The weather was warm all day. Nearly 70 and the temperature in the cockpit enclosure was 80 plus.  GLORIOUS. This makes us feel very sorry for people who do not have an enclosure. They are bundled up to their eyes and freezing from the cold.

The wind blew 15 to 18 out of the west going north with gusts to 27.

We have dolphins with us every day now. The water temperature is 57 which must be good for the bait fish.

I am seeing more wild life the further south we get. Lots of ducks. Mostly sea ducks and small divers. Tons of Buffleheads. They are such a beautiful creature and they fly in big flocks when they are on the move. We occasionally see them in one and twos if they are feeding. They will surface right in front of the boat and take off in a flurry.

We had a chance to sail part of the day on the South Edisto River and made 9 knots with the current. WOW. Very few other boats on the water today. Mostly locals out to enjoy a nice day. The architecture is very nice along the waterway, not the opulent things that we were seeing around Myrtle Beach, which is very nice. They look like houses that us normal people could buy!

The marshes are lovely. The grasses are many shades of tan and brown with the occasional tree showing up. The live oaks with their Spanish moss hanging are a treat for the eyes and the hummocks are interesting between the two. There are rock formations which show up along the banks that are beautiful but deadly if you should run up on them. All in all, there is plenty to see and a wide variety too.

We will eat on board tonight and go to Beaufort in the morning. We are about 10 miles out of town but with the sun setting it is always wise to stop moving if you are in unfamiliar waters; and these are very unfamiliar waters! The last half of the day we were traversing rivers that were connected by "cuts" thru the marsh and we couldn’t tell where to go until we were right on the opening! FUN?

OUR VERY BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! Jack & Alois

The last few days have been filled with maintenance. To mitigate any additional damages and to lower our insurance costs we have been working 6 to 8 hours a day. I say we , that would be Peter and I because Alois flew home and will return on Wednesday.

Back to the work we have removed the pulpits fore and aft, removed the life lines, repaired the teak and fiberglass, salvaged the wind generator, and the solar panel. We have negotiated prices and work to be done and hired contractors to rebuild the pulpits , lifelines and gates. the marine fabricators will also build us a new generator pole reusing as many old parts as possible.

I have not been in the mood to write for a couple of days but we now are ready to put things back together and it all seems doable again.

Also last night we had a big dinner party on Beausoliel Jon and Shawna’s Formosa 51. Robert from Bristol Rose brought his specialty SALAD. Simon Anderson a Dane single handing aboard a Fisher37 came with wine in hand . Peter and I brought the burger, fresh mushrooms and onions for homemade pasta. There will be leftovers.

After dinner out came the guitars, harmonicas and an electric keyboard. We jammed until 1:00AM. For those who know me and my sleep habits on boats you know I was having fun.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade and look for someone who life has given vodka, there could be a party somewhere.

Jack s/v Adventurous

No matter how many books you read, classes you take, magazine articles you pour over the gods of humility are watching for any mistake. Today I made one. A big one. While trying to leave the Charleston City docks for Beaufort SC  the extreme currents in this harbor and an unexpected strong gust of wind forced us into the 51 foot sailboat docked behind us doing substantial damage to our boat and thankfully slight damage to the other boat, more importantly no one was hurt.  

We will be stuck in Charleston until repairs can be made. Alois has decided to go home for a couple of days so that Peter and I can get to work with some local vendors. We should get estimates sometime today.

The people we ran into were very understanding so we invited them over for cocktails. By 18:00 we had Jon and Shawna of s/v Beausoleil (the boat we hit) and Robert and Trish of s/v Bristol Rose aboard and everyone decided to stay for dinner of Hot Dogs, baked beans, salads, red beans and rice,etc what ever sailors have to share.

Jon and Shawna are heading to the Bahamas and then Panama and around the world and Robert and Trish are sailing home to Australia. It is the interesting people that keep us out here no matter how hard it seems to be sometimes.

With full humility Jack

Charleston SC

We had a pleasant motor sail from Georgetown to Charleston, some 65 miles. Today was a good day for wild life as we saw dolphins, bald eagles, buffle heads, and snowy white egrets. We pulled into the MEGA Dock at City Marina at 16:00. The dock is 1500 feet long and I have put on a mile at least going from one end to the other.

The tall ship Caledonia from Nova Scotia is at our dock. It is always such a pleasure to see these pieces of our history still in use.

Our friend George Wood x sailing coach for the college of Charleston met us for dinner and we had a great time catching up on family and friends.

Tomorrow we plan to go site seeing in the city and leave early afternoon for the anchorage at Buzzard’s Roost on the Stono river.

We had hoped to go outside ( that would be in the ocean for you landlubbers) at Charleston but the weather just will not cooperate.  Our next real opportunity to go outside is Hilton Head. We will just have to see.

Weather sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Wind 15 gusting to 25. High 61. Out side temperature in the cockpit enclosure 68.

