Leg #21, April 28, 2022, Beaufort to Charleston, SC.

St. John’s River Yacht Harbor is a destination to stay a couple of day, but not this time. We got underway from Beaufort at 6:55 a.m. with Soulmate, two other boats and joined by Higher Ground shortly thereafter. Saunter took her lead as we traversed the winding narrows and cuts that were only passable at high tide. Even at high tide we only had 2’ under our keel at times. It was a bit windy at times but over all a beautiful day on the water.

We arrived St. John’s River Yacht Harbor in Stono River (Charleston area), SC. at 2:30 p.m. It’s a larger marina with 176 wet slips and something new to us at marinas was that they had 55 over-water slips with lifts. The amenities were spectacular. Clean and friendly are our most important characteristics to look for in a marina. They scored high on both. Plus, they gave us a discount for being USCG Auxiliarist. Someone mentioned “blind tiger” and when asked what that was about the harbormaster eagerly shared the story of what “Blind Tiger” means to the area. Blind tiger was a place where liquor was sold illegally. The term was popular during the prohibition era (1920-33) also, speakeasy. It was common practice to display stuffed tigers to alert potential patrons to the availability of illicit alcohol after hours. The “tigers” were “blind” because the authorities , at least officially, did not know they existed.

Photos at St. John's River Yacht Harbor, (Charleston Area)

Bill, the gentleman in a slip across the dock from us was such a joy. He had owned his Grand Banks trawler for 29 years and I think he lives on it now. He conditions and treats all the exterior wood at least twice a year. He said “what use to be a labor of love is now just labor” but he said it with a smile, knowing he loved her still and was very proud of her. She is a beauty for sure and he takes such good care of her. It’s sad to see the many, many boats that sit on the water and even liveaboards that are completely neglected and look so bad. Bill humbly shared stories of the area and was most proud to inform us that Charleston is nicknamed “the holy city” because of an ordinance put in place in the historic district that states there will be no new construction that obstructs any view of the many Church Steeples that stand gracious above the buildings and trees.

That evening we had dinner onboard, Glen had a lot of work to do while I charted today’s course. We went over to Soulmate to visit with Bob and Diane for a bit and after taking the girls to play, Chris and Sheena of Higher Ground came and spent some time with us on Saunter and brought some great suggestions for places to stay and possibly connect back up with them in North Carolina. We will also see them tonight in Georgetown.

Miscellaneous photos of our days travel: