2018 Charleston Pinopolis Lock Cooper River Run/ Hilton Head Gathering 5/12 and 5/13 2018

[Seadeals]

Switched hotel and staying near WO Thomas JR ramp. Will plan to launch there Saturday morning. The return from Hilton Head and drive home will make for a long day, so I think it will work better for us too.

 

[BigAbe75]

Took the truck in for oil change and a couple service items today. Starting to get prepped. Do we need any permits, proof of insurance, etc? Particularly for out-of-state boaters? I have State Farm, but my rep told me they don't actually send out insurance cards or anything for boats. Anything else that I might not be thinking of in regards to supplies above and beyond the typical mid-west boater that runs primarily in small lakes might have?

I have a Lowrance Elite 4 Chirp, and I was thinking I would also mount my iPad Mini and add Navionics to it just for kicks. I also have a handheld VHF w/ GPS (Standard Horizon HX870). 15' dock lines, big fenders, fluke anchor w/ 100' rope. Other safety items? I don't have any flares?

Launch fees or parking fees for leaving truck/trailer over night at Hills Landing? Already have slip at marina and Days Inn reserved. Do we need to make reservations at Hills Landing to launch/park? We haven't determined, yet, where we will stop Friday night.

What am I forgetting?

Thanks!

Edit: Lunch on the water at restaurants / fuel stops? Or, should we be planning lunch on the boat? I'm sure we'll have enough snacks that lunch won't really be required, but neither my brother or I miss a whole lot of meals. Lol

 

[robert843]

@BigAbe75 glad your getting ready to go! There is a charge for parking and overnight at Hill's Landing @Andy S may know how much it is. For those leaving from Hill's Landing there will be a fuel stop in Charleston and possibly a stop in Beaufort once again I'm leaving that in @Andy S court. I know my crew plans to stop and fuel in Beaufort and probably have lunch but we will likely be ahead of the Hill's landing crew by about 1-2 hours. Plenty of spots for dinner that night in the area we are staying but have though about a dinner cruise down to Savanah but may all depend on timing and weather. Flares won't be a requirement on this trip as will enter some large bodies of water but will not enter the ocean itself unless you choose to. The marina may require proof of insurance I will call this week when I get a shot and ask. Handheld radio should be just fine that what most will be using.

 

[Seadeals]

Savannah is surprisingly close from there. I know I am already stretching the limits of my first mate (wife) with the duty time of our crew (kids) on this trip, so we will just relax at the the resort once we arrive. Unless your iPad mini has cellular @BigAbe75 , your position data might not always be available along the route. Cellular models and phones all have gps, so no issues on them. I have an Elite 4 HDI and am going to get the Navionics+ (East) to get the coastal data as the lake insight it came with has no detail once you hit Charleston Harbor. Check mfg dates on batteries to make sure you are not on borrowed time. I just lost one unexpectedly (it was even on the maintainer). I also plan to bring the snap-on bow cover. If the bays are rough, it can help keep water out if the bow takes a dive. I planted the bow in a big wake last weekend to see what it was like (no sub moves in my logbook). Without the cover, it waterfalls in very quickly and hangs out in the bow until I accelerate (pitch up to plane). It drained quickly once on plane but does soak front compartments back to the storage close. I don’t like the idea of that with salt water. Did the Bimini crew say to keep windshield open due to flex (shattering risk), or can you keep closed in rough water? A calm sunny day would be best of course!

 

[BigAbe75]

Truthfully, I’m not sure what capabilities my lowrance unit even has. It came with the boat and I really haven’t explored it. I’ll see if I can download a manual before I screw the ram mount on the boat for it. My mini does have the cell module, though I don’t have a service added to it. As long as I pre-download the maps, I think the gps location would be fine.

The navionics trial on the iPad looks very slick with mapping routes, etc. But, I guess I probably don’t really need that. I know the lowrance tracks where I’ve been and can set waypoints (somehow).

