Log Book: December 5th

Conditions: Partly cloudy, 65 degrees

Location: Beaufort, SC

Dad waiting until hightide before taking the plunge this morning in the hopes that he wouldn't be swept away with the current. Unfortunately Bull River, like much of the salt marsh we traversed, was so brown that the mud clouds billowed around the hull of the boat. After thirty minutes in the water Dad came up with the trailing line. He said that the visibility was less than a foot but that he felt great, exhilarated by the cold water and the possible encounter with an alligator, we joked. We left the  River around noon and made for Beaufort, a short sail away. Beaufort is where my dad was born and lived for the early years of his life but he remembers very little of the area. Clearly his most vivid memory of Beaufort is the massive amount of bugs, affectionately known as nosyums (pronounced "no see ums") that make their home in the area. I originally thought that the nosyums were a joke of my dad's, that nobody else called them this. While we explored the town of Beaufort I discovered how wrong I was. Everyone called them nosyums. They are called nosyums because they bite you and leave before you can see them, and boy do they hurt. They are worse than Mosquitos. I asked dad for the scientific name of the bug, so I wouldn't have to sound like I was from the Deep South. Dad said that they are really "sand fleas." Unwilling to admit that I had been bitten by fleas all day I had to  stick with the more colorful term of nosyums. We didn't explore Beaufort much, just hopped on our bicycles and drove to the nearest grocery store to restock before turning in for the night. We aim to get a better view of the place in the morning before leaving. 


Spotted: the Christmas spirit - Xmas tree at the top of another boats mast