Aug 25 Up the Waccamaw River to Osprey Marina

 Aug 25

Peaceful night at anchor in Georgetown. Rain finished up, barely a breeze and just a very gentle swinging of the boat on anchor as the tides changed.   Slept in a bit.  Had some breakfast.  Finally raised anchor around 10. No rush as the run up to Osprey Marina is only a few hours and we told them to expect an early afternoon arrival.  

Leaving Georgetown, we head up the Waccamaw River.  The lower reaches start with a wide river with marshes but gradually becomes a narrower meandering river through swamplands.  The black colored water is indicative of the tannins that leach out of the swamp trees into this freshwater river.  I've always found it to be a very beautiful, undeveloped and tranquil section of the ICW. Scenic natural beauty before hitting the garish Myrtle Beach area.  It was quite a transition from yesterday's offshore run.

Lower Waccamaw River

We've known about Osprey Marina from our previous travels but had never stopped here.  But they have some of the best diesel fuel prices in SC right now and we needed to top off the tanks and their dockage rate is half that of Myrtle Beach marinas.  It's a bit smaller and more remote but well run with a friendly and helpful staff.  Very protected hurricane hole but a bit tight with room for just a handful of larger boats. 

We had hailed the marina about 10 minutes out and made arrangements to come to the fuel dock first and then head to our slip.  About 5 minutes later a message comes over the radio a southbound boat saying they are turning into the fairway for fuel.   So the marina radio's us with instructions to hold station until they are done. We idled for 45 minutes holding position out in the river while they got fueled up and docked.  Not a big issue - just one of those things that happens. We eventually got to the fuel dock, topped off with 350 gallons and then did a masterful job backing off the fuel dock and swinging 180 degrees in reverse to back into our slip.   Amazing how well we maneuver without wind or current interfering. 

My brother Paul and his wife LeeAnn would be at their condo in Garden City Beach just a few miles away so we planned to meet up on Sat.  As an extra surprise they brought my mom down from Charlotte to see the new boat and wish us well on our maiden voyage.  This turned into a perfect location to meet up for a nice family get together. We got to see their condo and had a fantastic seafood dinner at Hot Fish Club overlooking Murrells Inlet.   Then more visiting and a nice Sunday breakfast aboard the boat before they departed for home. Great to catch up and so appreciate them going the extra mile to bring mom along.

Mom visiting to check out the new boat

Martha and LeeAnn

Mom checks out the captains chair in the pilothouse

Enjoying breakfast with my brother Paul

August 24, 2022 Chesapeake Here We Come

 Aug. 24, 2022

Today we finally let loose the lines at SJYH in Charleston and started our planned trip northward to the Chesapeake for the fall.  Time to get out of this constant heat and humidity in Charleston. Hoping heading north will also reduce any hurricane interference.   Ultimately, we're looking to head up the Potomac and spend some time in Washington DC. before heading back south for the winter.  

What is it they say about "Red sky in the morning"?

So today at 7 AM sharp we untied the lines and started the journey.  Today's trip would be up to Georgetown SC.   Tides are not in our favor for getting through some shoaling that has redeveloped around Isle of Palms, McClellenville, and a few other spots.   These are the areas we ran aground back in 2019 on our first day of looping and we decided to forgo the possibility of a repeat. We opted to simply run the offshore route as the weather called for light easterly winds, 1' seas, 5 knot winds, and overcast skies but no rain until later in the day. The trip is a bit longer due to the time and distances required to exit Charleston Harbor and enter Winyah Bay.    The offshore traveling was almost too easy with only 2 autopilot headings. Very easy traveling but also a bit boring and mundane - made worse by the fact that I haven't brought any of my fishing gear on board yet.

Passing by the battery in Charleston

Heading out the inlet past Ft Sumter

On the open ocean

Hit Georgetown at low tide and got reminded of the shallow water entering the harbor as the depth finder went to less than a foot under the keel setting off the alarm.  Got through there and found a spot to drop the hook in the back waters. No wind, minimal current.  The forecast rain came through but not too bad then cleared out allowing us to listen to the live music coming from the bars along the waterfront.  Overall, a nice but longish first day back cruising.

Shrimper working Winyah Bay as we head to Georgetown

View from our anchorage in Georgetown

Journey for Aug 24

Aug 20, 2022 We Get The Dingy Back !

