Antebellum Beaufort - Day 233 - Hilton Head to Beaufort

Saturday, I awoke at 7:30 to a forecast with a 50% chance of thunderstorms starting after noon for the single handed 28 mile run from Hilton Head to Beaufort.   Assuming I could leave by 9:00 AM, I would be able to reach Beaufort by noon even at trawler speeds and be arriving at dead low tide when the current in Beaufort would be close to neutral. The facts and the ability to monitor the storms using Sirius Satellite Weather supported a go decision.

Guided Discovery of the move in Harbour Town

At 8:50 AM, after walking Kodi, we departed Harbour Town Marina and headed north on the Calibogee River.  Our speed was slowed by the ebbing (going out) tide that created a 1 to 2 MPH current that was running against us.  No big deal, I just increased RPMs to maintain an average speed of 9 MPH.  The result was 19.6 gallons as compared to 10 gallons to cover essentially the same distance as yesterday.

The morning weather was quite pleasant with a high overcast (portending the forecasted storms) with light winds from the southeast.  At 10:35, after crossing Port Royal Sound, I took the photo below of the weather situation.  On the left screen you can see the boat turning Northwest into the Beaufort River.  On the upper right is the Sirius Weather screen showing the leading edge of the rain 46 miles to the southwest.  Assuming no change in speed, we would arrive in Beaufort just afternoon.  With the bigger storms further to the south it made sense to continue at trawler speed.  Note: If the weather started to move faster than expected, I would have simply increased speed to 30 MPH and made tracks.

At noon I snapped the photo below as we approached Beaufort's Downtown Marina.  The left screen shows the cold front approaching from the west that is stirring up the storms.  The right screen shows the leading edge of the cloud cover overtaking the boat.  At 12:13 we docked at Downtown Marina along the face dock.  Noteworthy is the fact that except for a few very light and brief sprinkles, the rain passed south of Beaufort.

Kodi and I lunched onboard and then I worked on the blog completing the Savannah to Hilton Head article. Note: I still have to write the article on our Savannah adventures. Then Kodi and I took a walk through Beaufort's historic downtown district which included the antebellum homes. 

Large antebellum house with six fireplaces

Interestingly, there were not allot of signs explaining what we were looking at.  This prompted me to take a historical tour ($18) on a horse drawn carriage.  It conveniently departed from the parking lot adjacent to the marina.

The tour company sportingly allowed Kodi to join me and she was terrific.  At times it looked like she was actually paying attention. 

The tour guide brought the historical district to life.  The district was preserved by the Union forces' occupation of the town after the battle of Port Royal just months after the war's start.  Beaufort was used as a command center and hospital.  Since it was occupied by Union troops, Beaufort was spared during Sherman's "March to the Sea."  Hence, Beaufort has the largest collection of antebellum homes in the south.

Note: During the trip down the western rivers I asked a local to explain the term "antebellum."  He said that it was a combination of "ante," meaning "before," and "bellum" meaning "bedlam."  Hence, before the bedlam.  I find no evidence to support this but it did help me remember that antebellum means before the civil war.

Below are photos of some of the interesting landmarks:

Maxcy Rhett / Secession House

Bust of Robert Smalls

Antebellum home with detached kitchen (you can tell by the chimney on the roof of the smaller building)

Note:  You can tell the number of fireplaces in the home by the number of vents on the chimney.

House made of tabby with 33 inch walls

The other interesting fact is that Beaufort has been the site for MANY Hollywood movies.  As we toured through the district our guide pointed out the many homes used in the films and the homes where the big stars resided.  Films include: Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, Forces of Nature, The Fugitive, GI Jane and The Great Santini. 

Tomorrow Kodi and I depart for Charleston (weather permitting).

Written by Les.