We were met by dolphins playing in the surf around EIRA as we approached Charleston Harbour. The noticeable difference between the dolphins playing here and those who said farewell to us in the Sea of Abaco was the color and clarity of the water! Nothing compares to the crystal clear waters on the Bahama banks. The Charleston water is a dark muddy brown.
We travelled 460 miles and had a great trip. The days did not have much wind but in the evenings the wind picked up and we had beautiful, brisk sails. No moon, however the night sky was brillant with stars. The Gulf Stream gave us some good speed under Eira's keel, clocking 8-9 knots regularly.
We dropped the anchor in the Ashley River and Customs and Immigrations came to clear us back into the US of A- no problems. We put the dinghy down and took Daisy ashore- she was very happy to be on terre firme once again.
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How do you spell Relief? Daisy's answer; it feels great to finally pee! We have been away from land for over 48 hours and Daisy has not gone to the bathroom yet. She doesn't like to pee/poop on the deck but when land is not insight...She could hold it not longer and finally relieved herself, on the boys' closed hatches, this morning! Doggy treats for Daisy! She was quite excited afterwards and ran around the boat prancing and barking. We had a great sail last night and then the wind died this morning and we had to turn on the "iron genny' (aka motor). We have been motor sailing all day and it has been a warm one. Lots of time reading books/magazines (thank you Kathy and Tracy) and the boys have watched a movie. We are presently 90 miles off the coast from Jacksonville, FL and still riding the gulf stream. However the current is not as brisk here, we are only gaining 1.5-2 knots. Day 3- wish there was more wind.
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We had 50 miles to sail on the Little Bahamas Bank, one last time to glimpse the beautiful waters of the Bahamas. We were off the banks by 11am and the boys were ready to let out all 4 fisihng lines once we reached the drop off. We set a westerly course inorder to quickly get into the swift Gulf Stream current. The center is located apporximatley 30 miles off the banks. The waters in the Gulf Stream are warmer and we kept a log of the temperature increase, going from 90.4 F up to 93.2 F and our speed incresed by 3.5 knots! We were sailing at 8.5- 9 knots!! woo-woo! The day was warm and unevevntful (which is good) until sunset when --zzzinggg- out goes a line and we have a big beautiful Mahi-mahi on! 4 feet 7 inches- oh yeah! It gave all 3 boys a good fight. Day 2 was a good one.
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