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Griffin Update #5: Can We Make It To Noon
Without an Emergency? No!
Inport, Charleston, South Carolina, Tuesday Night, December 2, 1997,
2000 hours, Onboard M/V Griffin.
We got underway from Myrtle Beach at 0715 and headed down the waterway.
We were in a canal about 5 miles inland from the coast. We passed a waterway-side
outlet mall and entered a stretch of canal blasted out of solid bedrock
called, creatively, "The Rocks". Don't want to go aground there!
We came up to a low draw-bridge that wasn't due to open for 25 minutes. It was much lower than what we snuck under the day before but we decided to try it. We lowered everything we could, even taking off the search light, and I knelt on the deck behind the throttles. Russell transferred control to the fly bridge and Andrew and I eyeballed the gap and decided to ease on in and try and sneak under. We edged closer. The bow went under the bridge. We slid forward slowly, ready to back up with full power if we thought we were going to hit. It looked like we could make it so we moved forward.
The exuberance Andrew and I felt when the boat cleared the north girder of the bridge faded quickly when we realized the southern girder was 2" lower! Yikes. How could this be. We were committed so we drifted further in. An inch to spare!
Andrew quickly helped me put the Bimini Top back up, raise the mast and antennas, and put the spot light back on. Andrew went below to help Russell when we shifted control back to the pilothouse.
I took a last look around and checked my watch. 9:05 am. No emergencies yet. No unexpected crisis. No challenges to our seamanship or survival skills. It seemed like all the excitement of the past few days was behind us. Just a boring trip down the ICW in front of us.
I started down the ladder from the flybridge to the cockpit. Two steps from the top of the ladder my right foot slipped off the step. My foot bounced down the remaining five steps like a playing card pegged to a bicycle fork. I hit the bottom and slid aft on the wet deck. OUCH!
I crawled up and lay flat on my back on the aft bench. Nothing broken, thankfully. Two Motrin and I was all fixed. Andrew was unimpressed as there was no blood. We are both very thankful that it is us that are falling all over the place, and not 80 year old Russell!
We headed south through a mangrove swamp. Very interesting scenery. We went further south and came to an area of marshes. We encountered our first Dolphin swimming in the middle of the canal. We slowed and tried to get him to play in our wake but he had things to do and wasn't interested in us.
Farther south we encountered an area of sand islands and tidal marshes that reminded us of Erskine Childers book, "Riddle of the Sands". Nothing for miles, but water, sand, marsh and lots of wildlife, sea-birds, clams, etc.
We cruised on south, encountering almost no other boat traffic. We are presuming most of the seasonal traffic is ahead of us. We have gone to marinas where we have been the only boat pulling in for fuel all day. At another place, the dock boy told us they were very busy as we were the 4th boat they had seen that day. It's nice having the waterway all to ourselves.
We entered Charleston Harbor from behind the historic Fort Moultrie. That was the confederate position that fired across the entrance of the harbor at Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter looked very small and defenseless, lying there at the entrance and we tried to imagine what it felt like to be there at the start of the Confederate war. They may have lost the first battle, but 140 years later you can tell who won the war. The Union Fort Sumter in a National Park, the Confederate Fort Moultrie is a beach house development!
We pulled into Charleston by 3:30. Andrew is getting off here in the early morning to catch a train. Russell and I are going to head on down to Thunderbolt, Georgia tomorrow, near Savannah. We are meeting an old friend, Thomas Black, for dinner. Best of all, Thomas is bringing us replacement crew! Wendy is coming down to help us finish the adventure!
That's all for now. Keep watching for the updates, plus a special Update #6: The Critics Reviews!
Jon, Russell, and Andrew.