Updated Tidal Forecasts for PI: 9 '18

Finally, the hydrology folks at NWS are producing forecasts for the gauges in Pawley's Island. Because the water headed our way is moving so slowly, crests are expected Friday or Saturday about 1 - 3 feet higher than the last tide.  This is very good news when you consider the worst-case scenarios we were receiving. 

The Bridges are open and may not close at all based on the new estimates.  Freshwater should be available throughout the flood, dikes have been build around pumping stations to protect them.  We have been asked to reduce our water usage by 50%  The Coastguard has closed the Inter Coastal Waterway from Georgetown to the little River ( We are still boiling our water and/or drinking  our emergency supply until this passes.) 

Georgetown Wooden Boat Show 10 '15

  

It was a beautiful sunny Fall day today, so Bruce and I went to the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show.  We were over-joyed to see that it was well attended. 

Flooding on Front Street in Georgetown, on Oct 5 2015

This is especially important this year  because,  up until last weekend, this historic little town was still being  flooded by the overflowing river that runs next to its Main Street

Flooded Boardwalk in Georgetown along Sampit River on Oct 5, 2015

The Sampit River was still high enough today to be lapping at the boardwalk along the  river, but at least it was dry  and  safe to walk on.

Live musicians were playing in several locations

The elevated river  seemed to have limited  the number of wooden vessels that  were on  display in the river itself, but all of the street fair activities  were as lively and well attended as ever.

The Harbor Patrol remote control Talking Tug Boat chats with kids.

Children's activities like a talking miniature tug boat ( remotely controlled by a Harbor Patrol officer and built a mini wooden raft to race through a obstacle course, kept the little  people entertained.

People watching while eating at many of the areas street front cafes

 or food stands  is always popular.

Watching master boat builders  in a timed competitions to build a dory is always a hugely popular event .  Those builders who have a competed their dory within the allocated time  limits, then have to race it across the Sampit River to win the competition. 

And then of course there is the pleasure of being able to get up close and personal with wooden beauties  in every shape and form, from those  which  have engines,

to those that do not,

and everything in between.

BJ by a viking-like  oared  wooden vessel

Best fresh and affordable seafood around, 4 '15

Independent Seafood, Georgetown SC

See the shrimp boat  moored at the end of the dock ? This and a half a dozen other such vessels bring in their catch daily to this local distributor. One can't buy seafood  any fresher than what you get here.  Even the local cats and pelicans love the place, so this is where we buy our shrimp and fresh fish.

Georgetown Wooden Boat Show Activities 10 '14

Of course there is more to do at  Georgetown's Wooden Boat Show than just  checking out the boat displays.   Like all street fairs it had is share of  street performers

A Pirate encampment  greeted visitors at the entrance to the festival.

A talking miniature tug boat intrigued passing  children.

art and crafts, and food and music.

But the action didn't stop there.  All sorts of  maritime activities took place over the course of the weekend: including  a wooden boat building competition, a children’s model boat building, and rowing  rowing races. 

What is the Wooden Boat Challenge?

It’s a boat building competition with teams of two battling each other and the clock to build a 12 foot rowing skiff – the CAROLINA BATEAU – within a four hour time limit. The teams are judged on building speed, workmanship, and rowing speed when they test their completed bateaux for seaworthiness in a rowing relay on the Sampit River. At the end of the day cash prizes are awarded to first, second and third place winners.

The Challenge begins at noon with the command “Gentlemen Start Your Skill Saws” which sets off a din of circular saws and swirling sawdust as the teams commence to build their bateaux fast and build them right. Quality counts for 1/3 of the points, speed of building for 1/3, and team rowing ablity for the final 1/3.

Each team receives a set of plans for the CAROLINA BATEAU when they pay their $100 entry fee and are encouraged to practice-build a boat before the Challenge. On the big day they are issued the same building materials. They provide their own tools, sawhorses, work tables, hull molds and home-made oars. Each team builds within a 12 x 15 foot space beneath a huge tent with hundreds of spectators cheering them on. Some teams finish, amazingly, in just two plus hours. It was amazing to watch a boat  cut and fitted from start to finish in such a short amount of time.

But perhaps the best part was actually watching the builders then have relay races in  their newly built boats on the Sampit River.  Talk about having confidence in your product.

The Children’s  Model Boat Building 

 Adults weren't the only ones who could get into the action. Children could build and embellish a wooden boat model and then test sail it in a pond on Front Street. Two model kits were available at $15 each: a paddleboat and a sailboat. The kits are made and assembled by Wooden Boat Show volunteers and proceeds from sales benefited the SC Maritime Museum.

The New Charleston Mosquito Fleet gave both adults and children a chance to practice their rowing skills.  