 Aug 20, 2022

Prior to picking up the big boat at Marine Propulsion we talked with them about fixing the frozen steering cable on the dingy.   As things go with boating, one thing led to another and we decided to leave the dingy with them to fix the steering and "while you're at it", go ahead and do a full service on the engine since we really weren't sure how many hours had passed since it was last done.  We dropped the dingy using the davit prior to departing after all the service work on the big boat.  They would work on it as they got time knowing we really didn't need it for a few weeks.  We finally got around to picking it up this past weekend.   

Good ohmen to begin my trip when a dolphin surfaced behind me

You need to understand where we're coming from with our previous dingy. That one was a truly inflatable little roll up dingy with an anemic 2.3 HP Honda motor.  It floated and could get us from Point A to Point B but that was about it.  So. we've been anxious to see what this RIB with its fiberglass hull hooked to a 40 HP Mercury 4 stroke efi engine could do. Let's just say 6000rpm WOT and 30 knots top end is an amazing difference! 

It got a good test during the 27 mile sea trial taking it around Wadmalaw Island and Johns Island back to the big boat at SJYH.  Mostly running at a more leisurely 3500/4000 rpm and 16/18 kts. Nice calm Saturday morning to start as I headed up the Edisto River.  Little bit of current working against me as low tide was approaching but with the minimal draft there was no real concerns despite no depth finder.   Boat traffic started picking up along with boat wakes after going past the boat ramp at Limehouse Bridge.  Turned the final corner and spotted Martha up on the flybridge as I pulled into the marina.   She took it for a spin part way down the Stono River and back then headed partway through Elliott Cut.  Back to the marina where we gave it a good cleaning and finished up by using the davit to stow it back securely on the aft deck.  Now we just need to use it on a routine basis to keep that steering cable from rusting up again.

Aug. 10, 2022 Boat Maintenace and Renaming Ceremony

 Aug. 10 

Been awhile since the blog was updated.  Pretty good amount of work done on the boat to make sure it was all "ship-shape" as we look to start regular cruising.   We decided while the engines and generator were being serviced at Marine Propulsion we might as well have a bottom job.  At haulout we were astounded by the heavy growth on the running gear, I knew we certainly had some based on the poor performance we had moving the boat to their docks when I couldn't achieve a WOT run and fuel consumption was more than double the normal levels. All the barnacles got chiseled off and the rest pressure washed.  

Time to scrape some barnacles!!

Then blocked up, sanded, and 2 coats of ablative paint and new zincs.   While on the hard we decided to wax the hull ourselves.  Nothing like sweating up a storm in Charleston's 95-degree heat and humidity with sun reflecting back at you off a glistening hull.  Lots of tiring work but we were satisfied with the results after applying 2 coats.  But goodness sake - 51' is A LOT of boat to wax!!!   We'll leave the upper deck for professionals to wax at a later date. 

Wash and wax all done. WHEW!!!

Mechanically, we gave both the engines as well as the generator the full preventive maintenance routine.  Rydlime  flushed through the systems to remove any buildups, then tear down all the aftercoolers and heat exchanger. Clean, test reinstall.   New hoses, impellers, belts, zincs.   New filters, oil changes, and coolant flush and fills.    Remove and test the injectors and check and adjust the valves.   That will hopefully keep the engines healthy and trouble-free for a few years.

Boat ran outstanding on our return trip to SJYH. Smooth and quiet and easily hit 2900RPM at WOT per the specs and topped out over 20mph.

We had our friends Shane, Sandy, Gene and Paula join us for a formal boat renaming ceremony on Sat afternoon.   Libations poured overboard for Neptune as we implored him to expunge the old name from his records and them more libations for him and us as we asked for safe passage with As You Wish. Then of course more libations to the gods of the winds - North, East, West and South.     Shane and Sandy - who were the only overnight guests we ever had on the previous As You Wish - became the first of hopefully many overnight guests on the new As You Wish.  

Shane preps the champagne to go with Paula's amazing charcutiers board

  Sunday we all got together for a cruise around the Stono River.  Pop up rain showers were forming around us with more serious rain and waterspouts over the ocean, so we headed to the lower helm and a return to the marina.  Luckily the storms either dissipated or moved off as we traveled back.  It was mid-tide upon our return with the current ripping, so dockage was on an outer T head until slack tide.  Then Gene and Paula acted a dockhands as we flawlessly backed into the slip like a couple of seasoned pros! 

The girls showing off their "Boat Hair, Don't Care" caps

Good Friends - Good Times!!

3 hour cruise to nowhere July 7