We're Back! (But Holed Up for Wild Weather)

We arrived in Charleston late on Sunday, January 18 to reunite with Katahdin after almost five months apart. To be honest, it was both great to be back on board and unsettling how much there was to do, remember, locate and fix in order to get back underway. On the "great" side, thanks to our good friends at Coastal Carolina Yacht Sales, Katahdin was warm and cozy when we opened her hatch at 9:00 pm on a chilly winter evening. She felt like home despite a few boxes of "stuff" that we had shipped which. along with our duffle bags, were definitely underfoot for the evening.

We awoke to a beautiful Charleston sunrise and several days of concerted effort to stow

gear, find things, test things and fix things. For example, where was our dinghy cover which, last time we saw it was covering the dinghy? (found later in the week buried by someone in the lazarette). Why wasn't the shore cord dispenser and retractor system working? (someone had turned its breaker off) How come we were getting low coolant warnings on both engines? (the mechanic who serviced the engines didn't run them to work out the "bubbles"). Why wasn't the horn working? (Breaker off and compressor empty). Could we get autoroute to work? (No) Where was the mop? (bowels of the engine room) Where was the Admiral's key to the salon door? (still missing). How come the blackwater guage was stuck at 13% (Fixing that will be a nasty job for Monday). Where were the Admiral's binoculars? (She left them in Maine). Our brand new ice maker that was part of the grill cabinet we purchased when we bought the boat (and agreed could be installed this fall) didn't work. Would a new one arrive on time, be installed, and work before departure? (Yes--late the day before). And later, why didn't the volvo stay put function work? (Now fixed by running autoconfiguration).

All of these things and more occupied our Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Nonetheless, the Admiral found time to take three quarters of a day shopping for fabric she wants for curtains in Maine and I was able to squeeze in a half morning MRI appointment which couldn't be scheduled in Maine until long after we had left.

Did I mention it was cold? Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we awoke to 25 degrees, heavy frost, and any bit of water on our decks and docks frozen solid. For a few hours, we had to watch our footing very carefully!

At last, however, we were ready to go. Doesn't she look terrific?

We departed Charleston headed for Beaufort (Bufurt) SC about 10:15 Thursday morning. We planned our nearly 70 mile, four hour, getting reacquainted shakedown voyage to be straightforward and painless. And, largely it was. Our first obstacle lay right off the entrance to the marina. We had to pass downriver under the twin spans of the South Ashley Bridges which post a 14 foot vertical clearance at high tide. We need all of that to clear our masthead nav/anchor light and another couple of more optional feet to clear our antennae which do flex a bit in a pinch. As high tide was upon us, before she would allow us to cast off, the Admiral ordered the Captain to hake his binoculars to the end of the dock closest to the bridge and read the river guage adjacent to the navigation span. It read between 14 and 15 feet. We squeaked under with somewhat more room to spare than we anticipated.

Just below the bridge, the Coast Guard was regularly transmitting warnings about a sunken sailboat. So, having gotten under the bridges with our mast head gear intact, we turned our attention to locating the mast of said vessel. As we cleared the bridge, a large sailing catamaran pulled out from the marina below the bridge. Figuring that he would hit the sunken sailboat first, the Admiral ordered me to follow him. But very shortly, we spotted the top 10 feet of mast of the sunken boat which freed me up to choose my own course.

By then, it had warmed into a gorgeous day. There is nothing quite like winding through the undeveloped lowlands of the South Carolina ICW. They are gorgeous and expand in all directions. Along the way, four different pods of dolphins greeted us--each group in

turn coming over to graze on the sushi brought up by our passing. We arrived safely at Safe Harbor Beaufort about 14:15, fueled up (ouch, the tanks were almost empty and that was a big bill), tied up, and went for a walk. To be honest, I had misremembered Beaufort where we had been almost a year ago but quickly got my bearings. After the walk and a rest, we took a second, sunset walk to Breakwater Restaurant where, a year

ago, the Admiral found what has become her go-to cocktail, Morgana's Martini. Me, if

I weren't happily married and about to turn 76, might like to try Modern Love. Ah, but the ingredients list didn't make the picture--probably a lucky thing as the Admiral says I would undoubtedly embarrass myself.!

We had planned to stay two nights in Beaufort but, as all of you know, there is a nasty winter storm approaching the east coast and South Carolina was expecting several days of gale force winds along with freezing rain and rain. So, on Friday, we beat feet south to Savannah where we now have a five day reservation at IGY Savannah Harbor, a marina off the Savannah River tucked into a very protected boat basin. Our Friday cruise again brought the pleasure of numerous dolphins and we encountered our first white pelicans of this journey. Along with herons, ibis, brown pelicans, a black vulture, and a very occasional loon, they brightened our day. I have to mention one fellow who appeared to have had quite the night. We passed close to a brown pelican perched on piling who was very sound asleep. Even the roar of the mighty Katahdin did not disturb his stuporous dreams.

We also passed Parris Island which we visited when we were here last winter. They make marines; I'll bet each and every parent helped.

Finally, we turned off the ICW and headed up the Savannah River to Savannah. Very shortly, the scenery turned from undeveloped to industrial. We didn't encounter much traffic on our way up the river but there was a dredging operation directly in front of the marina. We had to cruise up and down the river while they hauled the dredge line out of the way so we could sneak around it and into IGY. Another day's journey come to an end.

Epilogue: I will try to capture a picture or video in the next day or two but, as we've spent Saturday cleaning and doing maintenance in the Harbor, probably a half dozen container ships heading both up and down stream have passed by the boat basin. They are HUGE. Larger than a city block and stacked higher than any of the multi-story nearby buildings, they block the sky for 5-6 minutes as they lumber past.

Gonna press "Publish"