Ending One Trip With Plans for Something Much Bigger

The weather was beautiful for sailing today, but our plans were dashed by rum and cider. Apparently the amount of rum consumed is not fit for print, and we slept in to an hour that did not suit our plans.

We did take the time to finally resolve the chart plotter reboot issue before the anchor came up. It's nice to have that resolved.

After a quick pancake breakfast, we headed up the intracoastal, back to Ashley Marina. We gave things a good cleaning, and disembarked. Matt headed back to Beaufort, and the rest of us headed to Bob's house. After getting ourselves cleaned up, we joined with Ronda and her sister, Ashley, for some gallery walking and some drinks and snacks in downtown Charleston.

Although we are sad to see this trip end, we are excited about planning a sail to Connecticut. We know what we need to accomplish, and it is a lot. But accomplishing this will improve us immensely as sailors, and that will be a good thing.

Rum Recovery Adventure

We woke up this morning with in anticipation of some good sailing, however maintenance comes first. After breakfast, Bill and I worked on a solution to the rebooting GPS. We still are having issues, but we feel like we are close, and have something new to try in the morning.

It was a bit chilly and overcast when we started the day, but the Sun came out and warmed things up for us. We were joined by Matt, and although we got a late start, it was a great day for a sail! We had a quick stop at the fuel dock and then spent an enjoyable afternoon sailing around Charleston Harbor.

The adventure of the day was when we discovered we were out of rum (time flies when you're having rum!). All was not lost though. We knew that we would be anchoring around the Stono River, and that we had to sail right past Bob's backyard. So naturally we called Ronda. The plan was to heave a line to her, and have her attach a full bottle of rum in a bag to the line, and we would reel in the rum. We had interrupted her football game, and it took a good ten minutes to convince her that we weren't drunk, and we actually wanted her to do this. We did get it done, and Ronda was clever enough to think of what we had not, and that was to put the rum bottle into something that would float. A few tries with the heaving line and we had our bottle (see Bob below holding the prize) . Sadly, we are almost out again and may have to repeat the exercise tomorrow.

We dropped our hook just before 5:30, and got the grill set up to cook some awesome inch and a half thick steaks acquired by Bob. We entertained ourselves at dinner by selected readings from the The Art of Coarse Sailing, which we read aloud to each other.

It is expected to be cold tonight, but we have rum and hot cider to warm us, and we anticipate some nice sailing tomorrow.

The Progress Continues

Another good but busy day. it started with an early rise, and some sewing repairs to the bimini. We seem to be developing some proficiency with Bob's Sailrite sewing machine, and repairs went pretty quickly.

Next of was developing a project list for our next major sail. In the last post, a mention was made of future goals. We spent some time last night talking about this, and we want our next big trip to be too Connecticut. Our plan is to have the Black Dog up there by the summer of 2020. The current plan is to winter out up there, and continue North the next year. So today, we started creating a project plan to ensure readiness to do this trip.

We took a break for a training session at Gritbox with Cody, and then lunch at the East Bay Deli. It was a hard choice, because there are so many great places to eat, but East Bay delivered on lunch for sure.

We spent the afternoon on the boat replacing lines, and re-furling the recently repaired jib. Then Bill and I set about working on a long standing issue, in which the chart plotter reboots when the engine is restarted. This may seem like a minor nuisance, but many times, when we are under sail and need to start the engine, there's something going on. But we think we now have handle on it. Of course to effectively correct the issue, we needed to.... wait for it.... GO TO WEST MARINE! So we now have what we need to hopefully correct this correct this troublesome issue.

After West Marine, a trip to the Gin Joint was in order. It is always a favorite spot for me, and many great voyages were planned there. It is a special bar that will let you spread your charts out at the bar.

We then met up with Ronda at a place called The Alley, for drinks and bowling with a large contingent from the Gritbox crowd to celebrate Cody's birthday.

We split a ride share with Ronda, since she was going home, and we were heading to the boat. Of course the rain picked up as we exited the car, so as Ronda pulled away in her nice dry Lyft car, we had a small dousing as we made our way to H dock and the Black Dog.

The Never Ending Maintenance Battle

So our plane was delayed a little last night (as usual), but we did get to Charleston by 10:30, and back to Bob's house shortly after 11. We took the opportunity to sample some new gins, and then we turned in, knowing we had some things to accomplish today.

We started the day at Grit Box Fitness, where Cody took us through a grueling kickboxing class, and we met up with an old Waffler favorite, Clive Greaves, for brunch at the Blue Rose. The food was excellent, and one item of note were the blonde Bloody Marys, which I heard were good, although I did not personally sample them myself.

