My first "outside" into the Atlantic turned out to be a bit of a non-event....I guess that's something I should be thankful for! We sailed pretty much dead downwind for the whole trip from Cape Fear to Charleston. We had planned to get a little further, perhaps to Hilton Head, but the wind died and we had an ugly front coming through the next day so Charleston made a good stopover.

On the way up the Ashley river to the Charleston City Marina a freeloader decided to hitch a ride. Scared the crap out of me when he landed on the boat, but he seemed right at home as if he owned the place. At least he didn't take a dump on the deck!