I've been looking back through my logs at the first day of each of the three cruises south from Charleston. How much distance did I cover on each of the first days' sail? And I wonder how much I will make on the first day on this year's sail?
How much water I can cover on the first day is controlled by wind, tide and the current at Elliott Cut. I launch at the Wappoo Creek boat ramp. Just a mile or two west of the ramp is Elliott Cut, a narrow rock-lined cut that can have currents running at two to four mph. It is simply impossible for me to get through safely with a running tide. I need slack water, or something very close to it, to get through there.
On my first launch out of Charleston in 2021 I attempted to pass through Elliott Cut about an hour before slack tide. I mean, how bad could it be? I soon found out, turning back to anchor and wait out the tide. I eventually passed through at 2:15 (an unusually late starting time for me). I anchored that night in Rantowles Creek, marked with a "1" in the chart at the top of this post. (I'll also got stuck in the mud, which didn't help my forward progress.)
On my second trip south in 2022, slack tide was much earlier in the day. I rigged and launched in darkness, and passed through Elliott Cut at 8:40. Wind was excellent and I caught a favorable tide around 10:00 or so. This carried me to Church Creek, marked with a "2" above, anchor down at 2:15. I could have sailed some more miles that but I was tired from both the drive down the day before and the early morning start.
Last year I passed through Elliott Cut at 8:45, had excellent wind and a helping tide. It was the perfect start to a trip. I was sailing so fast someone on a dock yelled at me to slow down because it was a no wake zone. I was relieved when I saw he was yelling at me with a wave and a smile. Anchor down in Toogoodoo Creek, marked "3" above, about 4:15. I'll take that any day.
The tide is not ideal at Elliott Cut this year, slack tide being about 11:00. At least it give me a chance to sleep a little later. As for the wind, we'll wait and see.
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