Hello again, I still am afloat, but traveling much slower, partly due to a hurricane-tropical storm-tropical depression or whatever the weather bureau calls it. So, what has happened since my last update? I arrived in Charleston, SC Saturday, November 7th to a very crowded harbor, the anchorage was crowded, the marinas were crowded, so, I went to a marina that was a little off the beaten path that I had visited several years ago, and spent 2 nights. It gave me a chance to see Charleston again, this time as a tourist. I did the carriage ride thing and learned about the history of Charleston, went to a couple of historic houses for tours, and visited the aquarium, along with walking all around town. The houses are quite old, most from early 1800s, and interesting. Most have piazzas, or balconies, to them that the people used as an extension of the house, particularly when it was very hot. One could, supposedly, find a breeze on the piazza, so a lot of time was spent there.
Left Charleston on Monday heading toward Georgia. Day was sunny and warm, temperatures in the 70s. Pretty easy day, with no problems, didn’t even run aground in the shallow spots. I anchored in Wimbee Creek a little over 50 miles south of Charleston. That evening I had to decide what to do about Ida, the then hurricane, soon to be tropical storm. I decided to ride out the worst of the weather (wind in particular) in Beaufort, SC. But that was only about a 4 hour run from Wimbee Creek, and the storm wasn’t projected to hit until Wednesday afternoon. So, I stayed in Wimbee Creek Monday night and all day Tuesday, leaving for Beaufort on Wednesday morning early to beat the wind. Tuesday, the layover day in Wimbee Creek tried to work my new Single Sideband Radio (the long distance radio, up to 2500 miles) I was able to finally figure out how to bring up station to listen, and listened to something called Cruisheimers net, which allows people in the Caribbean to communicate. I could listen, but not sure anyone was hearing me. Oh well, I will try again, when I have some time. At least this free day was warm, 70s again, but overcast, with some drizzle. Read a book for a while, then made Jambalaya for dinner, came out pretty good.
Wednesday I headed for Beaufort, SC in overcast weather with several good showers. GPS is wonderful, keeps you on track even when you can’t see that far in front of the boat during downpours. Got into Beaufort a little after 10:00 AM and docked, way up in a little cubbyhole that the boat just fit into. Couldn’t wait to have to get the boat of there. Found a problem in the engine room. Seems water was coming in from somewhere. I found the source, something called a vent loop that prevents water from siphoning back into the engine after it is turned. A plastic piece was cracked, allowing water to leak in. I spent Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday running for parts and working on fixes. Finally, I remembered there was another of the vent loops on board. That was not being used, so I “borrowed” the plastic piece from the unused vent and put it on the engine vent loop. It worked. But had to buy parts to close off the unused vent loop until I can get replacement parts from the boat manufacturer, Island Packet. Used my folding bike to run the errands, that is until I managed to get a flat tire. Need to get that fixed before I go to the Bahamas. Because of working the boat, I didn’t get much sightseeing done in Beaufort, but went out to dinner after completing the fixes to sort of congratulate myself.
If you recall, I said the marina kind of shoehorned me into a slip for Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Well here it is Friday, and I have to leave. Well it took about 2 dozen people to help me get out. It is really great how people will come together to aide other cruisers who have a problem. It took a while to manhandle Navigator from one slip to another that was easier to get out of (about an hour), but one boat volunteered to move out of the way while I moved Navigator, and a gentleman stayed on my boat as I worked my way down a long, long fairway to fend off if need be. I transferred him to the boat that had moved, when I finally was out of trouble. It was just great that everyone was willing to help. Then I was on my way. Got into Georgia today (Friday), just south of Savannah. I will not stop in Savannah, as I have done enough sightseeing for a while, and need to get south. So I am anchored in Herb River, Thunderbolt, GA for the evening. Will be up early tomorrow to get an early start. I should be in Florida by Monday, I think. At least the weather is improving. Should be in the mid to upper 70s for the next 5 days. Hard to take, but someone has to do it!
Hope things are going well with each of you. I really enjoy getting your e-mails. It can get lonely on the Intracoastal Waterway all by oneself, so keep them coming. I will try to do a better job of responding when they come in.
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