Cooper River Marina
by Beth Tally
(Woody Bradley, Matt Driscoll, Alma Greer, Artie McMahan, Hugh Walling)
This past Memorial Day, we came into the Charleston Harbor around 7:30 in the morning. It was the end of a three-day trip home from Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island after being gone for six months. We were greeted by a ferocious storm that produced a tornado over Fort Sumter right as we glided by it in the channel. The clouds were dark and low to the water, the rain torrential. So much so that our radar was completely opaque and John had to navigate by the chart plotter.
The storm began to abate a little as we turned up the Cooper River. When we came under the majestic new Arthur Ravenel Bridge, our visibility improved substantially. We split to the port at the fork where the Cooper and Wando Rivers unite. In the distance we could see the large, commercial docks at Shipyard Creek. Just beyond that, with the masts of docked boats rolling from side to side in the wind, we spotted the welcomed sight of the Cooper River Marina. No one was there yet, so we didn’t bother to hail them on the radio. John maneuvered “Up Jinks” in between the outer docks and the breakwall that surrounds the interior slips. He picked an empty space and slid the boat into it. I jumped off first to secure the bow line. Our friend, Paul Malvey, who joined us in Lucaya for the trip, took care of the spring and stern lines.
Maybe my feelings were heightened by the circumstances we had just encountered. Maybe it was the fact that, after being gone so long, we were in familiar territory. It could even have been a premonition. Whatever it was, this marina was special.
We didn’t really intend to stay here for six months. Our original plan was to be in Charleston through June, then head up to the Chesapeake to ride out the hurricane season. But, we were so impressed with Cooper River Marina, felt so comfortable here, that it didn’t make any sense to leave.
It’s a relatively new facility (after Hurricane Hugo) originally built for the Charleston Navy Base. When the base closed, ownership of the marina was transferred to the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission. Until now, the marina office, showers and laundry have been housed in temporary buildings. But, the construction of new transient docks and the renovation of a building overlooking the river are complete. This will make Cooper River Marina as nice a facility as any we’ve experienced.
(Dave Williams)
The facility, however, is not what makes this place so special. You can look the world over and not find a nicer, more competent staff. (We’ve seen our share of dockhands that have one hand out for the line and the other for a tip.) You won’t experience that at Cooper River Marina. When you come into a slip, you’ll have two if not three people to assist you. They know what they are doing.
(Kim and Eddie Smith)
They also go the extra mile. Recently, my cousin Eddie Smith and his wife, Kim, from Atlanta joined us for an overnight anchorage on Steamboat Creek. Steamboat is about thirty-five miles from Charleston. When we left, the weather was okay. By the next morning, the sun was still out, but the wind had picked up severely from the northeast. By the time we made it back up the waterway, around Charleston Harbor and up the Cooper River, there were gusts of 30-miles per hour.
We always bring “Up Jinks” into a slip bow first. In this particular slip, that would make a northeast wind cut across the boat from starboard to port. It’s tricky when the wind is benign, let alone when it’s blowing hard. John called the marina when we came to Shipyard Creek. Alma Greer answered back. She said that staff would be at the slip to help us. John signed off from the radio.
Immediately, a call came back to us from Matt Driscoll, the marina manager. He proceeded to say that since the wind was coming from the northeast, he thought it would be better for us to motor down Shipyard Creek, come around the south breakwall and approach our slip from the west. “It’s high tide, so you’ve got at least 6 feet of water to come around the wall,” he said. “I don’t think you can get into your slip coming from the other direction.”
John agreed and proceeded down Shipyard Creek. As we turned around the breakwall and headed up the fairway to our slip, Matt was there with Alma and Artie McMahan. Matt barked instructions to us over the wind. “Point your bow directly to the end of your slip,” he yelled. “And, gun it. The wind is going to push you to the port.” John throttled up the engine to push hard against the stiff wind. This kept “Up Jinks” headed into our slip and off of the boat in the slip to our port. I threw the bow line to Alma. My cousin threw the stern line to Matt. They secured us within seconds. It was a difficult situation made easy.
I tell you this because in the almost two years we’ve been cruising, no one has EVER taken the time to think through a docking situation for us and recommend what to do. It speaks volumes about the staff. They are thoughtful and concerned about their patrons. It’s a sense of personal pride in the service that they offer.
(Good friends enjoy a cookout at the marina.)
We’ve become good friends with Matt, Alma, Artie, Woody Bradley, Dave Williams and Hugh Walling. I’m even on “tummy rubbing” terms with Earl, the marina cat who stealthily keeps the fiddler crabs from overtaking the walkway out to the slips.
(Earl of Cooper – watch out you fiddler crabs!!)
We’ll be leaving in a couple of days on another long-term cruise to the south. This coming spring when we return, there’s no doubt in my mind where home will be - the Cooper River Marina.
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