Beaufort South Carolina

On Wednesday we left Georgia behind us.  After a full day of travel we had Beaufort South Carolina in sight.  Their city marina is right on the waterfront and a historic town like this one desereved a visit.  We pulled into the marina around 3:00 and took off on foot to visit Bay Street and to see the historic waterfront.  This is one of South Carolina's oldest and most beautiful cities.  Mike and I both agreed that we have never seen a prettier waterfront area.  Parts of the movie Forest Gump were shot here.  Parris Island is only eight miles from Beaufort.  The large old trees here have seen over 300 years of history.  I might make mention here that Georgia and South Carolina both are a problem for traveling boaters because of their huge tidal wave changes twice a day.  They can and usually do drop over nine feet per day tide change. Many large boats have to travel by high tide only and if you anchor at 12 feet of water for the night you would wake up stuck in the mud.  We did see several sailboats that were in mud moored and waited for high tide to lift them up  again.  The currents here are also very strong which is another reason we chose a marina for tonight. They have large concrete pillars that are on rollers to create floating docks. The intercoastal is a safer way to travel than open ocean but you must study and be prepared. A trip back to Beaufort some day is a good possibility.

Tide Table Drop (Mud Was Under Water)

     
      

Mansion in Beaufort

  

Beautiful Old Trees Line Bay Street

             

            

Downtown Waterfront

Overlooking Beaufort Riverfront and Marina