Day 1: and so it begins

Johns Island to Port Royal, SC

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began…

Mary Oliver (from “The Journey”)

We motored on the Intracoastal Waterway for about 10 hours today. Motoring on a sailboat is slow – maybe 6.5 to 7 knots if we are lucky. Add in the twists and turns of the ICW and we made it to Port Royal, SC at the end of a fairly long day. Driving, this is maybe 90 minutes from Johns Island – unless John is driving. He can do it in about 80 minutes.

It was mostly overcast which meant we got some really magical glimpses of the sun breaking through here and there.

For me, one of the best things was seeing the wildlife: we saw several bald eagles, dolphins, and some white pelicans. We regularly see brown pelicans in Charleston, while white ones are much more rare. Google tells me that pelicans are the symbol of renewal which seems fitting to the occasion!

Lady’s Island Bridge is a swing bridge that connects Beaufort to the sea islands in the area.

Because we are expecting high winds for the next day or two, we’re at a marina. We’re safe (although the water is slapping the hull pretty loudly right now – that will change when the winds change direction).