It's Nov 19th and was 25 last night...and that's farenheit not celcius! Thankfully we have a little heater, extra blankets and some winter clothes on the boat (and were able to buy longjohns yesterday). Who knew Alaskan winds would be heading south with us?!
We're in a marina in the busy harbour of Charleston, SC and have been here for four nights. It's one of the more expensive places we've stayed and we thought we'd be here for only a night or two. But, since arriving have had extremely strong winds, rain, fog, and now a deep freeze. We've decided that it's worth the extra costs to stay in order to be safe and warm. It's supposed to warm up just a bit today, but is sunny and not as windy so should be better for traveling and anchoring out.
Just a side note with our thoughts about anchoring vs staying in marinas along this trip. So far we've stayed in marinas far more than we've anchored out. That ratio will change significantly when we get to the Bahamas. Each day, we consider the route, tides, weather conditions and the options ahead for staying overnight (called Plans A, B, C & sometimes D). We have enjoyed some beautiful, peaceful anchorages but most days, feel it is worth the $30-55 to be able to tie up to a dock (or pilings), plug the boat in, use the facilities (showers, laundry) and have a chance to meet folks and explore the little towns along the way. We know of several boats that anchor out most nights and only pull into marinas to fuel up or to stay over in extremely bad weather. This trip can be done in many different ways with very different experiences and expenses along the way.
The marina we're at in Charleston is quite unique in that it is linked with the resort next door and we can use the resort facilities. We've taken the free shuttle several times to visit the historic downtown area, shops and friends at another marina. There's also a beautiful pool, hot tub and sandy beach - too bad it's been too cold to do much beyond scurry past those on our way back to the boat!
We're also moored within a few hundred meters of the Yorktown. Brad took a tour of the war memorial at our bow and walked through an aircraft carrier, submarine and a destroyer. The films that played throughout the ships provided an interesting spin about boats that were commissioned in 1943-45. Nevertheless, it was amazing to see the size of the 3 ships and imagine how the crew lived. He was able to sit in the space craft, (Apollo was picked up by the Yorktown) and some of the fighters, tour the engine room and bridge deck. It was interesting to walk on the flight deck and see the planes as well as the cable that stopped them when they landed. He managed to keep his 'head down for most of the things that can smack you, but not all of the bulkheads were missed by my noggin'.
The other boats we've been traveling with left yesterday for Beaufort, SC - a two day trip with only anchorages in between. They are much hardier than us and didn't mind anchoring on the coldest night for this area. We're leaving today and will join them tomorrow on mooring balls in Beaufort. The currents are strong through this next part so it's best for us to leave during slack or flood tide, which will be around 11:30 today (much later than we'd usually head out).
The sun is shining and there's little wind so the cockpit enclosure should be pretty comfortable. We plan to stop these days by 4:00 or 4:30 as sunset is earlier and we always like to leave a little 'wiggle room' as we're never sure how fast we'll be traveling. With the changing currents our speed can vary from up to 7 kts to barely 4. It's not supposed to be as freezing tonight, but will be cold - we'll be running the heater off our new generator - hope that works and isn't too noisy! We'll add a blog later about some of our experiences from Swansboro to Charleston (eg Myrtle Beach, going aground X2) ...stay tuned and stay warm!