It is Monday morning, November 12, 2012.
It is Veteran's day in America which is a holiday as November 11th fell on a Sunday.
We are sitting at the Harborage on Ashley marina dock in Charleston, South Carolina preparing to leave on the out-going tide at noon. At 9:00 AM it is already very warm, predicted to be a high of 80 F today. I have completed a Skype call to my father-in-law in Woodstock New Brunswick. He warned me he couldn't talk for very long, as he had an important appointment; to get his snow tires installed in a half hour. He told me I may not want to think of snow being where we are. I told him when I do, I just sit quietly and watch the pelicans for a few minutes, and the thought goes away.
This morning is one of those you feel when you are on your last day of your vacation someplace warm in February. You know in a few hours you are going to be flying home and when you step outside of the airport in Toronto you want to keep this feeling with you. Three days ago, when we arrived in Charleston it was like we had felt so many times before when they opened the plane door and you got that first blast of winter relaxation and joy that was going to last for a week or ten days.
Except this time, we were not getting on the plane to go home. We were taking our lines aboard at noon, and heading further south to Beaufort NC and Savannah Georgia in a few days.
For the last two weeks since Hurricane Sandy passed, we had been getting dressed in layers. It was hard to weigh anchor at 7:30 AM, with the temperatures in the low forties Fahrenheit, excepting the primoral urge to get someplace warmer.
It seemed when we crossed the border into South Carolina a few things changed. The sky became perfectly clear without a cloud all day for five days in a row, the wildlife increased; porpoises, pelicans and yahoos with fishing boats, burning more gas than fishing. As well, the vegetation changed. We see a lot of marshland, the waterway being very coastal, cypress tress with large growths of moss hanging from them, and best of all, wild palm trees. Yes, palm trees! A sure sign the temperature is changing.
The creeks and rivers are joined by short land cuts and other creeks, winding their way through the acres and acres; miles and miles of tall, golden marsh grass, all with the resemblance to wheat or corn fields. This ribbon of inter-connecting waters is what allows us a path south on the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW), a marvel of engineering in itself. We pass under fixed, as well as bascule bridges, that either lift or swing open on request, or on the half hour. The bridge tenders always reply in their very best southern accent "You all have a good day, captain" after we radio that Chances has cleared the bridge.
We anchor at nights in such places as Wappoo Creek, or in Rock Creek above the entrance to Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff. One we had to make just before sunset, was Coogoodoo Creek from which I have posted a picture of a beautiful sunrise after a sleep in the quietest water in the Carolinas. Most of these places are far from the beaten path where at night we get to see an uncommon sight for us city folks; billons of stars overhead including the Milky Way, something I remember as a kid growing up but haven't seen much in the last thirty years.
Charleston, originally named Charles Towne after Charles II, the king of England, is as charming as a southern city can be. It is known to be America's friendliest city and in 2011 it was claimed to be America's Sexiest City. Filled with history, as most settlements in this area are, the "low country "with the battles between the French and English empires, the expansive plantations made rich by the cotton and rice cropped by slave labour. It figured largely in the American Revolution as well as the civil war, however again, as we have been seeing on our journey south the structures have been preserved, whether they are plantation or antebellum homes, businesses banks or parks. It is really satisfying to be able to walk physically into history rather than just see the pictures in a museum. The downtown area has sidewalk constructed with slabs of stone, no doubt ballast left behind by ships returning to Europe, similar to the stone in Annapolis. We were fortunate to be in the city on "Second Sunday" when they close a huge section of King Street to vehicle traffic for the afternoon and the whole street becomes a market for half the day. The shops and restaurants are all open but wares and tables are set up outside for shoppers to browse or eat and drink in the middle of day in the middle of the street. The whole scene takes on a festive atmosphere especially with the bright sunshine and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. In front of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville store, an impromptu symphony of the band struck up with each one of the brass instruments walking out to the street from a different store doorway. They played a couple of classics and finished off with one Christmas carol to remind everyone what was just around the corner. It was a special day for dogs. Among all others who their brought to the market, were homeless dogs being walked by policemen (!) each wearing a special "Adopt Me" cloak. It just seemed the right thing to be going on.
The marina at which we stayed (yes, we paid so that we could explore one of the treasured cities of the trip) revealed the accumulated wealth which has been partly invested in floating fibreglass. Here they not only own boats, but some can be easily classed as small ships. Some are from ports in other parts of the world but even they are intermingled with locally owned or at least registered Charleston yachts. It is a port city and boats from all over the world converge.
There is an unique sound that that been happening under our boat ever since we left the Cape Fear area that sounds like rice krispies in a bowl of milk. If you lay awake at night, you can hear these popping sounds, not to loud but enough to make me wonder what was going on. After asking, I looked it up on-line and it turns out to be little critters chewing away at the garden growing on the hull. This is part of what I found; "The shrimp, is a tiny one inch crustacean that exists in shallow waters. It has two claws', one larger than the other, which it uses to stun its quarry, such as tiny crabs, by snapping the largest claw close." So along with the other marine life, which are becoming commonplace we have added entertainment. Thank goodness it is not loud enough to keep us awake.

Down the way in the next few days, we will put our T-shirts and shorts away, for pullovers and jeans. The cold isn't cold enough to make us fret as we expected some of this from those who have travelled this route before us, and we have an enclosure with a propane heater. There are many boats who do not even have a bimini so it does make us look like weenies from the frozen north if we even mention the cold. So we don't say much and only talk among ourselves. We have lost Groovin' for the last week but they will be catching up to us soon after some repairs they had to do as well as a friend they were meeting in Wilmington.
We are happy, with lots to eat and no problems with Chances other than the alternator back a while ago. We have met all kinds of people who I am sure will become lifetime friends enjoying the same escapade as we. For those of you wondering, I have done three oil changes, two with new filters, have burned approximately $750.00 in diesel fuel. There has been very little use of sails but we use the jib to get some lift on days we can to at least counter the tide, - if we have to run against it for a short distance. The tide range along the South Carolina coast runs an average of 9 feet and current is a big factor along the inlets from the ocean. The cross currents can be nasty with small standing waves and whirlpools. The guide books; Intracoastal Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob's handbook have been extremely useful as of course Google Earth. Our WiFi antenna has worked very well although out in the wilderness, it is completely electronic free. There is no reasonable FM radio to listen to, all of it being Christian evangelistic radio with the same theme; Send us money and you will be saved! Even all the music, on every station is deep-south gospel music. I knew about the Bible belt of America but this area is the off-putting , restraining Bridle Belt. Each to their own, I guess. If you don't like it don't listen.

Until next time, take care.