Big River Crossing

Because of the good weather and lack of boat and ship traffic, crossing the big water of South Channel and Savannah River went smoothly although not very interesting as there wasn't much to see. Elba Island cut is very short - only a few hundred yards or so, but it saved us miles of travel. Years before, Elba Island was literally cut in two by dredges to shorten the distance you had to travel to reach Fields Cut on the North shore of Savannah River. Before the cut, we'd have had to turn left into South Channel, go a mile or so up-river toward Savannah and then turn right into the Savannah river. Then another two or three miles down river to the entrance to Fields cut. Though I loved the water, all that extra travel could have been dangerous as we would have had a lot more exposure to ship traffic and rough water. Savannah river can get very rough, very fast. Sharp swells of three to six feet are common when the wind opposes the tide.

As we entered Fields Cut, a narrow serpentine link between Savannah River and Wrights River, my interest was piqued once more. The narrow cut allowed easy access to both shores. I've always enjoyed going though Fields Cut as there was always something to see - birds of all kinds, turtles, snakes, (ra) coons, otter, (ali) gators and such. You just never knew what would be there to catch your eye and teach you something about nature. As we left the cut, the tops of the big pine trees at the south end of Daufuskie laid like a dark green topping over the light green marsh - and if the tide had been higher, we could have seen our destination, the big dock of the Burn landing.

Exiting Fields Cut, we turned right into Wrights River (no pun intended) and stayed far enough off shore to avoid the shallow water of the mud flat protecting the point. Wrights River, like South Channel and Savannah River is quite wide here and must be crossed with care. Again, we were smiled on by the good weather gods and crossed smoothly to the far shore and Walls Cut.

Walls Cut is even shorter than Elba Island Cut and connects Wrights River with New River which runs along the south end of Daufuskie, makes a loop around marsh island and enters the Atlantic across from "Bloody Point", Daufuskie's southern tip. New river is wide, deep and as with other large rivers, can be very rough when the weather is nasty and the wind blows against the tide. No so today, everything was perfect and we quickly made the far shore and again kept clear of the large mud flat off marsh island's southwestern point. Looking up New River, the tall dark pines of Daufuskie were a welcomed sight. To me, that particular view was an awsome forbearer of our journey's end and in later years, a warm feeling of homecoming. In just more than an instant, a long, tall dune of bright white oyster shells wrenched my attention from the forboding woods. The huge pile of oyster shells took up half the distance between the southern point of marsh island and back river (officially known as Mongin Creek). Piled high and sun bleached, they made an impressive milestone. We were close now. Less than a quarter mile to go!

We crossed the mouth of back river and hugged the shore of the marshy point at this, the southwestern end, of Daufuskie. We could see our dock and the old house nestled securely behind huge live oaks drenched in Spanish Moss. This was my favorite part of the trip. Because boats went slower then, wonderful odors would waft over the water and we'd take in the heady scent of the big pine trees that mingled with the sweetness of the marsh, the tanginess of the salt water and the pungency of the rich dark mud. My head would reel as I took in all that I possibly could. All too soon though, we passed that marvelous stretch of shoreline and made our way to the landing next to the big dock.

Next - Up the hill to the old house