 

[Seadeals]

Yeah, I pretty much use mine to see the nice picture of the lake bottom and occasionally look at the map for general location/track/distance. It is funny how many of us never really get to know the unit's capabilities. I played with the navigation on my last outing since it was a maintenance-only trip with no family (they would get bored). My friend who is joining us also did the same with his (Garmin). We set waypoints, created tracks and then navigated the track to see how it works. I was concerned if I missed a waypoint by too much, it would try to circle me back until I crossed with precision. The Lowrance unit will alarm if you get too far off track (which would be a lot if using just a few waypoints along a winding river as it uses line of sight to next waypoint- not following a channel). You can silence that with a single button press. It also alarms "arrived at waypoint" when you hit it dead on or "waypoint passed" if you miss it by a bit. As you continue on, it does track you on to the following waypoint. I may try to see if I can increase the tolerance of the alarm as my change of course to the second waypoint also gave me an off track warning since I made a curving turn, not a perfect body-jolting jet boat turn. While probably not necessary for the trip, I will probably plot a track and use it on the trip to learn more about the functionality. Besides, what is so bad about sitting in the boat in the garage with the stereo cranked drinking a beer while pushing beeping buttons? Hey, maybe I can turn that off!

 

[Andy S]

Weather Warning

Hey folks I just looked at a long-term weather forecast for our Hilton Head trip and I'm not happy. We will keep a close watch on the forecast because as we all know long-term weather forecasts can change as things get closer. The cooler weather and cloudiness is not exciting for boating but the wind is what I'm most worried about because it can cause the lock to be inoperable for safety reasons. With 4-5 days out, if the the forecast still shows the winds up I will probably abandon the Pinnopolis Lock and Cooper River part of the trip and leave from WO Thomas ramp with the others. And if the weather forecast gets raining for the trip I will probably have to cancel because my crew would not be happy on a raining ride.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weather turns out nice.

@robert843 and I will keep everyone posted.

 

[BigAbe75]

Weather Warning

Hey folks I just looked at a long-term weather forecast for our Hilton Head trip and I'm not happy. We will keep a close watch on the forecast because as we all know long-term weather forecasts can change as things get closer. The cooler weather and cloudiness is not exciting for boating but the wind is what I'm most worried about because it can cause the lock to be inoperable for safety reasons. With 4-5 days out, if the the forecast still shows the winds up I will probably abandon the Pinnopolis Lock and Cooper River part of the trip and leave from WO Thomas ramp with the others. And if the weather forecast gets raining for the trip I will probably have to cancel because my crew would not be happy on a raining ride.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weather turns out nice.

@robert843 and I will keep everyone posted.

View attachment 73257

Tks! With a 13 hour drive, I’d be disappointed to get there and have everything fall apart. We are planning to leave home Thursday mid afternoon, probably. Hopefully, things will be clearer by then.

But, also not too sure I’m up for being beaten around by wind/waves either.

 

[Mainah]

Weather Warning

Hey folks I just looked at a long-term weather forecast for our Hilton Head trip and I'm not happy. We will keep a close watch on the forecast because as we all know long-term weather forecasts can change as things get closer. The cooler weather and cloudiness is not exciting for boating but the wind is what I'm most worried about because it can cause the lock to be inoperable for safety reasons. With 4-5 days out, if the the forecast still shows the winds up I will probably abandon the Pinnopolis Lock and Cooper River part of the trip and leave from WO Thomas ramp with the others. And if the weather forecast gets raining for the trip I will probably have to cancel because my crew would not be happy on a raining ride.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weather turns out nice.

@robert843 and I will keep everyone posted.

View attachment 73257

I am following your experienced lead please keep us updated.

