nights sleep. We sat on our boat, enjoying sunset and the sun rise the next morning, and all the birds and wildlife that surrounded us. South Carolina is a very beautiful state and it is fun to explore it on our boat.

The very best part of the trip was all the dolphins we saw. I think we literally saw a hundred of them, wherever we went. They would jump out of the water near the cockpit of our boat while we were sailing, just to check us out. They loved playing out in the harbors and we would see them jumping out of the water, doing back flips just for fun. A pod of them swam right next to the sushi boat when we took Kona out to land. And in the middle of the night we would hear them go by us, you could hear their blowhole when they come up for air. But the most awesome experience is watching the dolphins swim off our bow of the boat when we are motoring. At any given time there can easily be 2-3 dolphins swimming at
River BankRiver BankRiver Bank

The oak and willow trees on the Edisto River bank.
our bow. We would take turns sitting up at the front watching them play- they swim back and forth and jump out of the water right at the front of the boat. And they really are curious about us and you make eye to eye contact with them when they come up to check us out. It really is one of the neatest experiences we have had.

We woke up early on Friday and headed back to Charleston. Luckily we left at high tide and had no trouble getting out of the Edisto River Inlet and back out to the ocean (the tide here is 6 feet, so the water was much deeper). Once again there wasn’t enough wind to sail so we didn’t even try. It was an uneventful trip back and we came into Charleston Harbor with no difficulties. All we had to really worry about then was docking the Rum Runner without the aid of the bow thruster. Luckily we got into the marina by 3:30 and we were able to get some help bringing her in from the service guys here. Surprisingly the Rum Runner maneuvers rather well for a 47 foot boat, and we
On the HookOn the HookOn the Hook

The Rum Runner anchored at Steamboat Creek.
learned a lot about handling this boat in tight spaces. So in the end it was a very successful outing and we learned a lot- what more can you ask for?



Additional photos below
Photos: 16, Displayed: 16


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SundownersSundowners
Sundowners

Kona and Jen enjoying the sunset at anchor.
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Octoganal Building

No trespassing please...
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Sunset

Sunset at Steamboat Creek.
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Dolphins

Dolphins playing at the bow.
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Dolphins

Dolphins playing at the bow.
Jay at the HelmJay at the Helm
Jay at the Helm

Leaving the Edisto River after a good nights sleep.


19th February 2006

Way Cool!!!!!
20th February 2006

Great as usual!
We are enjoying your pics and entries soooo much! This website is reeeeally great. It is the next best thing to being there until we come see you on the boat. Glad you are testing everything before you start your long journey. Love you and take care of yourselves and Kona.....Mom J
20th February 2006

Pressure cooker time
Guess the rice cooker is one of those luxuries that will have to go-among many others.We lived on that horrible freeze dried stuff.
20th February 2006

Northern War of Aggression
Your night on the hook sounded fun and educational. Your photos are great! And by the way, I am surprised that you haven't been corrected about the civil war. In that area, it was called the northern war of aggression. Keep up the blogs.
20th February 2006

Wow!!
I finally got onto your blog--now I'm hooked! What a great experience you are having. Thanks so much for sharing it with all of us! Life in Portland is good--all is going well. We think of you often! Love, Dana and Tim
21st February 2006

We enjoyed all of your pictures and your log..very neat! We are having a good time in Spain although it is very cold hear.
23rd February 2006

Hooked
Thanks for sharing the lovely pics of your experiences. Your mom, Jean and I work together. I've never seen a pic of Ft. Sumter. Thanks! Liz

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