Last week were anchored in the Ashley River in Charleston, SC. On our way into the harbor Monday afternoon we were welcomed by Ft. Sumpter to port, and dancing dolphins to starboard. Sighting multiple dolphins has become a daily occurrence. I am sure it has to do with the warmer water.

So far the anchorage was one of the deepest that we have anchored in so far. We dropped the hook in 22 feet of water just off of City Marina. Since our anchor windlass decided to break on the first day, we have been executing a more manual way of hoisting the anchor and chain. As soon as I dropped it, I was not looking forward to pulling a 55 lb. anchor plus 22 ft. of 3/8" chain back up with my skinny little arms! This was plenty of motivation to get the new windlass installed before our departure.

Tuesday morning was spent doing laundry and cleaning up the boat. I have not done laundry since we left so this spelled FIVE loads and about $15 at the coin laundry. It was actually a funny place for a Laundromat...it was inside a restaurant. Strange...I could smell pancakes and bacon mixed with my Tide fabric softener. Yum!

Later in the afternoon we met up with our friends, Doug & Sheryl for lunch and a tour of the town. It was great to see them again and talk about our travels.

Wednesday we ventured into town on foot. We had a goal of finding the hardware store but also to see the sights around Charleston. The architecture is really quite beautiful. Each house is so different and special in it's own way. We also enjoyed window shopping on Meeting St. There are tons of local restaurants, all smelling amazing, tempting us to dine! We did settle on a fabulous little deli, near the found hardware store, and had an outstanding lunch. Now that our goals had been met we made the trek back to Anastasia for the night.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Day! Two other cruising couples that we have become friends with invited us to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. Chad & Nicole on Sabbatical, Teresa on Daphne and Ben on Elizabeth had planned on dining together for the holiday feast prior to our arrival. When we arrived, they kindly included us in the potluck get-together. Since Anastasia has a HUGE table, good for nothing else, we hosted the gathering. The lead photo is of the happy, hungry group! We had a delicious spread of turkey, stuffing, gravy, potato casserole, ham, bread, corn, sweet potatoes, asparagus, brussel sprouts and plenty of wine! And pie, and chocolate balls too! After an hour, the "I'm stuffed" moans began. So we talked and nibbled into the night, all enjoying the holiday company. When you don't have family, friends are the next best thing!

Friday was get ready to go again day. We installed the new anchor windlass! Woo Hoo! Our plans were to head for Beaufort, SC via ICW on Saturday but a great weather window was open for another offshore leg to Fernandina Beach, FL.

Saturday, up with the dawn! We topped off on diesel and water and headed out of Charleston Harbor bound for open water once more. The forecast for the day was 10-15 knots out of the NE switching to the W at 5-10 knots. We had a great trip, nothing eventful to report other than 30 hours of motoring. We raised the main so that Anastasia wouldn't be confused that she was infact a sailboat and not a motorboat, even if it wasn't helping at all.

Sunday: After sailing/motoring all through the night the sun returned to warm our cheeks and promise warmer weather ahead. We entered St. Mary's inlet fighting a 2-3 knot opposing current. But after much determination we did make it to our anchorage by 11:30AM.

Monday: We are going to venture into the town of Fernandina Beach and explore. So far, it is exceptionally cruiser friendly, with $1.50 showers and free Wi-Fi at the city marina.