CHARLESTON, S.C. — Exploring Charleston, South Carolina, may involve food, fashion and history — but no trip to this beautiful city is complete without a cruise on Charleston Harbor.
This inlet of the Atlantic Ocean is formed by the coming together of the Cooper and Ashley Rivers. The USS Yorktown is here, as is Fort Sumter, but this historic body of water is home to an incredible variety of marine life. A major dredging project is making this harbor one of the deepest on the East Coast, so it is a friendly home to pelicans, dolphins and crabs, to name a few.
Connor Schroeder is a Coastal Expeditions boat captain, who takes guests from around the world to see the beauty and history of the harbor. To him, no visit to Charleston is complete without a trip to the harbor.
"Downtown Charleston is amazing with its food and everything you can do on King Street, but to truly experience Charleston as a whole, you got to experience the salt marsh estuary," Schroeder said. "You've got to see a baby dolphin come breaching with its mom, teaching it how to breathe. You've got to see a black skimmer skimming for shrimp. You can do that from a beach sometimes, but the best way to do that is from a boat."
My visit to the Harbor was on a boat filled with people ready to go back in time on the Boat & Fossil Adventure trip.
In the middle of the harbor is a small island made out of dredge spoil. As ancient Earth layers are dug up, the waves reveal fossils from thousands of years ago. Despite the cold breeze and rain that day, I joined a couple dozen treasure seekers. Folks got off the boat and searched for megalodon teeth, and they found them! A megalodon was an ancient species of maceral shark long-extinct. Several of our friends found teeth, as well as mastodon fragments.
It was a fun ride on the boat, but it was the thrill of a lifetime for these fossil seekers. From seniors to kids, with plastic bags in hand, our group sifted through the thousands of shells, fossils and bone fragments to find the perfect souvenir to take home.
For these folks, this 2.5-hour trip was a treasure hunt as well as a tour. It is a trip they will never forget.
For me, learning the history of the Harbor and the incredible ecosystem was an eye-opener. I had been to Charleston before but was completely unaware that over 290 species of birds and 33 kinds of sharks live in this water. It is one of the most diverse aquatic ecosystems in the world.
Jackie Kelsey has been leading tours on the boats and Crab Bank during the winter. She says that even though she has been a tour guide at many spots in the nation, Charleston Harbor is very special.
"It's what you are looking at all around you. It's the amount of wildlife you get to live around without even noticing it. You can be right on Coleman Boulevard and have a nesting pair of bald eagles above you, and you can experience all the different species of birds and dolphins feeding," Kelsey said. "You can follow the shrimp boats. You really can't escape the natural beauty of the ecosystem and environment in Charleston."
Food, fashion and history. Yes, those are all a part of Charleston. However, don't forget to take on the beauty of a diving pelican, the thrill of finding an ancient fossil or the cool sea breeze hitting your face as you coast through the Harbor. It will make your trip.
More of Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston:
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Old South Carriage Company
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: The Plantation Singers
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Lowcountry Oyster Co. & cooking with Chef Kevin Mitchell
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: South Carolina Aquarium
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Magnolia Plantation
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Fort Sumter
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Charleston Tea Garden
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Southern fashion