Odds 'n Ends

Recently, it occurred to us that there are lots of small items that annoy or are interesting that rarely come up in a conversation (or blog).

1) No one tells you to bring wool socks on these trips. Being backpackers, we always have wool socks and poly pro garments with us. Glad of it, too. When our feet get wet in the dingy or otherwise, it is good to have on "warm when wet" clothing.

2) Lock tenders and bridge tenders are problematic. False! We have encountered NO unpleasant folks in these position so far in our journey. We have, however heard a few " Weeny, Whiney Water Warriors" beg the tenders to break or strech the rules that they have to operate by. " OH Pleeeeeze hold the bridge for us, you have to understand that we have been underway since 6:30 and we are soooooo tired!" Sounds like a real yachting emergency, no?

3) None of the volumes of "Crusing World" or "Sailing" mags have ever mentioned "ranging lights".

In short, these are bright flashing lights that, when aligned one over the other tell you that you are in the middle of the shipping lane. We are talking very bright, daytime or night time lights. It is most reassuring to have your course verified by these navaids and they are much easier to steer by over long distances.

4) Again, the mags never mention the fatigue of going into the "unknown" pretty much each and every day. The up side is that we are learning lots of new skills and meeting many teriffic new people. The down side includes: not knowing some importanate conditions such as: the bottom in the anchorages; not knowing that the tide runs 4 knots at the marina that you have decided to visit tonight (That is nearly 6 ft. per second of drift as you untie your last knot and try to get (into or) out of a slip. We know that people hesitate to leave a slip with this kind of drift combined with a moderate but adverse wind.) Bottom line here is to check the tide tables for time, slack and velocity. Also, in the Carolinas and Georga the tides run (so far) from 4 ft. to 9ft. Up 'til now, Trefoil has not been held up often by tidal conditions but, we have hung around from time to time because of our lack of experience with these issues.

5) People - The folks have been kind and friendly. Most of the time, if we are being overtaken by a powerboat, we back down our throttle and make it clear that we are doing so. This nearly always results in the powerboat doing the same and leaving far less wake for us to deal with. (We wave,too!) When we enter a new (that'd be all of 'em, folks) marina we make it clear that we have little experience with local conditions. The result has been that someone always meets us at the dock and often there will be two (even three) dock hands to assist. Result: no embarrasing crashes or (many) scrapes in Trefoils hull. People on the streets respond in a friendly manner. Hospitality has been great and we love to get out and visit towns. Zero negative (social) experiences to date!

Enough, already!

Dick & Karen

I've got Georgia on my mind......

and we have Georgia waters under our keel!! We arrived this afternoon at Isle of Hope Marina, just outside of Savannah, Georgia. In the past two days we have gone from long underwear, fleece hats and gloves and foul weather gear to t-shirts and shorts! This afternoon it was high 60's and sunny when we arrived here, and we needed to shed a few layers fast!

To backtrack, Beaufort, South Carolina, was one of our favorite stops so far. We spent two nights there, and enjoyed the town a great deal. The rain stopped partway through our second day there, and we were able to get out a bit, although it was quite chilly. There is a beautiful waterfront park, a number of restaurants along the water, and lots of nice shops on the main street. The people are very friendly, and once again, Colby made lots of new friends! Also, some beautiful churches; we visited both the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches. We look forward to a return trip in the spring, when the weather will hopefully be more conducive to sitting outside.

We left Beaufort yesterday on the high tide, and were able to sail for a few hours in Port Royal Sound. This was a treat, as so much of the trip has been under power. Last night we were at Hilton Head; the wind blew, gusting to 25 knots, and we were glad to be at a secure dock, with heat!! Underway early today, we had the tide with us most of the way. Here the tidal range is 9 feet; we are still learning to plan for this as we travel!

Isle of Hope is a lovely spot. We will be here a couple of days, preparing to leave the boat for 4 -5 weeks, so that we can go home for the holidays. We are very happy to have had such a beautiful day of sunshine and warmth today. We will hold this in the "Memory Bank" as we drive north into snow and 20 degree weather to enjoy Christmas with our family (those on this side of the Atlantic Ocean) and our church.

We have traveled over 1350 miles by water since we left Port Henry on September 26. We have met so many wonderful people (including a single hander who left Labrador on October 18, and arrived in Beaufort two days ago!), have visited some beautiful spots, and have continued to learn a lot. We look forward to some time at home, and then continuing our travels aboard Trefoil in January.

Jingle Bells in Beaufort, SC

It's a little surreal; we are on our boat at a dock in Beaufort, South Carolina. A street band is playing Jingle Bells, it is 50 degrees and raining, but we are cozy.

The past two days have been full of contrasts; we left Charleston on a beautifully sunny day yesterday. Wind 15-20 knots, but on the nose, so it was powering into a chop created by wind and tides in opposition all day. We couldn't reach Beaufort in a day. so we anchored out, in a spot that was actually a good anchorage. But we had just had a nail-biting trip through a section called Watt's Cut, mile 495 to mile 504. We did it at low tide; not to be recommended. We were fine, didn't go aground, but it was rather nerve-racking. Dolphins have become a common sighting, but they are beautiful each and every time. After a good night, we continued on today, back and forth through 35 miles of winding ICW. The tidal range here is over 7 feet. Amazing! Beaufort is billed as a very historic town; it does have a beautiful waterfront, but the rain is a deterrent to exploration!

We'd like to continue on tomorrow toward Savannah, but rain may detain us. We do look forward to getting home for Christmas.

Charleston is beautiful, but ready to move!

Charleston is a beautiful city; we have enjoyed some lovely walks in the city, as well as a carriage tour (Colby was allowed in the carriage!). Ashley Marina is very nice, but is a ways from the historic district, so we have had our share of exercise! Sunday we attended services at the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston; this was a highlight, as the church was beautiful and the pastor delivered an excellent message.

Monday we got our prop back, along with a computer printout of all the details, so we look forward to seeing what a difference this makes. (Our engine has been running hot, and we have needed to keep the cover off while motoring, which is every day. Having the prop re-pitched, we have been advised, will help with this.) We had planned to leave this AM, but the weather forecast calls for severe thunderstorms tomorrow. Our next destination is Beaufort, and we would need to anchor out between here and there. The anchorages in the south have little protection from wind, and also, it isn't easy to get Colby ashore in a thunderstorm. So we elected to stay here until the storm passes through, and we look forward to heading out again Thursday morning.

It is interesting how the "rhythm" works when cruising. Before we arrived here, we had three long days (55 miles, 53 miles, and 40 miles). We were ready to rest and catch up. Now, we are rested, we have provisioned, done the laundry, cleaned the boat, done some boat jobs, and are ready to move. But the weather isn't right, so we stay an extra day or two, somewhat impatiently, to wait for good weather. The alternative is to travel anyway, but at what expense? And we love having Colby with us, but getting him ashore from an anchorage is always a consideration.

We have made arrangements to leave our boat at Isle of Hope Marina near Savannah, Georgia, for a month or so. We will rent a car (remember, we have Colby) and drive home for Christmas. We plan to return mid-January and resume our travels south. Isle of Hope is about 120 miles from Florida! In Florida we have many friends to visit, and we look forward to seeing them!