Our time in Beaufort was very enjoyable once again and warmer than in the past so we were able to explore the town a bit more. There are many beautiful houses and flowers are still blooming as they haven't heard it's cold. We even heard from friends in the keys today who say it's only 70. It is slightly warmer at night and this morning we couldn't see our breath when we got up.
Yesterday was another adventure. We were happily motoring along past Hilton Head Island (inside the channel) and the depth sounder was reading 13' when at the same instant we hit bottom it read 5'. As our keel needs 5 1/2' we knew we were in trouble. It should also be explained that Kanga has a "winged keel" which means there's a big bulb on the bottom making it very difficult to get unstuck! To make matters more interesting the tide was going out. We tried unsuccessfully to free ourselves and then called tow boat U.S. which is like AAA for boats. He arrived quickly and tugged and pulled with his two 200 hp engines and on his last try before giving up we were freed. He reported that they call wing keels "plow keels" making us all the happier he was able to free us.
The above adventure occurred around 4 pm so we continued on to the most beautiful anchorage among the marsh grass. It was low tide so there were dolphins feeding all around us as the sun set. A good ending to a long day.