Having sold our condo and the need to vacate by 12/21, HD is on a B-line for Florida. However we took an unusual extended stay of two nights to enjoy the treasures of Charleston. Biked, ate well, shopped and met some new friends.
Then on to Beaufort, SC (pronounced "bew fort" not to be confused with its's name sake in NC pronounced "bow fort"), our venue for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful. Not only did the first mate cook up what was agreed to be the best feast all had had, we were blessed with our new friend Steve Craddock joining us to share it with. Menu consisted of a 9 lb bird sized to fit in the oven, sausage stuffing, sweet potato casserole complete with baby marshmallows, green bean casserole (of course)g, gravy and homemade whole cranberry sauce. Of course, followed by homemade pumpkin pie.
So the crew, along with our Thanksgiving dinner guest,
A Question of Balance who was "rafted up" beside us for the night, prepared for our first overnight passage into the Atlantic to bypass the rest of SC and all of Georgia. Seems that the Georgian ICW is in need of refurbishing and they don't have the money to do it.
Up early and anchor up by 7 AM and on to the local marina for water fill up. Sounds easy, however there is a strong current in the Beaufort River, but the crew was able to have a perfect docking. Not to be confused with the undocking. Steve also was filling up and he lent a hand getting off with the current pushing HD towards the dock and forward. Wedged between two large motor cruisers, HD was full throttle to counter the current missed side swiping the one in front by inches. OK enough excitement for the day. But no, the highway bridge which was in site of our debacle was not showing the 65 feet they are supposed to be in the ICW, it was 62'. The current was ebbing (going out) so we drifted on the river waiting for more airspace. Two hours later while the first mate was in the shower, HD drifted right into and speared an ICW marker with its' bow anchor! The loud bang brought the crew to attention and after 30 minutes of figuring out exactly what happened it was determined that only the sign suffered damage.
Given the law of "threes", that bad things happen in triplets, the crew headed for the bridge confident of successfully passing under it with out issue which is exactly what happened.
Ten miles down the river to the Atlantic Ocean and we were off on our adventure. Luckily we teamed up with two other sailboats making he same run and were in radio contact all night until the next afternoon when we all moored in St Augustine.
The night had no moon and 15-25 knot winds from the north west which allowed HD to sail all night. Since we were sailing down wind the crew took down the main sail while still light and ran under the reacher at 6 to 8 kts of boat speed. The Captain was on top of the dodger furling the main when the block holding the boom in place
parted and took him for a ride to the rails. As he was passing the lifelines, now with half body hanging out over the waves, he was able to catch with the
top of his
Top-siders and safely return to the deck. Whew! Thank you, God! HD had a new main sheet system installed while the crew was on holiday and the riggers didn't tighten the shackle holding the new block to the boom and it came undone! So now the crew is in the Atlantic, with 20kt winds, 6 foot seas and an out of control boom swinging back and forth. Remaining as cool as possible under the circumstances, the crew discussed their options and rigged a harness from the safety of the cockpit and secured the boom from swinging. The Captain has now checked that all shackles are tightened and have a restraining tie in place.
The crew took shifts and sailed through the night at great speeds in large waves that luckily we couldn't see because of the blackness. When dawn came we were in sight of both the entrance to the St. John's River inlet in FLORIDA and the 8 foot waves that kept us company during the night.
Back in the IC, St. Augustine was another 30 miles with favorable current so HD continued south. Five miles on and another "65' foot highway bridge was reading 63.25. Bolstered by successfully negotiating several bridges in the 63 to 64 foot range, HD snugged up to her and tested the height. The first girder looked good just bending the VHF antenna, so HD proceeded only to snap her anemometer off on the last one. The good news is we now know that 63.5 feet is the minimum clearance and the anemometer gets fixed tomorrow in West Palm Beach where we now sit.
"Wow", says the first mate..."It's good to be home!"
Our Florida friends welcomed us!
Daughter, Tara, picking her up for their flight tonite to Atlanta to look at Mercer University for her interview for Pharmacy school.
The crew asks all readers to keep our Grandbaby, Sophia, in your prayers for the next several months as she gets used to her new hip brace...looks REALLY uncomfortable, but preventative measure for proper hip growth. She's a real "trooper" and is already learning to cope with her new get-up! Prayers for Mom and Dad too!
