Something was in the air – actually, it was absent. The summer humidity and haze was gone, and a clear atmosphere permitting views into the distance was present. It seemed like a fine day to beat out against a predicted southeast wind with an outgoing tide, and then reach across Bulls Bay to the north […]
The wind was to be out of the south, but instead blew from the east. A large dark cloud covered the south of Bull Island in the distance. But with a decent breeze and the last of a flooding tide, I decided to do what I planned, and nothing
Dread, excitement, a mixed stew of anticipation – of what? I had heard the initial observations from Billy Shaw who had traveled over to Cape Island the previous day with Cape Romain’s refuge manager Sarah Dawsey. The report was staggering – perhaps 200 loggerhead nests lost. It was news feared by those associated with the
Flattening of an island Read More »
Saturday Perhaps it was missing the ideal voyage window last Sunday out to the island – outgoing tide and southwest breeze. The conditions were there, but circumstances did not allow. I counseled myself on patience. So Saturday I waited for the wind to come up, and waited. Not the best tide – it would be
Seabreeze encounters Read More »
Bull Island, July 17, 2011. I took the Coastal Expeditions ferry Island Cat on the trip over to the Northeast Point of Bull Island, along with about forty others on the ferry and another ten on board a skiff. This trip was a special fundraiser for the Sewee Association. I went along to give
Tale of two islands Read More »
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