 

[Wisefam22]

Weather Warning

Hey folks I just looked at a long-term weather forecast for our Hilton Head trip and I'm not happy. We will keep a close watch on the forecast because as we all know long-term weather forecasts can change as things get closer. The cooler weather and cloudiness is not exciting for boating but the wind is what I'm most worried about because it can cause the lock to be inoperable for safety reasons. With 4-5 days out, if the the forecast still shows the winds up I will probably abandon the Pinnopolis Lock and Cooper River part of the trip and leave from WO Thomas ramp with the others. And if the weather forecast gets raining for the trip I will probably have to cancel because my crew would not be happy on a raining ride.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weather turns out nice.

@robert843 and I will keep everyone posted.

View attachment 73257

Wanna keep family safe. If we need to move locations and put in below the locks somewhere that is fine.

We are booked in santee for Friday night, how long of a drive are we looking at between there and the ramp below locks of that change is needed. Would I need to change my reservations?

 

[Joshua Miller]

Well after some changes in plans for me @Joshua Miller @GMAN2015 @Seadeals I'm launching from WO Thomas Jr Ramp in Charleston instead of Remley's point this will likely be better for all of you any way. Its off of 526 in Charleston with better interstate access. Still keeping the same launch time though if any of you guys plan to launch else where just let me know and we will set up a spot to convene on the water probably on the ICW. Are any of you guys staying in Charleston Friday or are you guys driving in Saturday morning? Finally exactly one month out!

Sorry I'm not going to make the trip this year. Tax man came and took a bigger bite than I expected so I need to pay up so I can enjoy the rest of the season... Hope the weather turns out nice and you all can get some good pics on here.

 

[veedubtek]

Your weather app sucks @Andy S

Lookin much better already

 

[robert843]

Your weather app sucks @Andy S

Lookin much better already

It looks like the temps are finally about to break out now as well. We usually are hitting the low 80's by now and that has not been the case but looks like its finally here starting this week. If that happens I expect this wind to start to go away as well and us to get normal conditions for this run.

 

[Andy S]

Wanna keep family safe. If we need to move locations and put in below the locks somewhere that is fine.

We are booked in santee for Friday night, how long of a drive are we looking at between there and the ramp below locks of that change is needed. Would I need to change my reservations?

From Santee to WO Thomas ramp it is an 1 hour drive.

Your weather app sucks @Andy S

Lookin much better already

I was tempted to not post that bad weather forecast but after a couple of days of the same bad weather I thought I better warn folks. Now the weather app is showing much better temps.



In the past the above 14-day weather forecast was pretty accurate but I'm starting to think it is crap. Windfinder on has a forecast through a partial Saturday, 5/12 and it looks a lot more promising and match other forecast I have looked at. With the windfinder forecast, at least Saturday looks good for starting at Hill's Landing, hopefully Sunday will have a similar forecast as Saturday.

 

[ACrews]

Do any of y'all know whether there are rooms & slips still available?

 

[robert843]

Do any of y'all know whether there are rooms & slips still available?

Docking I would just call the marina and let them know your with the large group coming I'm sure there is space for a ski. Hotels you would just have to check as there was no specific hotel being used.

 

[Andy S]

Do any of y'all know whether there are rooms & slips still available?

The last time I talked to them it was mentioned that they were about full and wondered if we would be will to have someone in our group tied up to us. As far as I know no has been assigned to dock next to me, you are welcome to tie up to me if you want.

 

[ACrews]

Thanks @Andy S & @robert843, but looking like I'm not going to be able to make it. Spoke with apollo today & they aren't going to be able to make it either. With it being mother's day, Meghan doesn't want to leave Eli but he won't ride the ski. I can't leave them to go play. I've been gone 2-3 weeks at the time since 1st if January.

Wish all thats going a safe trip! Post lots if pictures.

 

[robert843]

Well it only been over 7 months since I have had my boat in the water figured it needed a test run before next weekend I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get one in but finally around 4pm today I got to run her around for a few hours it appears all mods and normal systems are working as they should.

 

[Wisefam22]

Is the count in front page updated to reflect the changes. Wondering what the total number is right now