It ain't over, till it's over . . .

I'm walking down the dock back to the boat last night, and I look up to see a full moon peaking in and out of substantial cloud cover . The moon was big and bright, and almost flashing, given the speed at which the clouds were flying past, being pushed by the 20 knot winds.

The forecast calls for 3-4' seas and 20+ knot winds.
I'm not feeling at all comfortable about the conditions of the last leg.
Because, on top of the forecast, I am haunted by the memory of the dramatic effect of the last full moon tide. It created negative tides of almost 2 feet.

The forecast has already mandated that we "go inside" on the ICW.
A full moon, negative tide could spell disaster on the ICW.
While going thru the books, they said and I quote: "This is the most shallow and shoaling stretch of the entire ICW." Great. Having severe sphincter symptoms.

High tide is at 7:30 in Charleston.
The gas dock doesn't open till 8:00.
So, the tide will have already flooded and started ebbing before we leave.
Not great, looks like we will be navigating during the bottom half of the tide, and arriving at dead low tide.
But, there's nothing I can do about that. I'll just fuel up when they open at 8:00, and be on our way ASAP.

That was the plan, and a damn good plan - if I do say so myself.
But, as they say: "the best laid plans of mice and men" - don't include the dock hand staying out all night at some sort of rave, and showing up 1/2 hour late, bleary eyed, reeking of booze, still wearing the rave admission bracelet.

By the time he fumbled thru resetting the pumps, and settling up our account, it was 9:00.
So, thanks to still inebriated dock hand, we headed off the dock an hour late, and even more nervous about what lay ahead.
But, I took some solace in the realization that the prospect of our day was far preferably to that of the hung over dock hand.

The trip down the ICW was as advertised - the most picturesque scenery of our entire trip.
It wound past many homes, and thru spectacular vistas.

But, the ebbing tide held us back by 1-2 knots for most of the day.
All of which contributed to the single most dangerous situation of our entire journey.

There is a land cut, that leads into the Cousaw River where there is notorious shoaling.
The guide book said that it had been reported as low as 6'.
I wondered what that might look like near the bottom of a negative moon tide?

The answer, is 4.5 feet.
Our boat draws 3' 10".
You do the math . . .

I'm not going to lie, I was holding my breath.
But, we skated thru, and sailed into 20' of water with only some 10 miles to go to Beaufort.

I can't tell you how bizarre it was to be back in known waters for the first time in 12 days, and 1,100 miles. But, there we were approaching Ladies Island Bridge, and no longer needed the "all-knowing Magenta Line" to find our way.

The only remaining question was - would there be enough water in Battery Creek for us to get to our house?
We would find out today, as we were at dead low tide . . .

We made it !!!
I give you Hot Water at home dock.

Just in case you were curious about the tide, I think this explains it pretty well:

The Beast, high and dry - literally above, Hot Water.

Spence and I spent very little time reflecting.
We were too anxious to unload the boat, get in the A/C, and take a shower.

I can't tell you how happy we are to be here - safe and sound.
It is not lost on us how lucky we are.
But, I also can't tell you how exhausted we are, and how ready we are to be on dry land again.

We have big plans for tonight :
Watch the Sox - Yankees game.
But it starts at 8:00.
I'm betting that we don't make it past the 3rd inning . . .

Tomorrow, between getting our gas turned back on, and getting our furniture delivered, I will put together the Tale of the Tape, and put together all of the stats.
I will also try and put together a map detailing our stops (as suggested by one of our Constant Readers).

Meanwhile, all I can say is:
"Embarking on the journey of a lifetime - Awesome.
Actually making it - Wicked Awesome !!!"

Hasta La Vista.

Cap't JimBob & Crew