November-December 2006
Charleston recovered quickly after the snowstorm and we had another opportunity to explore the ‘Battery’ area where we found the fountain. There were camellias in bloom despite the cold and we were treated to an amazing farewell sunset with a new moon right above it!
The next part of our south-bound journey took us to a short stay in Beaufort, South Carolina. This one is pronounced ‘Bewfort’ in keeping with the increasingly southern drawl. The old houses have architecture which is more typical of the deep south. The layers of terraced balconies run across the front of the property and possibly down one or more sides too. In Charleston they just ran down one side of the building instead.
South Carolina is the serious start of Spanish Moss, an air plant which festoons all the trees, especially the huge ‘live’ (evergreen) oaks.

Angie poised on a cannon overlooking the Beaufort River SC and the swing bridge over the river
Typical Beaufort SC house with balconies across the front overlooking the river
A Live Oak frames a view over the Beaufort River
The Beaufort River with marshland on western shore
A camellia in flower in November in Charleston
Sunset over a river bridge in Charleston with a new moon following behind
Detail of one Spanish Moss plant
The pineapple shaped fountain found on the Battery in Charleston
Spanish Moss festoons a small deciduous tree that has lost its leaves for the winter

Spanish Moss is not a parasite and does not kill the trees. It is made up of incredibly delicate fronds with a geometrical pattern hanging down from all the branch ends.

The two leading marks making up a 'range' indicating a turn to starboard will be needed shortly
The range is now in line as the boat turns away and tries to keep the deep water under the keel

Southern Carolina and Georgia mark a distinct change in the nature of the coast. The rivers become deeper and tides much larger and stronger - still less than at home though!

Passage through the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) here means travelling up one river, passing through a dredged link channel and back down the next river. It gets increasingly remote through Georgia and many of the yachtsmen we meet avoid this stretch. They are frightened of the 2 knot tides and of running aground in the dredged cuts at low water. Georgia does not have money to keep these dredged - something to do with overseas adventures we hear... In practice we find the absence of other boats makes the remote marshlands all the more beautiful and attractive. We do our travelling across the top half of the tides and know we will always have an extra metre in the shallowest areas and that is enough!

The dredged channels are often in wide expanses of shallow water less than 1 metre deep. To keep barges in the channel - and yachtsmen too - there are numerous leading marks to align. These are known here as ‘ranges’ and consist of pairs of red boards with vertical white stripes on them. They are particularly helpful when tide and wind are determined to push you out of the channel into the surrounding shallows.
There are wonderful remote anchoring opportunities and we just love the tranquility and wild life. In any anchorage you will be surrounded by pelicans, gulls and egrets. Herons come and fish in the shallows and we have seen otters fishing as well as numerous porpoises. We have come to recognise the Belted Kingfisher along the shores. They are blue with a white collar around the neck which helps you spot them, even in flight. When they catch fish they spend ages beating them on a post before swallowing. The fish appear to be on a large scale!

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