New Berth at the St John's Yacht Club

Well if we couldn't be the Scourge of the  Seven Seas, we were at least the scourge of the ICW today!  We set out from McClellansville and made our way down the Intracoastal under the black flag.

Our jolly roger got plenty of appreciation from our fellow boaters, and we heard many an  "argh"  as we passed other vessels.

There was a good deal of wildlife to be seen as we made our way down, including a bald eagle. Additionally, the wind was good, and we were able to put the sails out and have a good sail around Charleston Harbor.

One bit of excitement was putting the dinghy in the water, and zipping around Charleston Harbor trying to get a few good pix of the Black Dog under sail. Hopefully when Bill downloads his camera there will be a few good ones in there.

We found a good marina on the Stono River, and after some difficulties mooring due to current, we got the boat secured.

We had a nice dinner at  Poogan's and then retired back to the boat for the evening.  We will close out this trip by knocking around Charleston tomorrow prior to our evening flight to NJ.

Unscheduled in McClellansville

It was to be a Waffler's trip for the ages. Bill, Bob, and I back under sail again together for the first time since 2009. We were going to be the scourge of the Seven Seas. We got scourged instead.

From the on set, we noticed that the seas were choppy, however the wind was good, and the weather report indicated that the choppiness would improve. As we made our way further out to navigate around Cape Fear and the Frying Pan Shoals, the weather report deteriorated and things got worse. The wind picked up to 10 knots higher than we were expecting, and the sea got rougher. Everyman on-board succumbed to the dread sea sickness to one degree or another.

To top it all off, there was no moon, making the night pitch black, which added an additional level of difficulty to an already challenging voyage.  We rounded the shoals at about 1 AM, and made a decision based on the worsening off shore forecast to enter the Intracoastal Waterway at Georgetown.

We made good enough time to Winyah Bay that we were able to make a good start on the Intracoastal and tie up in McClellansville. We are extremely excited at the prospect of a hot meal and hot showers. Tomorrow we complete the transition to Charleston.

Looking out at the sunset over the Intracoastal, it is hard to imagine that it is such a different picture just a few miles out to sea.