Lee Carroll, our Commodore, and his wife Georgie went on the trip to Hilton Head….
At one time, 4 boats signed up for the Hilton Head over-night trip. …then friends showed up – one cancellation, engine problems – 2nd cancellation, the 3rd boat was going along to meet other boaters…, so that was cancellation number 3! since Georgie and I love this trip, we left for Hilton Head Saturday morning, May 14th, by ourselves. [aboard The Dark Side. Lee moved from a sail boat to a power boat. Sailors have been known to call that “going to the dark side”.]
The trip was uneventful – except for the dolphins, a lot of boat traffic, lots of marsh scenery, the Kinder Morgan tank farm, and some great views of Daufuskie Island.
As we passed Freeport Marina (Daufuskie), the Marina was half full and the outdoor restaurant looked busy. The ferry had just arrived from Hilton Head.
We left Skidaway at 9:30 and arrived at Shelter Cove Marina at 1:00 pm after stopping at Thunderbolt Marina for fuel. We averaged 8 to 10 knots, depending whether the current was with us or against us. The Dockmaster, Jason, had texted us our slip assignment before we arrived so that we knew where to put the bumpers and dock lines.
The Marina has 7 restaurants, including our favorite Italian one in this area, “Bucci’s”, steps away from our boat. It also has a bunch of tourist shops, condos, the art center (1 block away), Krogers (2 blocks away) and a Days Inn (4 blocks away). The marina has cable, power and a great WI FI network.
When we set the date, we were hoping for good weather so that the boats without a/c would be comfortable. Well this time the weather cooperated and was spectacular, we didn’t use our a/c at all.
Their shuttle, Dune Buggy, takes you anywhere in Palmetto Dunes for free (Days Inn and to the beach and beach restaurant).
Sunday, we went to the beach on the Dune Buggy, enjoyed the scenery, had a great lunch and left for Savannah. It was too short a trip! While at the Marina, we met a couple renting a boat instead of a hotel room for $80 a night through Airbnb. I hope this travel recap will inspire many of you to sign up next year! In my opinion, going to Hilton Head by boat is the only way to go! You miss all the car traffic and enjoy the dolphins! Our Daufuskie trip is June 9th, don’t miss it!