WEDNESDAY MAY 12TH

We left Charleston as the sun was rising. We had a ways to go today and wanted to get an early start.

We passed Fort Sumter as we crossed the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter was built by the United States Army. It was fired upon by Confederate artillery in August of 1861 and The War between the States was on. 

It was warm today but there was a slight breeze. Problem was we were going with it, making it dead calm for us. Which made us easy prey for the huge, biting flies that plagued us all day. They were like gigantic horse flies, and they were indestructible. We tried any number of bug sprays we had on board. Each one only seemed to make us tastier. We finally had to break down and slather Deet on ourselves. It worked, but we felt poisoned.

I realize how ecologically important the salt marsh is but it was a long, boring ride on our way to Georgetown. The monotony of the day interrupted by Roscoe every so often when he went on a rampage with the flyswatter. At this point we had about 60 seconds to remove the carnage before those buggers revived and continued harassing us. Only too late we discovered that we left the cabin doors open while we traveled. The inside of our boat now looked like a scene from the Amityville Horror.

Ross did spot a couple of gators cruising in the water. We also started to see Bald Eagles again. 

Navigating gets a little confusing at times. Here is an example of a red marker that is a green marker for us. Notice it has a yellow square on it. Since we are traveling the ICW the square makes it a green reference for us. If you were coming in from the sea, it would mean a red for you. It just depends. Are you confused? I know I am.

Stopped for the next couple of nights at The Boat Shed. Plan to check out Georgetown tomorrow. Ross grilled lamb chops for dinner. Couscous and fresh greenbeans. Delicious!!