We finally got out of Charleston on Thursday morning and continued on our way south looking for warmer weather. Our down time in Charleston gave us lots of time to catch up with Jimmy and Debbie and enjoy Jimmy's cooking. We were wined and dined aboard "Driftaway" every evening as we wiled away the time waiting for parts and better weather.

We were off the dock by 8:00 a.m. Thursday with the plan of getting as close to Beaufort as possible before finding a suitable anchorage. It was cold again with strong head winds but our day was brightened when we heard 2 Outrageous on the radio. We thought they would have passed us when we were having our problems, but like everyone else this year they were delayed by the weather. After a longish day we found a great little anchorage with good wind protection and not too much current despite the 6 foot tides.

Finally when we awoke this morning there was a bright orange ball in the sky, something we hadn't seen in 5 days. After the first coffee we were off for the last 15 miles to Beaufort where we plan on anchoring until Saturday morning. Bev and I had a great lunch with Stu and Pasty Taylor (former Hudson residents) then we were treated to a tour of their yacht club. As it turns out, Sue Holt, who was one of Hudson's top sailors used to be an active member of this yacht club. Like HYC, the here members do a lot of volunteer work, so in true HYC spirit when the club was remodelled Sue found a nice wooden bar to install. Hence, it is known by all members as the "The Sue Holt Bar"

Since the weather has finally moderated it's time to make tracks. So along with 2 Outrageous we'll be jumping offshore from here tomorrow morning and heading to St. Augustine. Last trip Bev and I did the ICW all the way through SC and Georgia, however this trip we look forward to bypassing the worst of the shallow areas. With any luck the favourable weather will be with us for a few days and we can work our way even further south.

Today's picture is of "Dagny's " travel partner taken at sunrise this morning.