On Dry Land, without a boat
06 May 2011 | Myrtle Beach, SC
Chris
We are in Myrtle Beach tonight at the home of Peaches' friends Frank and Valerie. We last saw them on our way south in the fall of 2009. They gave us a shoulder to lean on and an ear to our frustrations with going down the ICW. If you read the older blog, this visit lasted 2 weeks and saved our sanity following the 'Come to Jesus' meeting Peach and I had the night before getting to Myrtle Beach. We were new to cruising, still very fresh out of our busy and demanding professions, and not coping well with each-others type-A personalities (within the confines of a 31x13 foot boat). We cooled our heels, got some sleep, good food and listened to Frank and Valerie's counseling. Now, we are back, fresh from a great time to the Bahamas and back, with stories to share and to catch up on their busy lives. What a difference. What dear people.
We moved the boat from the Cooper River Marina to Pierside on Monday. It was only about a mile and a half, but what a difference. We passed all size and types of navy ships, and when we came close to the two ships with their bows facing us (and the GPS Peaches set from the dock at Pierside) we turned in with 17 knots of winds on our stern and a strong current, we managed to get the boat into the dock without a scratch. Whew. Home at last. What, I have to put it into the hoist lift on Wednesday? So I wasn't done. But, there was so much to do in the meantime. We stayed on the boat Monday night but that was our last night in our comfy beds.
We picked up at 10 foot Budget rent a truck at 0900 on Tuesday and immediately started to offload everything from the boat, up a long metal ramp, around the corner and into the truck. The downside to this setup was that low tide happened in the middle of the day, causing the ramp to seem like it was a vertical line, not a gentle incline for most of the hauling. Oh, and it was 85 degrees and humid. But we soldiered on, long into the evening.
First we took everything out of the van that was stored in it over the winter, like the big winter cover, the poles, and boxes of extra boat equipment we didn't take with us. Then, by the end of the day, everything was in the truck....full to the roof. The jib was off and in the bag in a lazaret, and we turned off the lights, locked the parting boards and limped into the van and went to the hotel. We could hardly string words together into sentences, walk without groaning or think beyond the shower and tub awaiting us in the room. I took one shower and two tub baths before going to sleep. It was awesome!!
We had a wakeup for 0630 and started all over again. We got to the boat, groaning about how much more there was to do when it got hauled out at 0800. Our friend Miguel gave me all the secrets of fighting the lack of room to turn the boat and the winds and currents and get the Star of the Sea into the narrow lift dock. No accidents or scratches on the boat, and I didn't want today to be the day. It wasn't. It was one of the best three point turns I've ever done. The slings came up under the boat and the engine is off......until next time. We crawled out over the bow and they lifted the boat and sedately carried her to her spot near an old dry-dock that was used for submarines when the navy yard was going at full capacity.
After her pressure washing, the bottom looked almost pristine, just a few baby barnacles back on the starboard side, aft of the midsection. Wow, not much to do. But, like all things marine, the little bit to do took us until this morning (Friday) at about noon. But, check out the pictures, she looks like new. This year, we aren't covering her with her New York winter cover, and she will be well looked after by the nice people here at Pierside.
So I in my nightcap and Peaches in her.....................no I in my Budget truck and Peaches in the van, headed north on Route 17 for Myrtle Beach. We are sitting in pure comfort in the living room of Frank and Valerie's home, with their black lab, Chloe, ay our feet. Frank and Val have gone off to a play and left us to unwind in front of the very large flat screen TV over the fireplace. The rain is hitting the roof (it almost feels like being on the boat) and soft, real beds await. Peaches and I haven't had a decent night's sleep since we got off the boat. Where is the gentle rocking, the burble of water moving with the tides under the hull, the tap tapping of a halyard against the mast? The rain might help tonight, running down from the downspouts it might simulate being on the water.
SO, we are happy/sad, just like last year getting off the boat. We are so grateful to our friends Connie and Ken from OZ for another rich cruising season (and for letting me use them indiscriminately in the blog all season). They are home safe in Port Credit, Canada.............Ken just got there today. We'll keep taking pictures and writing until we get back to Chautauqua and Buffalo. Thanks for sticking with us, it was such a good time. We are so lucky.
Oh, I finally saw a copy of 6 Knots, on the coffee table in Frank's living room. It seemed so much bigger than I pictured it (even though I knew it was to 8 1/2 x 11". It was a strange sensation to see my name in print and my picture on the back cover......after all the days and nights of work getting it just right, it still seems like it wasn't me. But, it was and is. Hope you like it. Remember, get it from Authorhouse.com as Amazon and Barnes and Noble priced it at $60. I wouldn't even buy it for that much! Now, Star of the Sea, Out.