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Goin' Ashore!
(Excerpt from the 2010 Atlantic ICW publication)
Charleston, SC - Charleston is a perennial favorite destination in magazines such as "Southern Living", "Conde Nast Traveler" and "Travel + Leisure". Given the attention, residents may be forgiven if they describe Charleston as the place "where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet to form the Atlantic Ocean".
For cruisers, the fourth largest shipping port on the East Coast offers superb protection in bad weather. Its numerous marinas and boatyards make it an excellent stopover point to attend to you and your boat's needs. Have the boat serviced, replenish the larder and take a break from the galley with gourmet restaurants onshore. Tours of plantations, battlefield sites and monuments, concerts, art walks, museums, garden tours and a myriad of festivals provide welcome diversions.
History: Charleston's culture and love for the good life has its roots in the man for which it is named, England's King Charles II. A Charleston historian has written that the king was, "one of the most hedonistic of English monarchs", and that the colonists came, "to recreate the luxurious, cosmopolitan, pleasure-filled world of Restoration England...inhabited by a landed gentry".
The British founded Charleston in 1670, on what is now Charles Towne Landing, on the western bank of the Ashley River. The colonists aboard the English ship Carolina originally planned to settle at Port Royal, but the chief of the Kiawah Indians convinced them to move farther north. Within 10 years, they had relocated to what locals refer to as "the Peninsula", or the site of current downtown Charleston. Not two years later, there were nearly 100 houses built, perhaps foretelling the ongoing real estate boom.
The culture is a melange of influences. The English ideas soon blended with those of the French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution. Many came by way of Barbados and added a Caribbean flair to the city's lifestyle. The Spanish were here, and slaves certainly had a huge impact on the population from food to the arts and language. Gullah, a patois of all the languages, is still spoken on the sea islands today.
Culture and cultural references: Dock Street Theatre is an experience, if only to see its stunning interior. Reopened in 1937, the theater is the first building in the United States designed specifically for theatrical performances. The Theatre just re-opened on March of 2010 after undergoing a 3-year, 19 million dollar renovation. It has been improved in every way, from sound and seats to climate control. The Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Charleston Ballet perform frequently at the Gaillard Auditorium, and the Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Theater book top performers and Broadway acts. When scenes from "The Patriot", starring Mel Gibson, were filmed in Charleston, the streets were covered with dirt for authenticity.
Attractions: Start your visit downtown with a trip to the Charleston Visitors Center at Meeting and John streets. A short film will acquaint you with the history and layout of the city, and brochures are available for the many adventures available in the Charleston area. The Charleston Museum is across the street. The changing exhibits include a replica of the CSA submarine Hunley, as well as tours of the Hunley restoration project. It is currently housed at a former Navy base in North Charleston while the municipal governments argue over where it should be displayed. Walking and carriage tours of the historic area can be booked--just beware of what the guides tell you. Many have extraordinary imaginations when it comes to history. Do take one of the ghost tours. Even if your hair does not stand on end, you will have a new insight into the city's past.
A boat tour along The Battery (see image on right) on the Cooper River gives visitors a unique view of the antebellum mansions built by merchants for easy access to arriving ships. Return to walk the area on the cobblestone streets built from the rocks used as ship's ballast. Up the river, cruise underneath a magnificent engineering marvel, the impressive Ravenel Bridge, North America's longest cable-stayed bridge, which connects Mt. Pleasant and downtown. Across the Cooper, Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown house a wealth of naval history. Head out to Fort Sumter, which Citadel (the Military College of South Carolina) cadets shelled to begin the Civil War, at least in local lore. Maintained by the U.S. Park Service, the rangers have a slightly different interpretation.
