4/15 - We reached the channel into Charleston at daybreak having slowed down to accomplish this. As we came in the channel we were passed by an in-bound container ship who at one time let loose 5 whistles (danger) trying to get a small sail boat out of his way with no results , and a out-bound tug and barge, and a out-bound tanker! By 8:45 AM we were tied up to the Megadock at the Charleston City Marina, the first time we have been at a dock since November in Nassau of last year. We took naps and then washed the boat and did laundry. This evening we walked up to a restaurant for snacks and beers with Runaway. This is where we first met Runaway over 7 years ago almost to the same spot on the dock.

4/14 – As the sun came up we dropped the mooring and headed out to sea on the outgoing tide (just like they say in the books). A combination of moisture on the windows and sun glare caused us to have a very very narrow miss with a fishing boat anchored in the center of the channel (what’s up with that?). The fisherman seemed unconcerned about the whole thing while we were hyped. Once on the ocean we headed north and soon dropped our plan to come in to an inlet about 50 miles away. The weather was quite good and all our sources indicated it would probably continue to be good. So we motored north in 1 to 2 foot seas with the winds at about 8 knots from the southeast. One interesting sidelight, some freak of the atmosphere allowed us to talk on the VHF radio (normally line of sight limited) to Gordon and Lorrie on Mystic while they were in Charleston, 145 miles away. As usual, as the day wore on the winds began to pick up a little and move more on the nose. At dusk, a couple of dolphins startled Connie as she sat on the stern of the boat. They blew right next to the boat and stayed with us for about 15 minutes amusing us with their antics. Our plan at this point was to continue on to Wynah Bay, about 40 miles past Charleston, SC. We had almost a full moon tonight so that made things much easier. About midnight we made the decision to divert to Charleston as the winds were up to about 12 to 13 kts and were north of east (our course was northeast) and the waves were building and the boat was beginning to pound. After we changed course to Charleston, things improved quite a bit, but there still wasn’t any sleeping going on.

4/13 – We left early today to keep our options open. The last 30 miles we had to cover would be at low tide and in some very shallow areas. We put on the speed and reached the St John’s River at 11:15 AM. At that point the current was flowing strong out to sea and the winds offshore were calm, so we headed out the St John’s River to the ocean (reaching 9.5 kts over the ground at one point) and motored up the outside to St Mary’s Inlet near Fernandina Beach, FL. We saw tons of jellyfish on the water off the St John’s River. When we got to the inlet at St Mary’s, the current was flowing in strongly so we got a nice push in to Fernandina. We went to the fuel dock and filled up with fuel, water, etc. and then went out on a mooring. Our friends, Matt & Marty on Runaway are here and we got together with them and decided to head out tomorrow.

4/12 – In order to have a little more water from the rising tides, we left a little later this morning and headed through the bridges at Daytona. There were showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, but they did not appear to be too serious. The only excitement we saw in the morning was the manatee in the middle of the channel that we had to slow down for. As we approached Matanzas Inlet, we began to see some shallower water – just 6.5’ in one spot. Then to compound the problem the cold front came through just then with high winds and rain squalls. But by carefully following the channel (and knowing which side to be on) we successfully made it through the inlet. Then it was on to St. Augustine and the new Bridge of Lions. We only waited a few minutes here and then headed north a few miles, anchoring in a remote spot just off the waterway.