07:15 depart Southport, NC hoping to make Georgetown, SC. Bob and Lynne on board s/v Second Spree have suggested a small family owned marina in Georgetown.

Trip is a bit slow as we seem to be against the current at every turn. By 16:50 we decide to put into Waaca Wache Marina at Wachesaw Landing, SC 33 33 731 north 79 05 172 west. Will try for Georgetown in the morning. We hope to go ashore and explore the town.

Alois decorated our Christmas tree yesterday. It is about 13" high, glows in the dark, has a dozen mini ornaments on it and two strands of Mardi Gras beads for garland. Tonight Jack decorated the cockpit with two strands of 12V lights. It looks very festive. Now all we need is a wreath for the bow! We have to be decorated for Christmas!

On this part of the waterway, there are tons of MacMansions, each one bigger and more opulent than the last. There is a private bridge over the ICW near Myrtle Beach and a ski tram to take the golfers from one side of the waterway to the other!

The contrast between the cyprus forest down here and the pine and hardwood in Va and NC is really interesting. There were lots of pelicans, great blue herons, mergansers, snowy egrets etc. up north but hardly any in the cyprus swamps that we can see.

Looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Saturday, November 28, 2008

Weather: High patchy clouds, temperature mid 50’s. Wind North East at 10-15 MPH. Motor-sailed most of the day.

Unbelievable, we are underway!! Our saga began when Alois and I visited our good friends Len and Blanch Scharf on their boat in Exuma Bahamas. The bug bit and bit hard. We knew that some day we had to go on our own boat. Today is that day.

Since that first experience we have taken every course, read every book and magazine to learn all we could. We expected to be ready months ago but on July 8th, 2008 we lost our boat Sorceress to a freak lightening strike. All that money and time and effort lost. We could not believe it.

In September, after looking at 250 boats on line and personally going on 22, we picked a Gulfstar 44 named Adventurous. Alois was not crazy about the name but changing the name of a boat is serious business with a great deal of ceremony required. As hard as we tried, we could not find the required virgin to sacrifice. I like the name and Adventurous it is and Adventurous it will be.

Today, our first day, we left Deltaville at 10:30 heading for Hampton Yacht Club. We arrived at 17:00 that would be 5:00 PM to you landlubbers. Tomorrow we will leave the dock early to head for Coinjock on the eastern cut of the ICW some 50 miles south of Portsmouth. Portsmouth is mile marker 0 on the Intercoastal Waterway.

Sunday - Weather is terrible. More than an inch of rain last night and still at it. We leave the dock at 07:15 for a 65 mile trip to Coinjock NC.  Rain continues through the morning. We arrive at mile 0 of the city of Portsmouth. I was surprised to see a dozen boats anchored off Hospital Point. The Jordan River Bridge has been abandoned so our first opening is the Gilmerton Bridge. We have to wait at both the Steel Bridge and the Great Bridge lock. No problem. Just after the Great Bridge Lockrain and fog settles in and the visibility is from thirty feet to a half a mile. Because the waterway is narrow and winding, the tension  grows by the minute. Using the radar and the GPS we get a routine going and find our way to Coinjock(mile 50) by 16:45. Midway Marina is the place that had space for us. I had expected to be the only idiot still going south at the end of November. Alois got the Coinjock Restaurant to send a car for us and we celebrated my birthday one day early with a 32oz prime rib. FABULOUS .

Monday is sunny but blowing 25 with gusts to 37, so we decide to stay for a make and mend day. We rig the lazyjacks and reefing line properly while Alois works on the cockpit cushions.

Tuesday we leave for Belle Haven (mile marker 135) at 07:45. The 85  miles is a very long day for us but we arrive at 18:30 in the dark to stay at River Forest. Peter and I go ashore for a drink at the Victorian mansion that serves as the marina office and restaurant. We wake up to a 1/4 inch of frost on everything. 26 degrees outside.

Wednesday we leave at 08:00 for Beaufort NC which is 65 miles at  mile marker 205. We are making good progress south. At mile 205 we run aground for the first time but are off in 10 minutes. Arrive at Town Creek, Beaufort, N.C. city docks at 16:45.

Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach,NC.

Weather: mid 50’s overcast wind 5 to 10 from the north west

With 65 miles to go , we left Beaufort in the dark at about 6:15 for the trip down. At the first ocean inlet south of the Marine base at Camp Lejeune we picked up a porpoise. She first jumped to attract our attention then she swam along side for 5  miles sometimes 10 feet from the boat and sometimes 3 feet, rolling and diving. I talked to her most of the time. When Peter came out with his camera she didn’t seem as comfortable as before. When she was finished with us or out of her territory, she rolled up on her side and looked at us for a long minute swam under the boat and was gone. One of those moments that bring us out here.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, just a pleasant day on the waterway.