The afternoon found us on the Black Dog to perform some simple tasks, which involved Bill and I hauling Bob up the mast in a bosun's chair. The jib halyard needed to be rethreaded at the top of the mast, as well as smaller lines for the radar reflector and flags. We also needed to have a look at the mount for the radar dome, so we can see about removing the inoperable radar dome, and mounting the working one there ( as opposed to where it is currently mounted).

Another task was to replace the jib sheet, but after looking things over, we made a decision that the jib halyard also needed to be replaced before it failed. This resulted in a trip to West Marine (no one who really knows us will be surprised by this).

We had a nice dinner at Bob's house (joined by Ronda, his most patient spouse), and talked about some long range goals over cocktails. More on that later.

Tomorrow will be another busy day with a boat related sewing project, and replacing lines on the boat. But it will all be worth it when we get underway.

In to Marsh Harbor

We knew we had to get going early to leave the May River and Bluffton with the current and not against it, so after a lite pre-breakfast of pop tarts and coffee, we pulled up the anchor and headed back for the intracoastal. Later, over eggs and ham, we pondered our next destination.

We had another day to enjoy, however the starter motor for the diesel was becoming an increasing concern. When we started our trip, the engine would start right up when cold, however when it was hot, it required a couple of taps on the starter motor to get going. By Wednesday, we always had to tap the starter motor,  hot or cold. So it was getting worse. We made a decision to get it to Marsh Harbor a little early, before the starter motor had its last start.

We had a leisurely motor up north. Once again, the wind was against us. We had a near miss at a fixed bridge just south of Beaufort that took a little of my confidence away at the helm, but Bob made me get back on the horse, and take the helm over for entering and tying up at Marsh Harbor.

We got in without major incident. We got stuck in the mud while tying up along side another boat, but that was because we misunderstood them on the phone about when the lowest tide would be.  However we floated free very quickly.  The boat will remain in Marsh Harbor for a while receiving much deserved maintenance.

Bob's father, Clive,  picked us up and took us to pick up a rental car, and we then retreated to the Greaves Residence to clean up a bit.  While there I enjoyed one of Clive s famous martinis, complete with lemon from their own garden! We would all do well to remember the maxim "a proper martini starts with a well chilled glass".

We shared a nice dinner with Clive and Jennifer at Fuji, a little Japanese place in Beaufort that they enjoy.  The food was good, and the company beyond compare. Sadly it had to end, and Bob and I set out back for Charleston. 

The trip went by quickly,  and upon our return, we were greeted by our adoring public (you know who you are). We enjoyed some refreshment and played with the cats for a bit. I wowed the crowd with pictures of my sister's new foster,  Prince. Everyone thought he was cute,  and speculated on his breed. Ronda made a wonderful concoction out of Chambord and other items, which she is calling Jay''s delight until  someone tells her different.  This could be the next Thanksgiving cocktail.

We have a few minor boat related projects tomorrow, and I am looking forward to having some time on Saturday to bum around Charleston with Ronda (Lost Dog here we come), but sadly, we close the log on another Black Dog adventure.

Bluffton

We managed to get underway by 8:20 this morning after a good night's sleep. We had extra steaks which we put towards an underway steak and egg breakfast, with whole grain toast. It was a good day for eating breakfast outside in the cockpit.

Once again, the winds and currents were against us, and we missed our Ladies Island Bridge opening by five minutes! So we had to wait by the bridge for a half hour for the next opening. While we were waiting, the masters mate, with great skill and dexterity, ran us aground. However with some quick thinking, and use of the jib, we were free in the water again.

We continued down the intracoastal, enjoying the view of many beautiful homes until we got to Bluffton, where we anchored for the night. Because we had no fuel line for the dinghy, motor, we were reduced to rowing ashore.

Bluffton is a nice little walking around town, and we found a nice little bar to enjoy some refreshment while we waited for Matt to join us. 

With Matt now in company, we headed back to the Black Dog. While I was rowing our merry band back to the boat, some concerned Bluffton citizen felt I was doing a pathetic job of it, and brought his boat out to tow us to the Black Dog. Matt and Bob staunchly refuse to believe this was part of my master plan.

We enjoyed a pasta dinner and some drinks before rising Matt back to get his tooth fixed early tomorrow. Our destination tomorrow is a bit of a question mark. We will see when we get up where things will take us.

Off to Morgan Island!

