Oct 25, 2011

We had an eventful night. We had the current with us all day yesterday, somehow we hit all the tide changes perfectly, and carried a favorable tide 60+ miles. When we got to our intended anchorage, it was just about 4pm. We had not been on this part of the ICW, because last year we had traveled off shore past this particular section. We had no idea what the anchorage was like.
When we pulled in, there was only one other boat there and they were attempting to anchor, the currents were swift and the wind was pretty strong as well. There was absolutely no tree protection from the wind, it was miles of marshland. The winds were pushing our boat one way, and the current the other. Our boat was moving in strange ways and we kept falling over our anchor and dragging. We couldn't seem to get it right, (the other sailboat seemed to be having the same problems as we were) so we decided to head to the next listed anchorage which was 10 miles away. We still had plenty of day light to make it there.
On our way we spotted a lonely looking dock that appeared to want company! We were happy to oblige. I am sure it was privately owned, or association owned, but there were no houses for miles, and they were all across the marsh from the dock. The water was a little skinny, and we figured we would probably end up on the ground in the middle of the night especially with a 6ft tidal range, but it would be high tide when we left in the morning so it wasn't going to be a big deal especially since it was a soft bottom.
Well, I woke up around midnight to go to the bathroom and fell into the wall. I was completely disoriented. The boat was tilted at what seemed to be a 30 degree angle. Yup, we were certainly on the ground. The starboard side hull that was tied to the dock was on the ground, but the port side was still floating. It was the weirdest feeling I have had on the boat in a while. It made it a little difficult to get back to sleep, but I will take that over waking up in the middle of the night while our anchor is dragging. At least we were safe!
This morning we woke up and our boat was happily floating again, we departed our borrowed dock and made our way to Charleston. On our way we saw a bald eagle, he was beautiful! I wish I could have got some better pictures, but he was too far away.