We are back in Beaufort to get Siyasinana ready to cruise for the winter. She took a direct hit of lightning this summer during a freak storm that came out of nowhere and was over in 10 minutes. We rushed down to SC the day after Labor Day to move the boat away from the dock because a hurricane was expected to hit the area. Well the hurricane (Hanna) was a non event in this area and we road her out anchored up a local creek. The scariest part of the whole thing was when the Coast Guard stopped by just before dusk. They asked if we were staying on the boat during the storm. "Why of course we are" we responded. They went on to say "Well then we will need your contact numbers and your NEXT OF KIN". So we gave then the information and proceeded to check and re-check our flares, lifejackets, radios, etc.
While we were preparing to head up the creek we discovered our antenna laying on the bimini roof all charred with burn marks all around it. Up until then we were wondering why most of our electronics were not working. That explained everything. There was no way to get it all fixed and get away from the dock before the storm, so we did the best we could and rode out the storm blind. We had no depth sounder, no radar, no anchor alarm, no radios, no way to charge our batteries, etc. Luckily for us the storm passed to our north and we had no problems.
So now we wait for the electricians to start the work. They are supposed to be here on Monday and they say we will make it to the Bahamas by Christmas. Please keep your fingers crossed. It's not real warm here and we have been using our heater everyday. We are very fortunate that the heat still works. Our fridge and freezer were working too, but now have decided to stop. I guess they were also affected by the jolt of electricity that tore through the boat. Yesterday the fridge was not working, but the freezer was working so well I had to use a chisel to scoop the ice cream we had for dessert. Today I was preparing the left over pecan pie and ice cream and the ice cream was soup. It was still very yummy. Oh the joys of owning a boat. Until next time Happy Thanksgiving.