On the way from Jekyll Island to 60+ miles further north, we found ourselves in really out of the way rural Georgia.  We had scoped out the cruise directory for the area and decided to go off route maybe 6 miles.  We chose the Sunbury Crab Company and Marina.  We encountered this sign prior to turning left into their river that assured us we were not lost. 

Small cruise ship that chased behind us, eventually passing us since we were in a no wake zone, into Beaufort, SC.

Boat we crossed paths with a couple of times on our way from Beaufort to Charleston, SC.  Note that she has the French Flag on her stern, with the American courtesy flag to the right of it.

The so called "face dock" of the Charleston Municipal marina.  Boats in excess of 150 feet are common here.  In this picture, there are two of them.  Once again we have the smallest vessel in the marina.

This one would be of interest to my brother Tim, and maybe others.  Our dad had a business in the 50's and 60's and it was known as the Walcon Corporation.  The cleat is the one used in abundance here at our marina here in Charleston.

There are so many stories that have been accumulating in the story register since leaving Jekyll Island to visit Sunbury GA, Beaufort, SC, and here at Charleston SC.



Just a few.


I had the first mutiny by my crew but I did not suffer the same fate as Captain Bligh of the HMS Bounty. All issues were addressed and I am once again "in charge."


Marinas of note include the one at Sunbury, GA. This is one that is slightly off the route but it is well worth the extra miles. It is run by a family and has a very rural GA flavor. The restaurant part is a destination in itself because it is so unique. Of course they specialize in sea food and have many recipes. They have entertainment certain nights but of course the night we arrived being Tuesday was one that they are normally closed for food service. But they gave us kitchen service just the same. The marina part is a fully capable facility and has several hundred feet of face dock space on a 30 foot deep natural channel. They are becoming a stop for many loopers. There were two other loop boats sharing the dock with us that night.


Then at Beaufort, we were just into dinner on the veranda deck of our small yacht when we observed a 14 foot skiff with a non running outboard motor and one of the 5 or 6 aboard paddling, sort of making the boat go in circles, like they were lining the boat up for a perfect cast. The guy at the stern did have a fishing pole in his hand. Still it looked very strange. We finally asked them if they need some help and a small female voice came out of the group with a sheepish "yes." It turned out that they had no idea how to use a single paddle to cause a boat to make headway so we had to shout orders to them each time they were to switch the paddle from one side of the boat and start paddling on the other. They followed our instructions to the letter. If we had stopped giving instructions, they would have gone back to circle mode. They reached the dock and watching them try to tie the boat to the dock was just as entertaining. They needed basic basic instructions on this point as well.


We had done our job so we left them to their own devices about how to finish fixing their situation. It turned out there was an altercation at the entrance to the marina that required the cops later that night. We do not know that it involved our rescuees but it could have because this situation was so abnormal.


The next day, coming up to Charleston we encountered a dredging operation on one of the small rivers that make up the Intra Coastal. As we approached, we were met by guy in a skiff waving a red stop sign. We stopped and he asked us to wait there and he went to the other side of the dredge to stop a couple of boats coming from that direction. Once he had things organized, he then lead the other boats thru the "construction" zone and once that was done, he lead us thru it so we could continue our journey too. Just like sometimes happens in a highway construction zone where they use a "follow" me truck to take the traffic, one direction at a time past the work area.


My favorite story up to this point. When I hailed the Charleston Marina for dock assignment and other instructions, the guy on the other end of the radio said. "I think I see you, are you the Sea Ray?" I said back, "No, we are a Rinker but they sort of look like Sea Ray's" The answer back was a sort of obligatory apology. There is a feeling out there among some that Rinker boats are sort of a "poor man's Sea Ray." Once I got into the marina office to pay for the night's dockage we all had a huge laugh about the radio exchange.


Today it is off to Georgetown, SC. We are against the clock because we want to get to North Myrtle Beach by Saturday to attend the beginning of the loopers rendezvous.


Tony n Pat