Yesterday I took this Shark Tooth Beach Drop trip from Coastal Expeditions. I have been on several trips from Garris Landing in Awendaw, over to Bull Island, I really like this company, and especially their people. Everyone I have interacted with, from reservations, to check in, to the boat crews and naturalists, have been stellar.
Captain Dolph and Tate, our Naturalist guide, accompanied our small group over to the barrier island. Great views of the Ravenel Bridge, sailboats, and giant cargo ships coming in and out of Charleston. The island is literally a huge sandbar, manmade, created from dredging the shipping lanes into Charleston harbor. The project placed 660,000 cubic yards of material from the Charleston Harbor deepening project to create approximately 32 acres of nesting habitat for birds.
The FOSSILS! The fossil finds were amazing, folks – if I can find a shark tooth, anybody can. In addition to a couple of really nice shark tooth specimens, I also found a bunch of interesting fossils, and Tate helped with identification. Finally, all the years of watching History Channel’s “The Curse of Oak Island” pays off, because when I found some bones, I knew they were bones from the structure, having seen a bone identified on the show.
Another thing I learned about, firsthand (or legs?) was pluff mud. I have heard of pluff mud, but I never experienced it like I did at low tide on this trip. I ventured out to the waterline on the sandy/clay point. I took a step, and my leg was immediately in mud to the knee. Instinctively (why are instincts sometimes the very worst thing to do?) I squared up, and now both legs were in mud up past the knees. Lucky for me I didn’t have to call for help, and with a weird smacking sound, one at a time, I was able to pull free and get up on stable ground. Both legs were completely covered with clay/mud, which was most difficult to wash off. I must say though, that the free bonus spa treatment really made my legs look smooth and silky, once I got home and was able to shower.
For more info on Coastal Expeditions, and the trip I took, see below.
It was an excellent excursion, I would definitely go again.