Leaving at dawn from our Price Creek Anchorage, we had yet another beautiful sunny day heading for Charleston on Oct. 30.
We are so lucky to be having such excellent weather. In fact, throughout the trip the weather has been great the majority of the time. It makes the journey that much more pleasant and makes us ever so thankful!
We are headed to Charleston because it’s such a great town and also because we are going to see John Carr and his girlfriend, Ann. Jonny worked with John at the Miami Herald for several years. Since then, John has retired and recently moved to Summerville, outside of Charleston. This would be the perfect opportunity to get together and we invited them to stay overnight with us on Zendo.
Shortly after we left our pristine anchorage we passed some white pelicans and later on some playful dolphins. We continued to pass by many lovely homes lining the coastline, each with their own dock and boat house
We also passed the occasional fisherman. Now that autumn is here, we see many fewer fishing boats and fishermen in general.
We cruised through some more skinny waters on a stretch where we had run aground on our way north.This time we timed our departure to correspond with high tide so we would avoid those difficulties. And so we did! Every day we get a little better at this cruising business!
Before long we arrived in busy Charleston Harbor and made our way to the Charleston Maritime Center. We chose this marina because it is located in the center of town, it had good reviews and the price was right. It is located close to the graceful Cooper River Bridge. It is the longest cable stay bridge in North America and it connects the City of Charleston and the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Last time we had stayed at a well-reviewed marina but it was across the river and we had to take a cab into town. This situation was a better choice for us. When we arrived, the dockhands had us tied up in no time. Because this is a maritime center rather than a private marina, there were a variety of vessels tied up there. We were docked across from a party boat that was playing music rather loudly. However, when we listened more closely it was music we liked so the result was quite a festive atmosphere. There were some significant ships in the Charleston Harbor, many of them docked not far from us.
To our delight, our marina had at least six Island Packets (our favorite sailboat) docked there and we met a few of the owners.
Having been at anchorage for the last few nights, we took advantage of the free washer/dryers at the marina and Lynn did a couple of loads of laundry while Jonny washed down Zendo.
Jonny rode his bike to the nearby Harris Teeter to buy a few essentials. We have to restrain ourselves from buying much food because our journey is ending soon and we still have too many provisions aboard!
We met a very nice young couple named Gary and Heather with 2 boys (10 and 7) who were from Halifax and living aboard their sailboat heading south. They were so enthusiastic about their journey and the opportunity to provide their boys with a unique experience. In our opinion, the boys were the perfect age for such an adventure and they surely were enjoying it. They only occasionally stay at marinas but they decided to do so in Charleston so the kids could enjoy Halloween!
John and Ann joined us at 4 and we had wine and cheese on the aft deck and caught up with each other’s lives.
We then went to a great restaurant called Cru and had a wonderful dinner with one of the best waiters ever. He had a dry sense of humor, steered us in all the right directions, gave us plenty of space and time and was quite charming. We shared a deliciously moist creamsicle cake for dessert. He was wise enough not to share the ingredients with us until we had finished eating it. It was a great story that included an 80 year old baker, orange juice, box mix and cool whip!
John and Ann stayed overnight on the boat with us and in the morning Jonny hastened us along so we could get an early start (7:30) on our 60 nautical mile journey to Beaufort, SC.
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