7 AM at the South Island Ferry, and what a surprise – the landing was jammed pack with holiday boaters, getting a jump on the July 4th weekend. I had only seen this landing during the week in the past, and it was always a quiet place
Looking for the flow Read More »
Sailing along with the west wind through Andersonville Creek, I passed my neighbors Hal and Yogi in a johnboat returning with a large basket of blue crabs. The wind was predicted to be southwest from 10-15 knots with 20 later, but at the time the west wind was favorable for the sail out to the
Approaching the summer solstice Read More »
I beat the heat with a pre-sunrise run this week, starting a little after 5. My runs in the neighborhood always have a leg taking me to the boat landing. The pier head provides a fine platform for stretching and observing,
My first loggerhead sighting of the day took place before 8AM, when my friend Brantley and I stopped at the landing toward the end of a morning run. I saw the distinctive head of the loggerhead right next to the pilling of channel marker #68 before it submerged – in the last week I had
Sailing free among loggerheads, (and walking with flies) Read More »
I’ve been on the move: not on Kingfisher, and not on the water but many miles on the road. These travels have taken me from the coast to the piedmont and the mountains. Though the movement has been for a meeting, a conference, and several weddings, I have taken the opportunity on these trips to
The building of hatcheries for loggerhead turtle nests on Cape Island has been an annual event in April that I have experienced since 2005. This year’s crew brought a number of years of experience, not just from the USFWS staff but also the volunteers. It was led again by wildlife biologist Sarah Dawsey, now in
Greeting on Cape Island Read More »
I had passed this way many times, heading to points north on Highway 17. It has only been a handful of times when I have stopped on the two and a half mile distance across the Santee Delta between the North and South Santee Rivers. Once I came with Dennis Forsythe, who led a group
I had earlier seen the impressive tide range of this March 19th at Garris Landing, with a tiny shallow ditch between expanses of pluff mud creating a gauntlet for boaters to run toward the ramp. It was an stronger pull from this closer than normal orbit of the moon – perigee, and coinciding with the
Pull of the Super Moon Read More »
It was not my usual Bull Island experience of sailing Kingfisher and walking solo around the island. On this Saturday I rode over on Island Cat and walked with a group of twenty people, in fact leading this group on a guided walk. The ferry carried over 38 people that morning. Captain Will Christenson was
The tide was high Sunday morning February 20 when I arrived at the landing. The wind whipped down the Intracoastal Waterway from the northeast. It had been so long since my last trip out on the water (Jan. 1), and today was a window of opportunity for making a Bull Island trip. But the wind
A rare fog, gracing New Year’s day, blanketed the marsh and creeks on on my arrival at the landing. The predicted south breeze was not present, but by the time I had launched Kingfisher and prepared to cast off, a breeze had sprung up and the fog had dissipated. We were sailing to windward,
Tall birds amidst a changing atmosphere Read More »
After a long run of work, home responsibilities, and general busyness in my life, a Bull Island window opened wide: winds forecast for north at 15 knots changing later to northwest at 5-10 knots, low tide at 1:02 PM, and clear skies. It was a Monday, and the day prior to the winter solstice. The
Approaching a winter solstice Read More »
