Shallow Existence Sort of Day

9-30-13
Under our keel that is and we are better for it.  I thought the state of Georgia was King of the ICW thin water but with today's skinny water, it seems South Carolina may have taken the lead.  Never fear Georgia, you will still reign in the area of no-see-ems and mozzies.
First up this morning was the Ashepoo Coosaw ICW cut.  This stretch is a mess. Here's the poo on Ashepoo.  We went through 1 1/2 hours before low tide and saw numbers shallower than the chart - that was BEFORE low tide folks.  *Yeah, yeah....we should have done this on a rising tide - not possible given high tide was at something like 5:17 AM.  Anyway, I was at the helm and it is SHALLOW!!  And it's tense your shoulders shallow for quite a stretch.  I saw a depth as low as 3.9 feet!  Yes, we draw 6 ft but our depth sounder has a 3 ft offset.  So - 9 inches!  9 inches 1 1/2 hour before low tide!!  One would need to plan a picnic (as in you are going to ground and have to wait for high tide) if you were going through at low tide.  OR if say you are a 42ft southbound sailboat loaded up for the Bahamas season with enough wine and rum to sink Nelson's navy!....not to name names but (wink wink B&C).  Oh and to the jackwagon that placed the crab pot right smack in the middle of the south exit / northbound entrance to Ashepoo Coosaw Cut.....ha, ha, very funny.
There were several other thin stretches that has kept the day interesting.  Actually, it's exhausting.  But we are taking it slow in the skinny water and have not touched ground yet (knock on wood/fiberglass). On the plus side, we spotted our 6th bald eagle of the trip this morning and have been visited by many dolphins today as well.  Traffic has been minimal, with mainly locals and a few    motor cruisers heading south.  I see however that the winds may be shifting around to the east and south later this week.  Woo hoo, finally!   I guess that means more of you are finally southbound.