Inside Out

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One of the great dilemmas of cruising south is deciding whether to stay “inside” in The Ditch (follow the inland ICW) or go “outside” (sailing in the open ocean). When we meet other sailors at marinas along the way, one of the first things they ask about our next leg is whether we plan to be “inside” or “outside.” “Outside” is the tough-guy choice and, if Dave’s vote prevailed, we’d be on the ocean the entire time.

Sailing in the Southeast is a little more complicated than sailing in the Northeast, where there are rocky shores, scores of protected harbors and no inland alternatives. It seems that the entire southeastern US coastline is one big shoal close to shore, with prevalent and dangerous shallow areas and only a few, poorly-spaced, sometimes-treacherous inlets. In the southeast, a decision to go “outside” requires careful planning, good weather and, in some cases, a willingness to sail overnight or more to reach the next navigable harbor. Our caution here is reinforced by hearing over the radio from coast guard broadcasts about a couple of boats missing at sea en route to Florida.

The downsides of staying “inside” are the near-constant motoring (vs. sailing), the time required to follow the winding path of the ICW, delays while waiting for bridges to open, and the anxiety of navigating and sometimes running aground on the occasional unexpected shallows and shoaled areas. We’ve been lucky/smart about monitoring the tides and bridge opening schedules to minimize problems, but the experience of having run aground multiple times (as everyone seems to do) continues to daunt us. The upsides of being “inside” are calm and more predictable waters and the ability to access many beautiful stopping points.

Yesterday, taking advantage of favorable distance and weather, we decided to shake out the sails for the first time since the Chesapeake and take an ocean passage from Charleston to Beaufort SC. This required us to leave Charleston at 5:00 am, well before sunrise, and navigate Charleston Harbor's busy shipping channel in the dark. Once the sun was up and we could see our surroundings, however, we had a beautiful day of sailing. It was a little bouncy at sea and we seem to have lost our sea legs somewhere in The Ditch so Amelia was pretty seasick (although in good spirits throughout). We made fantastic time, averaging nearly 8 knots, enabling us to just catch the last bridge opening into Beaufort before dark. We celebrated New Year’s Eve here and, because we had been awake and traveling since before 5:00 am, settled in well before midnight.

Beaufort is another beautifully preserved southern town, recognizable from its starring role in many movies including Forrest Gump. There is a lot to do here, a terrific waterfront park, and numerous dining options, as well as historic district we plan to explore today during a brief stop. Then, as we continue south, we will try to make good decisions about “inside” or “outside” as we proceed through Georgia towards the Florida coast.