[Paddlewise] Otter Islands

rmagill9_at_netscape.net wrote:

> Has anyone paddled out to Otters Island off the coast of SC?  I'm
> planning my fall trip (albiet, late fall as I understand you can't
> camp there til November), and I was wandering if there was anything I
> should know about this paticular trip.

We did a trip there one MLK weekend, I think it was. Maybe President's 
Day. Put in at Bennet's Landing up on the Ashepoo at Mosquito Creek and 
paddled down to the island. It was a Leadership training trip for the GA 
Tech outdoor program. They had invited a buddy of mine who had done some 
wilderness medicine training for them and when Lonnie told me about it I 
invited myself along.

Their plan was to swap Leadership periodically to give everybody a 
chance to be In Charge. Lonnie and I decided to be explicitly Not In 
Charge unless we saw something hazardous about to happen.

We paddled down the river and out into St Helena Sound without any 
problems. Then the designated leader for the day paddled over as asked 
me "Is there anything we ought to know about going in to the island 
through the surf?" So we talked about it for a minute, and everybody did 
fine.

Next day we padded across the Sound to Hunting Island State Park and 
sweet talked the lady Ranger into letting us go up the lighthouse 
without paying. Hey, no pockets in my wetsuit. The incoming tide was 
breaking across Egg Bank on the way back, but everybody figured out how 
to edge into the waves without any problems.

On the way back we had to leave early to catch the tide. We had one boat 
flip going out through the surf. Supposedly, they had practiced rescues 
in the pool the week before, but the Leader for the day seemed clueless. 
Fortunately one other student began to take charge, although he really 
didn't know how to do a rescue, so I just sat near him and talked him 
through it until the swimmer was back in the boat. Later, he came over 
to me an apologized for taking over the situation, and I assured him 
that he had done precisely the right thing.

The trip back was through some light fog, but their navigation was 
perfect and we came right into the mouth of the creek we were heading 
back on.

Otter Island itself is pretty small, with a thinnish strip of beach. No 
fresh water available. Lots of cactus and sand spurs, so wear shoes and 
watch your step.

Should be a nice trip. You can buy frozen shrimp at Bennett's store.

-- 
Steve Cramer
Athens, GA
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