Shoal dogs sniffing through tricky waters Lindsay McRory November 25, 1995 Usually only weather or equipment problems can hold up a departure. In our case, a backlog of office work could wait no more. We hung for another day at Buzzards Roost catching up on office work, boat work, and groceries. First thing Thursday morning we cast off. This next section of the Intercoastal Waterway is a series of rivers joined by land cuts. Planning how far you can travel in a day is difficult. Slowing down in shallow areas is one factor, but swift, unpredictable currents also made daily planning difficult. It's not uncommon to be fighting a current then pass through a short land cut and have the current pushing you ahead. The Stono River is wide and deep--not the shallow canals I was expecting to get back into. It would not hold out long. In one day we transited numerous short land cuts through the Wadmalaw River, North Edisto River, Ashepoo River, Coosaw River, and finally the Beaufort River. Entering each of these land cuts called for careful planning before entering. Narrow and shallow entrances were our first concern. Once inside, we determined the location of the center and direction and rate of the current. By the last half of the day we caught up to three other sailboats, and all had deeper keels than ours. We throttled back and let our "shoal dogs" sniff out the shallows. It worked well. On more than one occasion we noticed one or more of them slow down and turn quickly to find deeper water. We matched their speeds. The number of sailboats equal the number of powerboats traveling the Intercoastal. It's not unusual for seven to ten powerboats to pass us each day. There is a careful protocol that is followed when a boat overtakes another boat. The very narrow channels can make overtaking at high speeds dangerous for both parties. When about to be overtaken, I slow the boat down to one to two knots and move over to one side of the channel. Most powerboats start to slow down 200 or so feet behind until they generate no wake. By the time the overtaking vessel has caught up to us we have slowed to less than one knot. Once the overtaking boat is clear ahead, we speed up a little and turn sharply behind them. This method seems to be generally accepted for all sections of the Intercoastal. Technically speaking, the boat being overtaken should not have to slow down. However, when you are being passed, slowing down does three very important things: You have more time to react to shoaling, the whole passing episode takes less time, and less ground is covered by each boat. Overall, the boaters we've encountered have been quite considerate. Hakuna Matata has only been buzzed (when a powerboat passes at planing speeds less than 60 feet away) on three occasions. Once near Beaufort, South Carolina, the rivers widen and deepen and "Bob" the auto-pilot can take a turn at the wheel. This is a funny area. Beaufort, North Carolina, is pronounced "Bowfort" while Beaufort, South Carolina, is pronounced "Bewfert." Forgetfulness will generate a polite reminder. We are now docked at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. As the advertisements say, this is "as far south as you need to go." Expecting a resort-type community, we instead found a densely populated suburb divided into "plantations." These plantations have nothing to do with agriculture. They are small private communities staffed by security personnel at each gate. The plan is to make our way slowly through Georgia into Florida late next week and start looking for a place to get at the ever growing to-do list.