Isle of Palms - 2016

November 1 thru 3

--Blogpost written by Bob

November 1

Today we biked form our marina on 41st Avenue down Palm Boulevard to the beach access trail near 34th Avenue.

There was hardly a person to be found on the beach at 10:00 AM.

This looks like part of a palm tree that washed up on
the beach during the last high tide.

The houses along Palm Boulevard on the ocean side sit back from
the beach by about 1/4-mile.  In the foreground is the beach
access trail that we used to get to the beach.

After walking on the beach we rode our bikes all the way down to the end of the island, came part way back and had lunch at the Island Cafe and then biked back to the marina.

Today's happy hour included Blue Lagoon
Margaritas and Cajon Trail Mix.

Some boats were berthed between us and the setting
sun.  Most of the locals have fishing boats.

November 2

We are beginning to feel quite comfortable here at Isle of Palms
Marina.  We even remember the gates codes already!

I have a list of small jobs that I intended to do during our month-long layover in St. Augustine.  Since we have an unplanned month-long layover here at Isle of Palms, we may as well tackle these small jobs now.

This morning we fixed the forward port deck drain fitting that leaked fresh water from cleaning the decks onto our dishes and into the paper towel storage area.  It turned out that the drain fitting was loose and the hose connection to the fitting was loose--we secured both and now it's leak-tight again.  Maggie thoroughly cleaned the area before we put everything back together.  This little project took about 2 hours for us to complete.

Fixing the leak at this deck drain
fitting took us two hours!

After lunch at the nearby Morgan Creek Grill on the marina property, UPS delivered a package containing the new-to-me Nikon D700 camera body I purchased (and our mail that had been accumulating in Green Cove Springs, FL).

This is my first photograph with my new Nikon D700 body and my
existing 24-120 F4 lens.  I think you will see an
improvement in all my photos from
this point forward!

Our mode of land transportation for the month.  The land
is so flat we don't even need multiple speeds.

November 3

This photograph was taken just before sunrise looking
up along the ICW (on the left of this image)
from Isle of Palms Marina.

We've been enjoying daytime high temperatures in the low 80's and nighttime low temperatures in the mid-60's.  Each morning, there is a heavy dew on the boat and everything else around us.  By late morning, the dew has dried, re absorbed into the atmosphere.

A morning reflection of our stern and dinghy
off the water in the marina.

This morning we tackled two small jobs.  Maggie removed the adhesive residue near the section of replaced teak toe rail on our starboard bow while I replaced the tuner on our satellite radio--we finally got its working again but it wasn't the tuner, but rather the antenna!

We rented a car for this weekend ($10/day special from Enterprise).  We also rented an ocean-front cottage on Folly Island for the 6 weeks that our boat will be in the boatyard.  Folly Island is just south of Charleston and mid-way between Rockville (where our boat will be re-powered) and Charleston.

A Brief History of Isle of Palms

Thought to be at least 25,000 years old, the first settlers were the Sewee Indians.

1696:  Thomas Holton, a settler from Barbados, was granted title to the island.

1898: The first home on the island was a summer getaway built by Nicholas Sottile.

1899: The island was bought by J.S. Lawrence, who gave the island its current name.   It was previously known as "Hunting Island."

1906: A 50-room hotel was built and the island became a popular vacation spot.  At the time it was only accessible by ferry.

1912: James Sottile built a beach pavilion and an amusement park.  A trolley line was constructed from Mount Pleasant on the mainland to Isle of Palms via Sullivan's Island. 

1924:  The Isle of Palms fell into financial difficulty, forcing the county sheriff to seize the ferryboats.

1929:  Grace Memorial Bridge was built between Charleston and Mount Pleasant to allow automobile traffic to reach the island--this replaced the ferry to/from Charleston.

1944:  Large-scale residential development began when J.C. Long bought 1300 acres of the island and built about 275 homes, some of which were low-cost housing for veterans returning from World War II.

1945:  The Ben Sawyer Bridge from Mount Pleasant to Sullivan's Island, the island just to the south, was opened to automobiles.

1975:  The Sea Pines Company (of Hilton Head Island fame) established a 900-acre development on the northern end of the island, now known as Wild Dunes.

1989:  Hurricane Hugo-the storm of the century-slammed into the South Carolina coast, destroying more than 95 percent of the buildings on the island.

Today, most of the single homes cost over 1 million dollars and many are used as summertime beach rentals.  In 2015, the population was estimated at 4,371.  You would think with all this history that there would be more character here on Isle of Palms, but instead it is like Hilton Head with no character whatsoever.

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