I got back to Charleston on Tuesday, June 9. In the two weeks I was gone, the captain had set to work on a few remaining projects on board Strider. These included removing the anchor windlass (a greasy, messy job), having it repaired and replacing it again, constructing a chainstopper block on the foredeck (which will relieve much of the pressure on the windlass), installing the wiring for our small flat-screen TV and hi-fi system, and effecting some last modifications to the generator.

Besides getting to know the locals, he also befriended a young Swedish couple, Johanna and Martin, at anchor close by on Snowbird. Martin and Ferdi had some adventures of their own...

Charleston at this time of the year is scorchingly hot, with accompanying high levels of humidity. The oppressive heat contributes to early evening squalls with high winds and thunderstorms which, in combination with tidal factors, can cause all the boats anchored in the Ashley River to swing about erratically in various and opposite directions. Unsuspecting newcomers anchored too close to their neighbours often find themselves somewhat unpopular with said neighbours when the squalls result in boat-owners jumping about on decks with fenders and boathooks to try and prevent scrapes and crashes.

During one such squall, a boat nearby dragged its anchor and drifted straight through the middle between Strider and Snowbird, narrowly missing both. Realising the owners had gone ashore and were not on their boat, Ferdi and Martin jumped into Strider's dinghy and sped toward the dragging boat, which was by then heading straight for some rocks on the other side of the channel. They leaped aboard, after which the two captains quickly set another anchor, securing the vessel and saving it from near-certain disaster. Much later, after the owners had come back from ashore and had located their vessel, they motored past Strider to inquire who had rescued their boat. A curt "thanks" was all our two heroes got for their efforts before the boat moved on. Some people!

One morning we woke up to a surprise - Shiver, the blue Oyster of Red and Liz Donnelly, our friends from our ICW trip, was anchored right next to us. We had parted ways in Beaufort in December, and they had just returned from four months' sailing around the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica. It was fabulous to see them and many an hour was spent on both Strider and Shiver catching up and exchanging stories. Their son Freddie appeared to have grown an inch or two since we last saw him, sailing obviously agrees with him!

Red advised us not to attempt to sail further south at this time of year. Ferdi had himself been toying with the idea for a few days, and what Red and others were saying confirmed his own thoughts. From July 1 our boat is not insured for incidents related to "named storms" occurring in the hurricane "block" for the duration of the hurricane period, which ends in November. So we have now decided to take Strider out of the water in Charleston or surrounds, and return to South Africa until November. Besides the weather factor, most cruisers will agree that one needs a break from your boat every now and again, and I think the captain has now reached that point! (He also needs to take care of some business interests in South Africa).

And so will come to an end the first chapter of the tale of Strider and her voyage around the world. We have spent almost 10 months getting her cruise-ready, and are very happy with what we have achieved in a relatively short time (it takes many boat-owners years to get to the same point). In shakedown sails all the way down from Bristol, RI, to Charleston, SC, we have identified and rectified various issues and problems that have cropped up, and we are confident that she is now more than ready to take up her journey southwards when we return to her in November.