Thursday - Saturday, May 9 -11, 2019

We departed Thunderbolt at 8:50 am in cloudy conditions with a chance for rain later in the day. While making our way towards the ICW, we noticed that our chart plotter was not providing updated location or speed. After checking a few connections and the typical IT solution “rebooting”, we realized that it was not coming back to life.  It had been at least a couple weeks since anything had broken, so we were about due.  Fortunately, we could still read our water depth information, which is extremely important around here. We operate a totally independent backup navigation system on an Ipad using a program called Aqua Map, so that became our primary navigation method until we could figure out the chart plotter GPS issue. Out came the paper charts as our new backup.

In case you do not know (and we didn’t), there is a tremendous amount of swamp/marsh along the coastline between Savannah and Beaufort. The ICW winds its way through the swamp/marsh using a series of rivers, creeks and man-made canals subject to shoaling.  We began to see more signs of development as we passed by Hilton Head Island.

Our approach to Beaufort took us past Parris Island (where approximately 20,000 marine recruits are trained every year). One can see very little of the actual base from the waterway, but you can tell it is set up to be a no-frills operation. They issue a notice to boaters letting us know when and where their live-fire exercises will be taking place (good stuff to know). The Marine Air Base is located a few miles away just north of Beaufort.

We arrived at Beaufort at 1:15 in a moderate rain. We waited around a while to dock, then waited our turn at the fuel dock to take on fuel and pump out. We planned to be docked around 1:30 near slack tide. We actually docked around 3:00pm. The tidal current had already picked up speed, so it took three attempts before we successfully tied up without bashing into something.

Our early arrival allowed time to work on our chart plotter GPS problem. It turns out that our GPS receiver had stopped working. Fortunately, we had a spare on board and Brian was able to get our main navigation system up and running in a couple hours. 

Beaufort (pronounced like the word “beautiful,” unlike the NC town of Beaufort pronounced boh-fort) has a long and complicated history. The Spanish stopped by in 1520 long enough to give it a name, but it didn’t last. In 1563 a French explorer tried to establish a colony, but it only lasted one year. The Spanish made another go of it, but it was finally the English that established an ongoing settlement in 1711, becoming the second oldest city in SC after Charleston.

Beaufort reminded us of some of the river towns that have gone through tough times. Beaufort is working hard to increase its tourist business and become a place for northern retirees. The town has appeared in numerous movies and is investing to continue its growth. 

We had a wonderful visit with Linda Lough whom Brian worked with over 25 years ago. Linda and her husband now live in Hilton Head. We had a great lunch in the historic district, and a very informative/entertaining horse-drawn carriage tour of the area. We saw beautiful homes & buildings, learned about Beaufort’s history, saw locations of famous movie scenes, and had a surprise sighting of Forrest Gump coming out of the local arsenal (see photo). “Forrest” looks amazingly similar to Tom Hanks and drops in on Beaufort about once a year (usually unannounced). 

One of the houses in town has a Dwarf ghost that is friendly to kids but plays pranks on adults. Every year the owners open-up the house for kids to visit on Halloween. We learned the background of Pat Conroy (author of The River is Wide) and how Harriet Tubman not only helped escaped slaves, but also helped lead a Union Army raid up the Combahee River near Beaufort.

Beaufort has created a very nice park along the waterfront. Our last night in Beaufort allowed us to observe the graduation ceremony of the Technical College of the LowCountry (TCL) near the marina.  We learned that “the LowCountry” is the geographical and cultural region of SC’s coastal area. “Geographical” refers to its formation approximately 20 million years ago as the ancient (Atlantic) ocean withdrew creating the Sandhills or Midlands region just beyond it. (There are two more geographical regions in SC: the next region as you move toward the northwest portion of the state is the Piedmont region, or foothills, after which is the Mountain region which has the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Chain.) “Cultural” is in reference to the area’s architecture, economy, climate and cuisine being unique to the region.  

If you are ever in the area, Beaufort is worth a visit.