Above is my favorite photograph from the sail down south. It was shot by a young woman named Kelli in Isle of Hope, Georgia. I like the photograph because it is beautiful. I also like it because it was at the beginning of a memorable sail.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this trip was challenging. Spring had arrived early in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. With spring came pollen, at one point I noticed SPARTINA was coated with a layer of dried salt and pollen. And spring came with southwest winds, certainly a challenge on narrow winding rivers to head generally to.... the southwest.
On this particular morning I had a balky outboard that would not start. I really wanted to head south and checking the tides I found there was an ebb tide that would help carry me down the Skidaway River. There was also an opposing southwest wind. So it was a matter of gently tacking my way down the river trying to make the most of the helping tide and the opposing wind. I did make it down the river under sail. At the very end, where I crossed under the bridge, at the bottom of the track below, I could tell from water moving around the bridge pilings that the ebb tide had ended and there was the beginning of the flood tide. It was with a sigh of relief that I passed beneath the bridge.
And below is another challenging sail. I was headed from the north to the south on Brickyard Creek near Beaufort, SC. I had both an opposing tide and a strong wind on the nose. At first I did not think I would make it down the creek, I expected to attempt a couple of tacks, then fall back and anchor. There was enough wind that I could make a little ground on each tack so kept going. I made it all the way down there creek and where the water opened up a little wider the wind built to the point that I had to tuck in a double reef and then eventually sailed under just mizzen and jib. That strong wind came in handy working against the opposing tide.
And a sail I'm not so proud of.....
Below is the track where I left the Wilmington River below Thunderbolt and entered the Skidaway River. I had a helping tide down the Wilmington but found it was a strong opposing tide on the Skidaway. With lighter winds I simply could not make headway. The nearest good anchorage was Isle of Hope a few miles away. After seeing that I was not making any ground I surrendered and started the outboard, motor sailing/motoring to near Isle of Hope. Nearing the anchorage I had a better angle on the wind and was able to shut down the outboard and sail the final stretch.
As I said, it was a challenging sail, conditions sometimes tested my skills. I would like to think I learned a little bit.
Logs start next week.
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