Sun Sets Over McClellanville

Readers will note that a day has been skipped on this voyage. Truth be told,wind and freezing rain sucked out any desire to do any writing. But let me back up a bit...

Friday night at anchor was cold and windy, We were able to stave off the cold, though, with the help of s portable generator that enabled us to run heat on the boat. It was a warm feeling sleeping below under the covers while the wind howled outside. But morning came soon enough, and decisions needed to be made.

We checked the updated weather, and had a quick pow-wow on what we were going do. The weather, it turned out, was going to get worse instead of better, as initially forecast. We knew we could not make Beaufort, and would have a long, hard day to get to our next anchorage. OR, we could go back to Charleston, and spend an evening in comfort at the Greaves' residence. It was a pretty easy call to make.

Foul weather gear was donned, and the anchor was raised. We were underway quickly.  The wind was biting, and it was cold sitting at the helm, even bundled up in gear. It wasn't raining, though. I remember that because Bob was sitting in the cockpit with me, and said "Well, at least it's not raining!"  That was shortly before the rain started.

We got back to Charleston by lunchtime, and got our gear off in record time, and beat it to Fuel in Charleston (great food and great service). We also did a trip to the liquor store for supplies. and anchorage the previous night, there was much discussion about the proper ingredients for a "Dark and Stormy". John was pretty insistent that Gosslings Black Run be used, so we needed to acquire that. We were fortunate that Ronda did not turn us away at the door, and we had a pleasant evening in conversation and enjoyed a nice steak dinner.

This is a good group to sit around and chat with. There is a great diversity among the group, and the conversation is always good.

We knew today's weather was to improve, so we made a plan to set out for McClellanville and anchorage, and then a return sail on Monday. We were out of the house before 9 AM to get an early start to make our goal. The parking lot at Ashley Harbor Marina was well flooded, and all of our boots were, of course, still on the boat. So we stripped down to bare feet, and waded our gear over to the dock and on to the Black Dog. We loaded the boat back with our gear and some jambalaya pre-made by Bill. While disconnecting shore power, we noticed some boaters in trouble, and hustled over to assist.

One of the great things about the boating community is that everyone helps each other. We had noticed that a 34 foot Legacy Grand Banks was being forced into the dock and and another boat by the current. We were able to assist them with a little muscle, physically pushing them away and providing some steering direction. They were very grateful, and we felt good helping.

Once we got underway, we a tense moment at the St John's Island Connector. Normally, we slide under it quite comfortably. Today, however, the weather had added considerably to the high tide, and we inched our way up to it, until we were sure we could clear the bridge. We made it,but just. Once we cleared that and made it to Charleston Harbor, we ran the jib out for  great sail across the harbor to the the ICW. It was a great pleasure to be under sail, even for a bit.

It is a nice scenic stretch on the ICW from Charleston to McClellanville, and aside from concerns about water depth at low tide, it was a pleasant motor to where we dropped a hook near Town Creek.

Both anchors were set as the sun dropped and we settled in to a pleasant evening aboard. We were all set with good food, good drink, and great storytelling. Bob and John are long time friends, and Bill and I are enjoying stories about the wild times, and of course we have stories to tell John about Black Dog adventures.

Tomorrow, we will need to come to a decision about returning to Charleston by sea, or by ICW. The weather offshore will be a factor, but a short blue water cruise could be in order. Fingers crossed!