6/1/10 - Just Kidding - In Charleston - 819 miles Total

Synopsis - We are in Charleston SC and we have travelled 819 miles total. No major

problems at this time. Weather has been hot (>90 throughout Florida) but it has cooled down a bit (mid 80s in Georgia/SC). Breezy everywhere and lots of tide and current. Cool places include Jekyll Island Ga, Savannah Ga. and Beaufort SC. We should meet Dave and Marcia Reck on Tuesday in Charleston SC. Boat is still a monster to maneauver.

Hi Folks - Well, our last posting got lots of attention. I assumed that it told such a terrible tale that everyone would know it was fantasy right away but quite a few people thought it was real. I guess that shows what people are expecting to hear from us!. IT WAS JUST A JOKE!

Since our last post, we finished the transit through the Okeechobee Waterway across central Florida and spent a few days in Fort Pierce provisioning and did some more jobs on the boat including the final propane hook up on the stove. It works great and makes the boat seem much more complete. We also installed a new port alternator (that's our second alternator) and the dingy davits so we don't have to tow the dingy anymore - much better. We had great weather (albeit quite breazy as usual) and cruised North to Melbourne where we had a great night at anchor and got in some swimming. Spent two nights at New Smyrna Beach where we had a pelican roosting island 80 yards away in the harbor and dolphins surfacing frequently. Cruised up to Saint Augustine and anchored out in front. It was windy (as usual) and there is a lot of current. We left early the next morning and headed for Fernandida. We went ashore for a nice dinner and look-see and again in the morning for a bit more of a walk and groceries.

This is a photo of the winning 44 pound "dolphin" (mahi mahi) at the Fort Pierce

tournament that was held while we were there. Unfortunatlely, I didn't catch it.

Heading North from Florida into Georgia is DOMINATED by marshy tidelands. You can see for miles and miles out across the grassy marshes and there are very few people or even other boats around. The wind was still blowing pretty good (20 mph "ish") and it got sort of tiring.

We have now passed through Georgia and are in South Carolina. The first place we stopped in Georgia was a great marina called Jekyll Island Harbor. It has a lot of history and the whole thing is a state park. In the early 1900s it was a fancy club for VERY rich folks such as Frances Goodyear, some Vanderbilts and Pulitzer. It had an immense clubhouse that is now a hotel. They had hunting (animals brought in!), fishing, tennis and other activities for the extended families of the members and many of them built "cottages" (appx 5,000 sf each). It was typically active from January until April. In the mid 1900s they "gave" it to the state of Georgia with lots of strings attached. There were museums established and the residents and businesses were given long term leases. The marina had loaner bikes so we were able to tour the historic district and a loaner car to get groceries. I was still having intermittent starter trouble on the port engine so I got a local mechanic (Tommy) to pull it and take it and my "spare" into the local starter guy for check out. This meant we were at the marina

for two nights but it was a great place to stay. It turned out that my main starter drive mechanism was hanging up but the spare was OK so it got installed. The picture to the right shows that it is a dog's life out here on the water.

We cruised North to a town called Thunderbolt on the river and tied up at a dock so we could take a taxi into Savannah. Had a great dinner at the Noble Fare restaurant (lamb for Tod and chicken for Linda). We walked down to the river through the "squares" at about 10:00 and mixed with the hordes. It was pretty raucous and fun. The Savannah College of Art and Design graduation had occurred earlier so there was lot's of celebrating. Here's a picture of me on the dock with the boat at Thunderbolt before going in for dinner in Savannah (pretty dressed up eh?)

Comment on cruising from North Florida to South Carolina - The way is split between miles and miles of flat marshland (see photo below) with a 100-200 yard wide path (not all navigable) and big open inlets to the ocean with the occasional town thrown in. There is a lot of tide (6-8 feet) and current that goes with it. Although we like to anchor, the tide and particularly the current make this a bit of a drag. Our speed varies from 6.5 mph when the current is

opposing us to over 9 mph when it is with us. Constant wind of 10-15 mph, almost always in our face. You must be very careful to stay in the channel to avoid going aground. Dolphins and pelicans diving are all over the place. There are also many ospreys (see photo below), often fishing and sometimes in their nests built on the navigation aids.

Cruised North in the am going in and out of inland "rivers" and then out into the ocean inlets. The boat handled fine on the big water even though there was a pretty good wind and tide. We decided to stop at Beaufort SC early (at 3:00 after only 47 miles) to soak in a little history regarding the War of Northern Aggression. Really fascinating city. Like Savannah, it was not trashed during the war so there are TONs of antebellum (pre war) houses. We took a horse carriage ride and had a great guide. This is a great way to get a quick overview of a town. Here's a picture of one of the MANY pre civil war houses.

We are in Charleston now after a 65 mile day in the rain and wind. We plan on meeting Dave and Marcia Reck tomorrow for some tourist stuff here and then cruising for a few days together.

Next post is June 15th unless something very cool happens in the meantime.

Miss all of you

Tod and Linda.