Homeward Bound in Hilton Head

Harbor Town at Hilton Head was a welcome sight after 30 or so hours on the water and the weariness that comes from sleeping in two-hour shifts. We were not as fortunate in our arrival at Tybee Roads as we were in our departure from Ponce de Leon Inlet. We had an ebb tide that made our transit slow – about 4.5 knots – and our ride rough as the wind blew with the waves and against the tide.

We arrived at the marina at low tide. Unbeknownst to us, the marina needs a good dredging. As John began backing into our assigned slip, we felt a jolt. Yes, we were aground. Advice from the marina workers to wait at the fuel dock for the tide to come in a bit would have been nice. Instead, the dock hand grabbed our lines and pulled us into our slip. (The next day he reeked of Ben Gay, bless his heart!) Once we were tied satisfactorily to the dock (not that we were going anywhere) we settled in for a nap.

We awoke in time for a very nice dinner in Harbor Town at the Waterfront Café. It is funny how a window table with a water view used to be so important to me at such a dinner, and is still important to most customers. Now the thought of waiting for the water view just makes me laugh. It is not that I take a water view for granted. It is more that I have had a water view on all sides for almost the last seven months. Outside the Café people crowded on the end of the dock to watch the sunset, cameras at the ready as if they were having a rare experience. Those are the people who need the tables by the windows.

After dinner we walked the short distance back to our slip. Along the way we passed a tiki bar where a guitarist entertained the patrons with his rendition of “Piano Man”. An outdoor stage was just beyond the tiki bar. Two little girls danced and twirled and giggled, their dresses flaring as their parents sat on the benches in the front row clapping. We paused to watch, delighted by the moment. We looked around the harbor and noticed a familiar yacht, Donna Marie, a 90+ foot Hargrave. Dick Rowe, our friend from Sunset Harbor Yacht Club in Miami is here! We decided to wait until morning to say hello. By now the tide was high, up 6.7 feet from when we arrived! John gave me a grin and clasped his hands together making a step for me so I could climb onto Island Chariot more gracefully.

We went to bed early and slept without moving for at least nine hours. We planned to leave at noon to make the four-hour sail up the AICW to Beaufort, SC. Leaving at noon enabled me to do laundry while John washed the salt water off of Island Chariot. The schedule also left time for us to visit with Dick. Retired Marines become fast friends.

At noon and at mid-tide on a picture-perfect day we threw off our dock lines and motored/sailed to Beaufort.