Several months have passed since I last posted on the blog site, and many things have happened.
We traveled to France for 3 1/2 weeks in September and had a wonderful and very educational visit. We stopped at the boat on the way back from europe and spent several days in preparation for moving the boat south.
Returning to Santa Barbara for 3 weeks, we visited the grandchildren and celebrated Tyler's 9th birthday.
Lander Nicoliat, a friend from Santa Barbara, and I returned to the Baltimore area on October 28. We spent a day doing boat work and provisioning, then departed Bodkin Creek on October 30. We traveled overnight down the Chesapeake, then through the Norfolk area to the Great Bridge Lock at the head of the ICW. The amount of major shipping traffic on the bay at night was surprising. It seemed we were dodging giant ships all night long, but this was in part because we chose to travel in the shipping lanes to avoid crab trap floats. We were stuck at the Great Bridge Lock for several hours due to barge traffic, but eventually made it on to Coinjock where a good nights sleep was much appreciated.
Because of a predicted weather front, we chose to move on from Coinjock the next morning to be sure we did not get caught at the Alligator River bridge. This bridge will not open in high winds, and with the mast on Eos, we needed to have an opening. Albemarle Sound was a little bumpy with wind speeds of 20 to 30 knots, but Eos had no problem with the conditions. We anchored in Pungo Creek near Belhaven, and had a relaxed night, although it was windy and rainy.
The next morning the front from the north had arrived. We raised anchor and set out across the Pamlico, where the mast head instruments recorded gusts to 40 knots true. Again, it was nice to be in a warm secure pilothouse sipping coffee while the conditions outside were so harsh. We took a slip in the yacht basin at Moorhead City and cleaned up to show the boat that afternoon, November 2.
We decided to stay inside on the ICW for the rest of the journey to Charleston. There were some fairly shallow spots, but the forward scan sonar helped to find the way. The Osprey Marina near Myrtle Beach was a highlight, as was the peaceful night at anchor on the South Santee River.
In Charleston we took a slip at the Charleston Harbor Marina and Resort and on the 8th Stephanie Nicolait (Lander's wife) and Lynel arrived We had a great stay in Charleston, Lander and Stephanie departed for Santa Barbara on the 12th as Lynel and I headed south to Florida.