Day 323 - 324, May 9 - 10, 2023

Day 323 Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Thunderbolt, Georgia to Beaufort, South Carolina

We left Thunderbolt and the Savannah area at 7:15am.  We had a good start with relative calm, again timing our departure for high/rising tide to get through upcoming shallow areas.  We had no bridge worries today.  Capstone Bluff Bridge is a double lift bridge that is always open.  

 

We passed the entrance to Savannah River -- you need to leave the ICW to go to the city docks in Savannah.  Our stop in Thunderbolt kept us out of the commercial traffic around the city docks.  It was already warm and muggy at 8am.  We were met by dolphins in Field Cut.  They always make our day.

 Go Navy  Navy Hospital

While traveling we overheard another boater on the VHS radio saying "You idiot, what do you think you are doing?  You  did a fast pass by a sailboat through a narrow bridge opening! Totally unsafe and unprofessional."  The sail boater then hailed the Coast Guard to report the other boat as dangerous.  We listened while the Coast Guard gathered the info they needed.  The offending captain was listening too and apologized.  He gave his number to the Coast Guard and sail boater.  I wonder if there were any consequences...

 The offending boat.  He can create a nasty wake!

We had a good weather window for crossing Port Royal Sound and to the marina.  It was loaded with jelly fish. It was 90 degrees when we arrived at 12:30.  Safe Harbor Port Royal Landing is a nice marina but far from the town of Beaufort. 

"Green" Marker  

 Jelly Fish

Day 324 Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Today was a day for checking out Beaufort.  Too far to walk we took a taxi (it seems there are no Ubers in Beaufort).  We did a walking tour with a Ranger from the National Park Service and then a horse drawn tour with "Brad".

   

Robert Smalls was a slave in Beaufort who became an entrepreneur, a Congressman, a soldier and an advocate for slave freedom and rights.  Smalls gained his freedom by turning over the Confederate ship he was working on as a slave to the Union Navy.  He was able to buy his mothers freedom and to purchase the home where they had been slaves.  There is a lot of history in Beaufort.

 

    

The Seccession House -- The Maxcy - Rhett House was built in 1810 and was the location for many meetings in the 1850's regarding the secession of South Carolina from the Union.

  Brad, our tour guide

 

Beaufort History Museum located in the Arsenal.

 

Gentleman used the stairs on the left, ladies used the stairs on the right.  Men should never see a ladies ankles!

 

The bridge that Forrest ran across in the movie "Forrest Gump".  The film shot at many locations in Beaufort.

"Refreshments" at Panini's and then BBQ dinner at Q on the Bay.

 

We managed to get an Uber back to the boat.  This time it was a mother of 4 children ranging from 5 months to 6 years old.  All 4 kids were with dad while he delivered Uber Eats!  This was her first day of delivering people instead of food.  She did a medical transfer for an elderly woman that no one wanted to pick up so our driver did it  She is being rewarded by an invitation to dinner for her family at the elderly woman's home.  Her first experience as a people driver had been memorable; she gained a new friend.

Tomorrow we travel to Charleston, South Carolina!