Monday, May 10, 2021
When we arrived in Charleston, the weather was perfect for cleaning up the boat and sightseeing. We stayed at Charleston Maritime Center which is a city marina. It was very small, but the staff were amazing, and it was within walking distance of restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Since Cuz John had lived in Charleston previously, he made reservation for a couple of his favorite restaurants.
Upon arrival at 16:00, we all took a nap and later showered off the salt which lingered after the long passage from West Palm. Then we walked into town to find a place to eat. John had several places in mind for dinner, but it turned out that COVID must have taken its toll for at least 3 of the places were closed.
Finally, we decided it didn’t matter where we ate, we were just tired and hungry. So we ended up eating at the bar of Henry’s on the Market bar. The food was excellent, and the abeyance was fun. We felt lucky to find these barstools as most of the restaurants were full. We were certainly glad we have reservations for the next two nights.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
We were lucky that the marina had a free laundry. So, while the guys worked on the boat, I washed clothes, towels and sheets! It would be wonderful to sleep on clean sheets tonight. I know we won’t be staying in marinas a lot because of the cost, but I sure appreciate not having to dinghy to a laundry, and having a nice land shower when the opportune arises.
Cuz John’s friend, Wendy came in town. So they headed to a nearby hotel to relax. We met them for dinner at the cutest restaurant named Poogan’s Porch. We all had some wonderful seafood. Then we walked around town until we found a rooftop bar that overlooked the harbor. This was a pleasant place to end our first full day in Charleston.
We were not sure how long we would stay in Charleston because we have to wait for the next weather window, but we know we would be here until Friday when John and Krissy arrive.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Since Wendy had a car, she was kind enough to take us to Home Depot for a few supplies and to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, we stopped by Harris Teeters, the grocery store, to pick up provisioning.
At this point we had to say goodbye to John and Wendy as they both needed to head home and go back to work. It was totally weird for Ben and I to be on the boat by ourselves again, but not for long….
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Ben got up early to listen to the Chris Parker’s weather report to determine our next weather window. We believed we were leaving on Monday, but after the weather report, it looked like we needed to leave on Sunday. So, Ben completed an engine check and I made out the meal list for the next week.
For the rest of the day, we completed boat chores so that we could play for the next few days as our new crew arrives tomorrow.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Since we got most of the chores done yesterday and the boat was now clean, we had a leisurely day. Krissy and John arrived about 2100 and after a short visit we all went to bed early as the guys were going to get up early again to listen to the weather report. We were still contemplating leaving on Sunday.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
John and Ben listened to the Chris Parker’s weather report and it appeared that the weather had changed once again. So now we would not be leaving until Monday. That gave us an additional day to wander around Charleston.
After boat orientations with our new crew, we headed to the restaurant district for a late brunch. We had a lovely meal on the patio of 82 Queen. The food and company were both wonderful!
We then, walked around the Charleston Market and ended back on the rooftop bar where we watched the boats in the harbor and sites such as the aircraft carrier across the bay. Charleston was situated on a lovely wide bay with lots of boat traffic from container vessels, to tugs and small sailboats.
On our way back to Daggers Down, we stopped at the grocery and the wine store to get a few more items for the next leg of our journey.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Everyone slept in this morning as there was no early morning weather report. After drinking coffee, John walked to the post office to mail his taxes off as Monday was TAX DAY! Along the way he found a cute beer garden for us to check out.
Upon his return we moved the boat over to the fuel dock and then a new slip from which we could leave early in the morning. Now that we were famished, we walked over to Bay Street Biergarten where we had an interesting brunch. It was a twist on breakfast and German food. The service was extremely slow, but we enjoyed people watching and visiting with each other.
Afterwards, we walked for what seemed like forever, but finally found where the historic carriage rides were available. I had booked us with Palmetto Carriage Works for 15:30. Our driver was quite animated as she drove us around and told us the history of the many structures in the area. She had been driving the horse drawn carriages in Charleston for over 30 years. You could tell that she really enjoyed her job.
Back on the boat, we had a quick dinner, and then went to bed early as we were leaving first thing in the morning.
Headed to Beaufort, NC
Monday-Tuesday, May 17-18, 2021
Finally the weather and timing was here! We awoke before sunrise to continue our Atlantic journey north to Beaufort, NC. The sunrise was beautiful as it reflected red and yellow off the water in the bay. The water was calmer than we expected so leaving the Charleston inlet was a lot less arduous than when we entered.
Since the wind was light, we motored sailed with one engine most of the day. Everyone was excited to be back on the water and moving towards our destination. We saw a few dolphins along the way and the weather was as predicted. John learned about Daggers Down and its sailing idiosyncrasies, but mainly it was a relaxing day.
After a dinner of hamburgers and deviled eggs, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset as the sun sank below the horizon.
For a short while we had a sliver of a moon, but about 2:00, the moon set, and it was extremely dark. About this time Ben and I began our watch. It was a long night as the wind and seas were opposed to one another. According to Predict Wind and the Chris Parker weather report, the wind was supposed to shift to the SE during the night, but this did not happen. The wind was right on our nose and the waves became steep and choppy. I don’t know how Krissy and John got a lick of sleep as the boat was like a bucking horse, riding up waves and then slamming off them. It was so dark that hand steering was not anymore effective than the autohelm because you could not see the erratic swells before they arrived. It made for a bumpy and loud ride.
Finally, by 6:00, it was light enough that Ben could hang steer and alleviate some of the banging but not all of it. The journey persisted to be uncomfortable and noisy. Every part of the boat shook and shuddered. We continued to use two engines as the trip was taking longer than expected. The sea state and wind direction kept us from making much over 6-7 knots. We wanted to arrive in the daylight and also when the wind was not opposing the tide. So we just kept chugging away.
We were so happy when we finally found ourselves outside of Beaufort Inlet at 1800. It had been a long exhausting day and we were ready to anchor and relax. Luckily, we timed our arrival correctly and we had no problem entering the well-marked inlet and following the channel to Beaufort. The Taylor Creek channel outside Beaufort was a lovey place to anchor. The town was very quaint and on the opposite side of the channel was a small island where wild horses grazed. We quickly set anchor, ate some pre-prepared soup, drank a beverage of choice and relaxed. Wow! What at trip. It was uneventful except for the unpredicted rough seas and wind on the nose.
