Doin' the Charleston

We left Myrtle Beach last Thursday and motor-sailed to an anchorage just off the main ICW. This anchorage is a short creek that connects to the open Atlantic Ocean. Beyond the creek, the water was only a few inches deep so the ocean waves tumbled flat before they reached our boat. Fishermen in fast, shallow-draft boat are able to zip out to the ocean at high tide. But we had a spectacular view of the sea without being exposed to it. Friday morning gave us the most beautiful sunrise that we had seen yet. The sun rose in brilliant streaks of orange between the saltmarshes that bordered the outlet of creek to the ocean.

Friday night found us tied to the Charleston City Marina. This marina has the most elegant and expensive yachts in the world. The owner of Land's End brand of stores had his 400 foot, four story megayacht moored here. The Freedom from Newport Rhode Island was here. Freedom's decktop cabins are constructed almost entirely of mahogany. I have never seen finer yacht joinery and brightwork (varnish). Our 32 foot sailboat, in comparison, looked like a pimple on the ass of an elephant in the company of these megayacht.

Despite the luxury bestowed on it's patrons, the marina's much vaunted WiFi didn't work which is why I am only now writing a blog. The rich all have wireless Internet and don't complain about the WiFi. But let the ship's store run out of Perrier and there's hell to pay.

The Freedom yacht hosted a party on the pier Saturday night. The gentlemen attendees wore blue blazers over khaki shorts and wing-tip boat shoes over bare feet. The women wore, or kicked off, their sandals beneath flowing summer dresses. Mandy and I wore our best cutoffs and stained T-shirts. None of the party attendants offered us champagne. So we didn't offer them a Bud Light. Stuck-up creeps!!

We roamed the sunny city over the weekend, trying various restaurant specialties. Our favorite was 'Shrimp in Grits covered with Cheese and Hot Sauce'.

On Monday at noon, we cast off our lines and backed out of our slip into the raging tides of South Carolina. The current often runs half our top speed and the tidal range (from low to high) can be eight feet.

Last night we anchored in a channel that paralleled a bridge. We set out three anchors and hoped that the reversing tide wouldn't break them out. This morning we expected trouble weighing all three but with Mandy at the helm we had no trouble. Her helmsmanship is improving greatly as is her skill at lassoing pilings when docking.

Tonight we are docked in Beaufort, South Carolina. Rainy weather is expected for the next day or two and we will hide here until the sun comes back out to play.