South River

Innamorata
Steve & Carol
Tue 26 Jun 2012 11:53
34:57.31N 76:34.67W We headed inland on the Inter Coastal Waterways and on arrival at our first bridge there was not enough clearance so we had to anchor and wait for the tide to drop. We had measured our total air draft as 63’ 6” and on returning to the bridge the marker board now read 64’ so we went for it, the VHF aerial just pinged the bridge so we now have a new air draft measurement of just over 64’. The next bridge read 66’ 6” on the board so we confidently sped underneath. We got a call on the VHF from our friends on Matador who had stopped at a boat yard for haul out and had obtained a pilot book we had been trying to buy so we turned around and went back to get it. Under the bridge another two times to get the book and continue on our journey. It was still quite a way to our anchorage for the night and we had lost time waiting for the first bridge and then getting the book. We eventually arrived at the anchorage in the dark, with a lightning show to hasten us getting the anchor dug in and the boat settled for the night. It’s now the next morning and all is well on board.