11/28/2008, Beaufort, SC
We are back in Beaufort to get Siyasinana ready to cruise for the winter. She took a direct hit of lightning this summer during a freak storm that came out of nowhere and was over in 10 minutes. We rushed down to SC the day after Labor Day to move the boat away from the dock because a hurricane was expected to hit the area. Well the hurricane (Hanna) was a non event in this area and we road her out anchored up a local creek. The scariest part of the whole thing was when the Coast Guard stopped by just before dusk. They asked if we were staying on the boat during the storm. "Why of course we are" we responded. They went on to say "Well then we will need your contact numbers and your NEXT OF KIN". So we gave then the information and proceeded to check and re-check our flares, lifejackets, radios, etc.
While we were preparing to head up the creek we discovered our antenna laying on the bimini roof all charred with burn marks all around it. Up until then we were wondering why most of our electronics were not working. That explained everything. There was no way to get it all fixed and get away from the dock before the storm, so we did the best we could and rode out the storm blind. We had no depth sounder, no radar, no anchor alarm, no radios, no way to charge our batteries, etc. Luckily for us the storm passed to our north and we had no problems.
So now we wait for the electricians to start the work. They are supposed to be here on Monday and they say we will make it to the Bahamas by Christmas. Please keep your fingers crossed. It's not real warm here and we have been using our heater everyday. We are very fortunate that the heat still works. Our fridge and freezer were working too, but now have decided to stop. I guess they were also affected by the jolt of electricity that tore through the boat. Yesterday the fridge was not working, but the freezer was working so well I had to use a chisel to scoop the ice cream we had for dessert. Today I was preparing the left over pecan pie and ice cream and the ice cream was soup. It was still very yummy. Oh the joys of owning a boat. Until next time Happy Thanksgiving.
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The "low country" between Beaufort SC and Savannah Ga. appears fascinating on the charts. Rivers, basins and bays abound. We will spend this Oct/Nov exploring here before setting sail to the south in December. With an upgraded watermaker,we'll have so much water, we may open a drive thru boat wash. If not that, stop over when it's hot and we can run under the sprinkler.
Must buy a fishing belt. The fish are BIG.
Hey, check out the July cover of Cruising World. They put us on it!
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05/12/2008
The Miami Boat Show is one of the larger shows in the country. Siyasinana was oogled at by many and we did our best to make it look like we did'nt live on her. That included taking Rosti our sailing cocker spaniel to the doggy hotel. One nite in Coconut Grove, where we anchored for a week before the show to clean etc., Lisa wakes me up around midnite to check out the awsome torrential rain and lightning. OK. While admiring mother nature I look ahead to our friends on a 42 ft cat. Oh my gosh, there's a monohull adrift in the 30 knots coming thru the anchorage and its wrapped around the bows of our friends cat. Jump in the dingy to assist. The mono's dingy sunk and was stuck/wrapped around his bows. I was just about to board and help when she lets loose, ehich was good, but was now drifting right onto us, which was very bad. A nice but terrified woman on the dragging boat asks if I would board and stop her boat. There wasnt much time...I said' "just put it in forward and motor forward straight into the wind". "What's forward"she says.
Biscayne Bay is nice and we enjoyed cruising the northern keys with Lisa's mom and dad for a week after the show.
Next stop Ft. Lauderdale for some maintainance. Then Jupiter, Cape Canaveral and north for our first time in the ditch. I tell ya..it seems easier to cross the Atlantic than paying all so much attention to navigating the intercoastal. I think we prefer the blue-er water.
We are currently back in Buffalo hard at work and plan to reboard in October for a winter of additional adventures.
If any of you in blogland have any questions or comments about any aspects of our 10000 mile journey, feel free to contact us.
gary and lisa
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