Whoa Nelly!
- Apr 7, 2017
- 2 min read
Our “plan” was to cast off from Beaufort, have a short cruise day and anchor in the middle of a marshland in the middle of a National Wildlife Refuge in the ACE (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto rivers) basin, one of the largest protected and undeveloped estuaries on the Atlantic! Scenic marshland, oyster beds covering the shoreline, flocks of migrating birds, “Flipper” giggling by the side of the boat……. that was the plan……………..
As a part of a big storm system that hit the southeast, our marine weather radio went into it’s automatic alert mode letting us know severe storms and possible tornados were quickly approaching our area. Luckily our short cruise day had us arriving at our planned destination by mid-day and it was clear that trying to ride out 40 mph winds in the middle of a shallow, open marshland were not a good idea.
Thanks again to our Active Captain app we were able to locate what was reviewed as a sheltered anchorage only another couple hours ahead. As the winds continued to pick up and the dark storm front gathered we were lucky to make our way a couple miles up a deep water creek with a close tree line to hide behind.
Securely anchored, thanks to the 60 ft of high strength, proof-tested chain we added in Jacksonville this winter and the inimitable “Delta” anchor (certified by Lloyds of London!) we were as prepared as we could be. When the storm came the winds picked up sharply and the sky became dark in an instant. Of course we had another advance storm warning system, “Ensign Wookie” (a.k.a. Jude)! He was cowering a full 30 minutes in advance of the storm and let us know something very bad was about to happen!
We stayed anchored here for 3 days with 2 other sailboats as the winds stayed high (+25mph) even after the storm passed. As it turns out, this was a fine place to see migrating birds and dolphins too!
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