Why the rush on Saturday morning? While taking a peek at the weather online, I noticed the time of sunrise – in ten minutes. I grabbed a fleece jacket for the cool morning, and my camera to capture the moment. I blasted off on my bicycle for the landing,
Kingfisher had not been in the water since November of last year, and the deck was coated with a thin layer of dirt. I used the sponge to clean the area around the cockpit before I raised sail and headed out Andersonville Creek. The wind was out of the north and the tide falling, conditions
Jacks Creek Walkaround Read More »
It was a promising group of circumambulators that left Garris Island before 9 on Island Cat heading to Bull Island for the first guided walk around the entire island, dubbed Down the Island and Back Again. Besides many people I did not know, the gathering included several neighbors, and some friends and co-workers I had
Down the Island and Back Again January 2012 Read More »
I included a chapter on hammocks in Tracing the Cape Romain Archipelago. These hammocks are “islands in the marsh”, small elevations of upland creating the environment for various botanical communities. By definition they must be less than 500 acres, and in SC over half are less than one acre. The following photo of a southbound
Additions to the archives: two posts on hammocks Read More »
As the days continue to shorten and the winter solstice arrives, I reflect back on past winter days on Bull Island. This end of the year solstice has always been a celebration for me. I imagined a walk around the entire island back in 2003, and did so on December 22. In reminiscing
A look back, and ahead Read More »
This trip would be only the second launch of Kingfisher on the North Santee River at the Poleyard Landing, situated adjacent to the Highway 17 North bridge. The first was a long imagined sail – from the North Santee through the Inland Passage to Charleston Harbor and Remley’s Point Landing (see final chapter of Tracing
Cool fall weather, a brisk northeast wind, and a huge high tide awaited me at the landing. I aborted a planned trip the previous day – poor conditions eroded my determination. This sail was to reach through the creeks and across Bulls Bay to Bull Creek, run down into Summerhouse Creek, and land at the
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 »