We set out at 8:20 this morning, and successfully made the 9 AM bridge opening, but not much else went our way. We were fighting strong currents most of the day, and the wind was typically right on our nose. However we did make decent time to anchorage at Morgan Island, and we even managed to run out the jib and be under sail for a while.

We always enjoy the stretch of the Intracoastal between Charleston and Beaufort (we've certainly traveled it enough times). On certain parts you can forget you are near civilization. We saw dolphins, pelicans, and other types of birds I could not identify.

Bob out did himself today. He made a new cocktail with various types of beverages we had on the boat which could very well become Magic Elixir 2.0. He also made a steak marinade out of items from the galley which turned out great, and we had a steak and sweet potato dinner at anchor.

We were discussing Morgan Island, and it turns out it is also known as Monkey Island. Bob was mentioning that there used to be monkeys kept out there that were used for research. According to Wikipedia, there is still a colony out there that they use to research the effects the monkeys have on the ecosystem. It is our fervent hope that when we get up to set out for Bluffton tomorrow morning, we don't awake to find that out vessel has been commandeered by rhesus monkeys.

Boat Maintenance and Cat Slings

We are finally ready! We spent more time at the Black Dog today getting her ready to go, and successfully completed our punch down list. Most notably completing the electronic work to get the chart plotter fully operational. We also got gasoline for the generator and took on freshwater.

Unfortunately Matt will not be joining us tomorrow, but we hope he will be recovered enough from his bum tooth (been there and it is not fun) to join us for a day sail when we get to his area.

We did have time for a nice lunch at the East Bay Deli. The food was great, and I am only sorry that I could only pick one sandwich, because there were so many good looking choices. That is definitely a place for a second trip.

We also got in a training session with Cody from Gritbox Fitness. Bob held in there much better than I did, but it was great to get a workout in. Cody seems to be a top notch trainer who knows how much you can take and brings you right to there.

We finished off the day with dinner and a sewing project. Sullivan the Cat has been having some issues with his back legs, so Bob and I sewed a sling for Ronda to help him walk around.

Tomorrow promises to be a good day. We will set off early to make the first Folly Bridge opening, and then head for ports south.

We Stayed Up Late Swapping Manly Stories, and in the Morning We Made Waffles!

Another early start, this time on a mission to make brunch. A quick trip to Harris Teeter yielded all the ingredients needed to produce an excellent brunch of waffles (of course), fruit, assorted meats, and mimosa.

After a quick clean up and strategy session, Bob and I were back at Harris Teeter buying provisions for the boat. And no boating trip would be complete without a trip to West Marine, where we acquired propane for the gas grill.

Upon arriving at the Black Dog, we were disappointed tofind that the bottom had not been cleaned. This will delay us until Tuesday for departure. However we did get the bimini set up,  andt made good progress in getting her ship shape. We were out for a short shake down cruise, and got her all fueled up.

While at the fueling dock, we meet another local Island Packet owner, who owns a 350 christened Hawk Spirit. It is always good to know a fellow IP owner, so as to compare notes on different things.

Returning to the Greaves residence, we enjoyed dinner with friends Martha, Peyton, and Ashley. Martha made a delicious stuffed pepper appetizer, and Ashley had cheese that was made by an Uncle of her and Ronda. Ronda made pasta with pesto and tomatoes,  along with veggies. Who knew meatless meals could taste so good.

Matt will join us tomorrow, and we will get the Black Dog ready for departure. An added bonus might be a class at Gritbox.

Always Something to be Done

It's always good to be getting ready to head to sea, but it looks like this time there will be some extra exertion.

Bob and I had a good start this morning. We got up early and went to a gym run by Bob's friend Cody. He is a pretty nice guy who runs the Grit Box Fitness Center in Charleston where we did a kickboxing class. It was hard but fun, and Cody was good about pushing a little, but not too the point where I broke.

After that, we set down at the sewing machine to make some repairs in the bimini and the dodger got the boat. The dodger was taking longer than we thought, and since it wasn't needed for this trip, we focused on the bimini, and getting supplies for the boat.

Layer in the evening, we were joined by two favorite Waffler cheerleaders Ronda Greaves and her sister Ashley for dinner at Basil, a Tai restaurant in the heart of Charleston. We got seated very quickly for a Saturday evening. The food was awesome, as was the company.

After dinner, we crossed the street to the Cocktail Club for a drink. The atmosphere was very nice, and it was nice (although a bit chilly) to sit outside. Definitely a place to go back to.

Tomorrow Matt will join us, and we will continue prepping the boat. We would like to get underway tomorrow, but it will hinge on the weather and other variables.