some great sailing

I had a couple of days of great sailing where the winds and tides just carried me along.  Another great day of sailing today, but with opposing wind and tides.  Wide tacking to get onto Sapelo Sound, short tacks of two minutes or less on winding creeks. A lot of playing the gusts.  Challenging, but fun.  Anchored now on the Crescent River.  Anchor light photo, above, was from my anchorage last night at St. Catherine’s Island. 

 

two days in one

You’ll have to excuse the photos here, they are reverse order.  Still working on this posting from the phone thing. 

Perfect wind and tides today, sailed from Skull Creek on Hilton Head to the Herb River in Georgia.   Normally it takes two days to cover this distance, a series of creeks and rivers with continually changing tides.   But it work out perfect today. 

The last photo, which should have been first in this post, is by Webb Chiles.  Gusty in the morning, so I started off mizzen and jib, the single reefed main and then full sail. Webb came down to the docks to see me off after a nice visit with him and his wife Carol. Thanks, Webb, for an enjoyable stay.  

 

this is a test

I have had trouble posting from my phone.  I made a change in my safari settings and this is a test to see if it works. 

For information about the photo, see Webb’s journal below.

https://self-portraitinthepresentseajournal.blogspot.com/2026/02/hilton-head-island-steve-earleys-two.html?m=1

 

a beautiful morning on the Coosaw River

 Having trouble uploading videos from

My phone.  Click the link below to see

a video from this morning on the Coosaw River. 

https://youtu.be/1Mwo5LhWAk4?si=as8W9ST4_I7dhtPq

the first couple days

Some photographs from the first couple of days on the water.  Good trip so far.  Now on Rock Creek just off the Coosaw River, waiting out some morning rain.  

 

packing today

 gone tomorrow

tracking map here

a few numbers

12        The temperature (˚F) when I plan to leave

my home headed for Charleston

Yes, cold.  It is the third batch of cold air coming down to the south.  My truck and SPARTINA will both be packed the day before.  I just need to hook up the trailer to the truck and be on my way, with the heater going full blast for at least the first few minutes.

16        The number of Sounds along the ICW 

from James Island, South Carolina to 

Jacksonville, Florida

I dug back into my logbooks to find my list of Sounds that I should sail on the way south.  Some of the Sounds are broad expanses of water.  Others, such as Buttermilk Sound and Manhead Sound, are bends in the river.  They are all beautiful in their own way. 

49         The temperature (˚F) when I hope to

 rig and launch SPARTINA

On launch day the cold weather, which is forecast to reach as far south as Georgia, should be sliding back north.  It will be cold overnight (I'll be in a hotel near the ramp), but it will be comfortable by the time I rig and launch. The forecast shows temperatures from the 40s all the way up to 70 as I head south.

I've completed the trip from Charleston to Palatka three times.  I have done it in as few as 13 days, and as many as 20 days.  These times include days sailing and non-sailing days where I visit places like  Beaufort, SC, a favorite town, and Hilton Head where I see friend Webb Chiles.  I think the distance is something like 320 miles, but can't find that right now in my log. 

I can't wait to get back on the water.

 

track updated, sailor seasoned

With what is described as a "bomb cyclone" approaching the east coast and the cold temperatures that will persist afterwards, I've delayed my departure for the winter trip by a week.  When will I go?  Not this week for sure, there are forecasts for a couple nights at or below 30 degrees.  I don't have the gear for that. So it should be sometime the following week.  It just depends on tides and the temperatures.

I've updated the SPOT track with the new date range.  The tracking URL is the same as I posted a few days ago.

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/3J3R#history/assets

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Joshua Colvin, who ran the Duckworks small boat supply store and also published Small Craft Advisor magazine, emailed me about a week ago.  He is publishing Substack version of Small Craft Advisor.  Josh asked me if I would fill out a questionnaire for their new column called "Seasoned Sailor."  I don't consider myself "seasoned," but with SPARTINA almost 20 years old and a lot of cruising on her, maybe I am.  So I filled out the questionnaire and Josh was kind enough to publish.

I always liked the magazine Small Craft Advisor as I considered it the new version of Small Boat Journal, a magazine that I read for years in the 80s and 90s.  The new Substack has the same feel, interesting stories about small boats and small boat sailors.  Links to the Substack Small Craft Advisor and the questionnaire are below.  Thank you, Josh, for reaching out to me.

https://smallcraftadvisor.substack.com/

https://smallcraftadvisor.substack.com/p/seasoned-sailor-steve-earley

 

of time, tide and temperature

There is an interesting bit of calculus, particularly this winter, to when I can launch at Wappoo Creek to begin the sail from Charleston to Florida.  Usually it is a matter of time and tide.  This year I need to figure in the temperature.

The boat ramp I use at James Island is at Wappoo Creek.  It is a good ramp and this time of year, with cold weather, there is plenty of room to rig and launch SPARTINA. To get from Wappoo Creek to the Stone River, I need to go through Elliott Cut.  The cut is very narrow with strong running tides the create swirling eddies.  I can only get through the cut at slack tide.  

Above you will see the slack tides circled in red.  The morning tides are preferable.  Leaving in the before noon means I can make a decent distance that first day, maybe reaching Wadmalaw Sound.  With afternoon slack tides, I could get through the cut, but because of daylight I would need to anchor less than a mile down the Stono River in Sandy Bay.  The 4:43 slack tide on Wednesday would allow me just over an hour to get through the cut, reach the anchorage and set up the boom tent.  It could be done, but not ideal for a first night on the water.

The third element is the temperature.  As I wrote a few years ago, "the polar vortex is broken, and I don't feel so good myself." The polar vortex has been reaching down south the past several days and will continue to do so through the middle of next week.  This forecast shows a Wednesday morning temperature of 27 degrees.  I don't want to be out on the water at 27 degrees, I am not geared up for that.  

So can I launch Wednesday morning and make the morning slack tide?  It is possible.  But rigging at dawn at 27 degrees is not easy.  There are a lot of knots to tie, hard to do with numb fingers.  Or do I rig early afternoon when the temper is up in the 40s, make the pm slack tide and plan on anchoring in Sandy Bay for the night?  

 Forecasts change, of course, so I will just keep and eye on things and see what looks best.

tracking URL

 Here is the tracking URL for the winter trip from Charleston, SC to Palatka, Fl.  Or copy and paste the link below.  Track should go live the first couple of days in February, depending on weather.

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/3J3R