Star Gazer at Charleston Maritime Center. Not many other boats here.

We left Beaufort at 6:45 (getting light a bit earlier), got through the dreaded Ashepoo cutoff and made it to Charleston with both engines and our main depth sounder working all the way! A lot of good scenery and good weather on the way as well.

View forward and to the right as we left Beaufort

Near the end of the trip we entered the narrow 2 ½ mile Elliot cut. It exits into the quarter mile wide channel on the west side of old Charleston, with the big City Marina straight across. Tides conspire to make a current up to 4 knots here. It was 2 ½ knots in our direction when we went through. We could see the water rippling and thrashing along the banks. There is a drawbridge in the middle of this channel which we can slip under. That’s fortunate, because stopping and waiting in front of it with all that current behind would be difficult. A great ride with nice homes all along both sides.

Almost to Charleston. Entrance to Elliot Cut. Current grabs you right there.

Charleston City Marina was full, so we went on around the peninsula to Charleston Maritime center on the other side. It’s a small marina only for transients. Not many boats here even though it’s high season for tourists in Charleston with normally very nice weather. They tell me it’s because they can’t take the really big boats and the tide changes make for pretty strong currents that take you to the edge of their small basin quickly if you don’t keep on top if it (and have both engine controls working).

Sue likes to drive the first shift.

We got in before 2:00, called Green Cab and went into the city. We shopped around some and took a horse carriage tour, our second. They have 4 or 5 different places the tour might go, so it was new to us. This is the most common way people see the old town except for walking, since it is so small. The tour finished just in time for us to walk to Magnolias for dinner. I called for reservations after we left Beaufort and they were full, but someone cancelled right at 6:30. Our marina is close enough that we walked back to our boat.

Charleston as we exited Elliot Cut. Catholic cathedral steeple on the left.

We’re here all day Tuesday, but the weather is a bit cool, with a brief shower or two possible. Tomorrow it’s off to Georgetown or Wilmington. Hopefully everything keeps working until Washington, where we get a once over.