3 minute read

Editor's Note

from Southern Tides April 2021

from Southern Tides April 2021, page 9

Right Whale Deaths

The lowcountry coast is the most beautiful place on earth and every single time I get out there with water under the hull, I’m so grateful to live here. Heading out early, when the rising sun casts a surreal glow over a flood tide and the water is like glass, gives you a sense of peace that you just don’t get sitting inside.

I love this time of year, when air and water temperatures have both started to rise and there’s a resurgence of life. Marsh grass is greening up, jasmine and wisteria are in bloom and the air smells amazing, other flora offers bursts of color everywhere you look, and our world is lush again. Any day now, horseshoe crabs will be nesting on beaches, shrimp will be returning to our creeks and rivers, as well as the fish species that feed on them; migratory shore birds will be making their annual visits, and dolphin will entertain us with their playful antics. Our world is waking up from winter.

No, springtime in the South isn’t for the faint of heart. Between the pollen, the gnats and the humidity, you have to be tough to still enjoy being outdoors, but the rewards are worth it.

Get out there! There are countless places to visit and explore within a couple hours by boat or car. Any of the Revolutionary or Civil War forts (most are near water), any of the lighthouses along our stretch of coast, hike Cumberland Island and see the marsh ponies roaming free, beach on a barrier island and have a picnic, paddle or motor up a creek you’ve never followed and see what there is to see.

Pay attention. Look for eagles, osprey, herons, egrets, oystercatchers, roseate spoonbills, woodstorks or any of the countless other birds that hunt and nest along our waterways. Keep an eye on the water too, for schools of shrimp, fish jumping, and of course dolphins. Maybe you’ll spot a gator sunning on a creek bank, or some wild boar piglets foraging in the marsh. And don’t forget to look up. Birds in flight, pretty cloud patterns, rainbows, sunrises and sunsets, or even just the stunning clear blue of a warm spring sky. Use all of your senses, not just sight. Smell the marsh mud, listen to the bird calls and the soothing sound of water lapping against the hull or waves rolling onto the beach, feel the sun and saltwater on your skin. There’s so much beauty and life out there, and if you let it, it will soothe your soul.

Our world is crazy these days. The political arena is a hotbed of antagonism and divisiveness. It seems that every segment of our society is trying to impose its will on every other segment and civil unrest is worse than it’s been since the 60s.

But our little stretch of coast is a pocket of sanity.

The water doesn’t care about politics or divisiveness. The water doesn’t know conservative from liberal, male from female, wealthy from poor, black from white, or Christian from atheist. Out there, those things don’t matter. When you have a fish on the hook, when you have an engine issue and a stranger gives you a tow, when an unexpected storm blows up, when you’re passing another boat and give a wave, when you have a boatload of kids looking in awe at dolphins playing off the bow, when you’re standing on the dock at the end of the day with a cold beer, none of those outside things matter. We’re just people with a shared love of, and respect for, the water. And hopefully each other.

I hope each of you can get some time on the water this month and that it soothes your soul and puts things in perspective for you as well. Follow a creek and see where it goes!