Twarted Again

Turners Creek, GA
N 32 00.776 W 080 59.329

Whew. There's a lot to tell about today; much of it having to do with seamanship.

We got to Charleston Harbor around 1630 and immediately departed to seaward. I had resolved to use the short cut. You see, there is a stone jetty in Charleston that runs out about 3 miles. Always before I had to fight wind and current to get out through that jetty. It seemed to take forever and I hated it.

Last year, I discovered on the chart a pair of red-green buoys that mark a shortcut exit from the harbor. They mark a spot between the shore and the jetty where one can exit in deep water. Then one continues in 15 feet of water for about 2 more miles before coming to really deep water. I planned to use this exit.

This time, it was low (very low) tide as we exited. There was a full moon last night leading to spring tides (extra high and extra low.) I noticed breakers on either side of the red-green shortcut buoys. That was OK, it meant that I had to navigate carefully. I passed through the exit and headed on the charted path of deepest water seaward. I was disturbed though to see more breaking waves two miles out. As we approached the line of breaking waves, the depth became much less than that charted on my chart and on my GPS chart plotter. We were supposed to have 15 feet. It went down to 10. Down to 8. I began passing through breaking waves. Down to 7 with only 200 feet to go to smooth water. Down to 6. That was too little. I did a 180 degree turn and we went back in to the exit, then out again between the jetty arms. We lost an hour or more on that false start. I guess I'll never try that short cut again; the shoaling and sand bars can change too quickly to chart.

When we got past the jetty and set sail, I rechecked the weather report. It had been saying 10-15 NW wind tonight, 15-20 tomorrow, then 20-25 for 4 more days. Perfect winds for a fast passage southward! Alas, when I rechecked they added the prase, "A gale warning may be needed. This is a significant marine event. Mariners take warning." Ay ay, that sounded ominous. Should we change our minds? Libby said, "No. They only said maybe and they've fooled us before."

Soon after leaving, I got a surprise phone call from Chris and June on Albion. They were on the ICW just south of Charleston. Too bad. If I'd known they were there, I would have gone that way to meet up with them.

Through the night the wind picked up and we started really flying. I had a double reefed main sail and a reefed jib yet we were still doing 7 to 8 knots. The waves weren't bad, although they were building. (p.s. I have an old fashioned jib with jiffy reefing points just like a mainsail.)

At 0700 this morning, I rechecked the weather. I knew that this report would be decisive. Either they would back off the maybe gale warning, or they would confirm it. When I turned the radio on I heard. "Gale along the Georgia Coast. Winds NW 30-35 with occasional gusts to 45, waves 8-13 feet. This is a dangerous event. Mariners should seek immediate refuge." That did it. I resolved to put in before the really bad weather hit.

Which inlet to put in to? Georgia has many. However, all but one of the inlets require a 3-5 mile approach to the NW. That would be nearly impossible for Tarwathie against a 30 knot NW wind. I've demonstrated before that I can't hold her nose to the wind under power with more than 30 knots of wind against us. If the tide were against us, it would be even harder. Fortunately, the Savannah River inlet was only 6 miles away, and it was the only one that didn't need a NW approach. We changed course for that.

I double checked on the paper chart for hazards. Good thing I did. I found a "submerged breakwater" directly in my path. Yikes! That would be unpleasant to hit by surprise. I altered course to miss that. On the other hand, the tide was 9.7 feet above minimum at that time and I probably could have gotten away with sailing over it. No thanks. We had another lucky advantage. We caught the end of the incoming tide and we had a 2.5 knot current helping us to get in. In no time at all, we were in the river and out of the ocean. After passing three container ships coming out (one of them named The Singapore Express, cool) we reached the ICW and turned south.

Tonight, we are at Hogan's Marina on Turner Creek. A marina is a good place to be when a gale blows. I remember from experience that anchoring here was difficult. 10 foot tides, 6 knot currents and 45 knot winds don't make it any easier, so this is one time I'm more than willing to pay the marina fee. Tomorrow, we'll check the weather again and see if we should depart. Turner Creek is a place originally recommended by June on Albion. It has a Publix market only 300 feet from the dock. That's the second closest supermarket to the water on the east coast.

I feel like a wus for chickening out on the gale. Some day we have to expand our horizons and ride out a gale or a storm while at sea. If we hadn't put in this morning, and just continued, we could have been in Florida by Sunday midnight, and all the way to Cape Canaveral by Tuesday morning. What a wasted opportunity.

I'm confident that Tarwathie is well up to the challenge. Three things hold me back. First, I worry about injuring Libby. She gets bad back pain after a period of hammering heavy waves. Second, my instinct tells me that we should have a crew of three when we meet that challenge. Libby and I are not enough. I need my sailing buddy Carmello. How about it Carmello; would you like to come down here and help me sail through a three day gale? I know that you'd be excited by the challenge.

The third thing is the scary language they use on the NOAA weather radio. I know that they exaggerate, they are overly cautious, and their triggers are too low. Still, the suggestive power of those warnings is strong indeed. It is likely that if I just looked at the raw numbers and did not hear their scary words, that I may have made the opposite decision.