The First Day Out

The first thing I heard this morning was the wind whistling through the rigging. Number two was rain pounding the deck above me. Not an ideal day for sailing, but we are trying keep a schedule, so we set to work doing the needful. We had some prep tasks to be completed for this morning that had been delayed due to issues mounting the radar yesterday, and we set to completing those, and late morning saw us leaving the dock.

We cleared the entrance to the creek before in became impassable, but we were faced with a decision at this point; do we hawed out to open water, or ride out the bad weather while motoring up the intracoastal? It is one thing to be caught in a squall while at sea, and another to head out in one. We opted for the intracoastal. We donned foul weather gear to stay dry (as much as we could), and by combination of sail and engine, made the North Edisto River by about 7 PM. We are enjoying a comfortable anchorage off Edisto Island, and will be back at it in the morning.

Down to Beaufort

Close your eyes and imagine a small southern town or of a Hollywood movie, with majestic oak trees drapes in Spanish moss, beautiful gardens, and people who meet your eyes, smile and say hello as they walk by you on the street, even though you are a stranger. That is Beaufort. We drove down today to get the boat ready, and also had a nice visit with Clive and Jennifer, Bob's parents.

Coming back to board the Black Dog felt like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in a while. I am happy to be back aboard. Our big task today was to mount a new radar dome aft, but as is typical with these projects, it required an extra trip to the hardware store. But we think we have it all worked out(famous last words). We had to stop just short of completing the task due to a lightning storm (no one seemed keen about holding a long metal pole to the sky during the event), but we will be up early tomorrow to finish the mount, and be underway by ten thirty. Cat Island Creek, where we are docked, has a shallow at the entrance that will require us to pass before the tide recedes, so time is critical.

After a few hours of working on the boat to make her ready, we were starving. Clive recommended the 11th Street Dockside Restaurant in Port Royal to us, and we loved it! We split some Low Country Hushpuppies for an appetizer, and a has the best steak I've eaten in a long time. Bob had the surf and turf, and he managed to get down enough crab legs to make a centipede.  I will sleep good tonight, with a full stomach and the boat rocking in the wind.

Flight Delays

Nothing ever goes without a hitch, so of course the plane broke down. Happily, it did not malfunction in midair, but was discovered on the ground before boarding. In that frame of mind, I was able to easily stand a two hour flight delay. I made good inroads on an interesting book on pirates (how's that for a pre- sail read?) and the two hours passed rather quickly.

I always love stepping out of the airport in Charleston. It always feels like I can smell the ocean from there. Sadly, it was too late by then to head out to the Gin Joint, so Bob and I headed back to his home for some refreshment. Bob always has the best in the beverage department, and today I was shown his latest find... Hand crafted tonic water from the Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. It was bottle number 46 out of some unknown number. Along with Bob's cannonball ice cubes, it makes for an exceptional gin and tonic. I gotta get me some. Remind me to expound sometime on the virtue of a round 'ice cube'.

We plan to set sail on Sunday. The winds arm favourable in the forecast, which is calling for 25 mph coming from the south east, which will be a good direction for us. Tomorrow we provision, then head to Beaufort to maker the Black Dog ready for another trip.

Closing the Log Book on Another Voyage

After losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings, when crawled out of bed and into the dinghy to go ashore ashore for breakfast at Blackstone's. We were again joined by our new friends Dave and Debbie, at we took the opportunity to enjoy the weather with a quick stroll about the town.

But Bill and I were bound by the airline time table, so we had to keep it short and pull up anchor to get the Black Dog  to a more long term berth so that we could drive back to Charleston to catch our flight.

I am always a little melancholy  at the close of a sailing trip, when we have to put aside our life of adventure and rejoin the real world. And with some hesitation, we the the boat at the dock, like leaving an old friend, saying "see you again soon", and wondering when you can pull yourself away from real life long enough to go play pirate again.

The Wafflers thank the Black Dog for another great trip.


The Wafflers thank the Black Dog for 

New Friends and Old Haunts

Every now and then you have one of those days that for years to come you'll say to your friends, "Do you remember that day when...?" Today was a day like that for the Wafflers.

It started as an easy day down the Intracoastal Waterway. It is a very scenic way to get around on the water, full of interesting wild birds and other sorts of fauna. It is not without risk, however. Good charts are necessary, and a sharp eye to deal with the vagaries of navigation that exist there. So when the crew of the Galatea lost their GPS, they were right to be worried. They considered returning to Charleston, but then remembered they had been passed by a scurvy looking crew earlier, and still had that very boat in sight. They hailed The Black Dog on the radio, explaining their situation to us and asking if they could follow us to Beaufort. And that is how Dave and Debbie came to know the Wafflers.

We saw them safely to the city marina, and after dropping a hook, we dropped by The Galatea (a lovely and apt name for a sail boat) to see if further assistance was needed. They graciously invited us aboard for a cocktail. We all swapped sea stories over wine, and we let them know of all the Waffler approvied eateries in the town. We hope that we have convinced them to extend their stay to take in some the local culture here in Beaufort.

And, oh yeah, we got a little sunburn too.

The Gin Joint

Well our flight last night was delayed, but only by about an hour. So we were in Charleston by eleven thirty. We headed directly to the Gin Joint, a quaint little establishment on East Bay St where one can relax with a proper libation. We spread our chart across the bar and planned today's voyage over a nightcap before heading to bunk on the boat.
Today we were up as early as we were able to be, and set sail. The wind started deceptively weak, but we wound up with a day of  good but hard sailing. We were happy to reach our anchorage for the night and have a hot meal, as we were cold, tired, and hungry. We now relax with a scotch and make the agreed upon modifications to our emergency waffler kits. Tomorrow on to Beaufort via the Intra-Coastal Waterway, a more scenic route than today, but less adventurous.

For Now We Wait

Tomorrow we will be on the high seas, well out of ceil phone range. Adventure at is best. For now, Action Figure Bill and I wait at the airport. They say our flight is on time, but that seems a little optimistic. We shall see....