Moving on to Georgetown, SC in Pea Soup! Limited Visibility!

April 8
     We woke up early to a heavy fog this morning.  We waited it out, and it started to clear up around 10:00 am.  We decided to travel on the outside in the Atlantic Ocean, because we needed to go 85 miles to Georgetown.  There is a long, wide shipping channel in Charleston, so we headed out.  The fog had cleared, so we thought, but as soon as we entered the channel, it completely surrounded us!  We could barely see in front of us and became dependent on our radar and radio.  Communication was vital, because when we slowly passed a huge container ship, the captain got on the radio to tell us that there were two large container ships going outbound and two large ones coming inbound!  We identified ourselves and kept in communication, telling them where we were at all times.  Karl could follow the shipping channel on the radar and see on the chart which marker we had just passed.  I could not see the markers, due to the fog.

The fog was like a blanket!
It was starting to clear when I thought to take this picture!

     It was scary to say the least, but we had no choice but to keep going, very slowly!  We could hear the captains on the cargo ships talking on channel 13 and 16, so we monitored these channels.  Karl also used the AIS (Automatic Identification System) to identify ships, including their names, speed, course and where they were, and just as importantly, these big ships could identify us.  About every five minutes, the captains would say their location, where they were heading and that their visibility was limited!  Karl would respond on the radio and tell them where we were, too, which they appreciated!  At one point, out of nowhere, a big shrimp boat appeared coming right at us off our port bow.  It looked like a ghost ship in the fog, and we nearly jumped out of our seats as we eerily passed it by. They must not have had AIS, because we did not see it.  Shortly after that, we had another close encounter with a large boat.  We had heard it's name on the radio, but it was still a shock to see them appear out of the fog and pass us by rather closely!  They blasted their horn and I think we did, too!

     Fortunately, this channel was wide and deep, so eventually we made it far enough into the ocean so we could turn and start heading north. We never encountered the inbound container ships, thank goodness! The fog remained, so we continued on slowly for the next 3 or 4 hours.  Needless to say, it was nerve wracking!  The fog dissipated right before we got to the inlet that would lead us to Georgetown.  But then, the challenges were not over,  because we were fighting  a 3 to 4 knot current in the Winyah Bay inlet and the winds were blowing 25 to 30 knots!   This trip seemed endless!  We lost our Loop flag, it blew off the pole!  We were so grateful to pull into Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown!

     We had dinner on the boat and started watching the NCAA championship basketball game which didn't start until 9:00.  Karl made it through the whole game and watched Virginia beat Texas Tech in an overtime thriller.  I fell asleep!