The rows began at noon and continued until 4pm from the floating docks at Francis Marion Park. Each row took about 45 minutes. The New Charleston Mosquito Fleet was founded in 1995 in Charleston SC to get inner city middle school children involved in boatbuilding and boating. The mentors built two Joe Dobler designed pilot gigs with the kids, and they row early mornings three days a week.  The original Mosquito Fleet were the mid 19th century Gullah fishermen of the South Carolina  and Georgia Lowcountry, who rowed out upwind in the morning in small wooden boats and sailed back downwind in the evening; they arrived home at twilight along with swarms of Lowcountry mosquitoes and sold their catch in local markets.

Georgetown's 25th Annual Wooden Boat Show Displays 10"14

Bruce and I went to Georgetown's  25th Annual Wooden Boat show today.   It is a huge two day affair that completely takes over the town's streets and Sampit River waterfront. 

and Sampit River waterfront. 

The 25th Anniversary show featured one of the nation’s best wooden boat exhibits There were  more than 130 classic wooden boats displayed on land and water.

Smaller Boats  on display on Front Street between Orange and Queen Streets included: 

 Row and  Classic Row,  

Canoe and Classic Canoe, 

Kayak and  Classic Kayak,  Surf/Paddle and  Classic Surf/Paddle and

 Sail boats.   

Floating dinghy docks projecting into the Sampit River were used  to allow people to closely  inspect the craftsmanship on larger vessels  with drafts up to seven feet.

Of course there is more than just beautiful workmanship  to be seen.   Some of the boats on display were quite fanciful

...My personal favorite was this  lovely Chinese Junk .

 Larger vessles  filled the  Sampit River

Is it any wonder that this event is considered one of the nation’s best wooden boat exhibits?   

Beth Elohim Temple and Cemetery, Georgetown, SC: 7 '14

Temple Beth Elohim

This afternoon, Bruce and I decided to visit the  local Jewish Temple and Cemetary  nearest our home.   Jews arrived in the historic seaport of Georgetown, S.C. in the mid 1700s. They worshipped in each other's homes, and also at the Winyah Indigo Society.  Although the sign outside the temple says it was established in 1904,  that does not begin to tell the whole story of the importance of this Jewish Congregation in this area of South Carolina.

By 1800,  Jews were a small but important portion of the population. Although proportionally only 10% of the white population, Jews have held a disproportionately large role in civic life as evidences by the historical markers below.

As you can see from the SC State historical signs, the Jewish cemetery in Georgetown was established in 1772 and contains the graves of three of Georgetown's Jewish mayors.

The cemetery is  roughly a  city block  in size, which relatively small compared to some we have visited in the Northeast.

But it is well maintained, and both Bruce and felt it to be the most peaceful cemetery we have ever visited.

In part that is because there is a sense of continuity and belonging here that one does not find in the larger more anonymous cemeteries.   Whole families, with names like Cohen, Moses, and Solomon are buried side by side here for generations .

 The oldest grave we found was 1772  and the newest 2010. The oldest graves were often the saddest because they told of how hard life was for the early colonists, many of whom lost child after child, or died in childbirth trying to give life.

But seeing the graves  of so many generations also tells a story of commitment to family and community that is sorely missing in modern society.  

 For more on the history of the Temple Beth Elohim Congregation check out:

http://www.jhssc.org/Georgetown_Temple_Beth_Elohim_History.html

Day 3 Visit with Kathy Campbell Pawleys Island and Georgetown 7'14

Pawleys Island Beach

Wednesday  we took Kathy over to the  Pawleys  Barrier Island.  Unlike the larger Pawleys Sea Island which we live on, this narrow strip of sand is only one block wide,  It acts as a barrier  for the marsh and sea island  against  tropical storms.   AND it has one of the best and cleanest beaches on the eastern seaboard.  We spent a couple of hours walking the beach, collecting shells, and enjoying  the warm water.

CC and Kathy in Georgetown

Then we headed over to Georgetown to take a jeep-pulled  open-air wagon-tour of the town's historic district.  The bad news is that those puffy white clouds in the Pawleys Island photo had turned into a serious thunderstorm that landed right on top of us.   We all got drenched  to the skin.  Needless to say,  photo taking was out of the question without risking the loss of my camera.  The good news is that the rain was warm, and we all found it to be  a great travel tale.

What a shame - Georgetown Fire

What a shame.  Wednesday a massive fire destroyed several historical buildings in one of South Carolina's oldest cities, Georgetown.

 Officials say 7 buildings were damaged.  Many of the buildings collapsed leaving only store front walls after being gutted by the fire.

 So sad!  that pretty much took out all the active businesses and restaurants on that street.

That's going to really hurt this lovely old community.