Waiting, Waiting ...

Yes, I have been remiss in updating this blog. Here are a list of the obstacles to regular blog-writing: lack of reliable wifi; numerous boat projects; having to walk everywhere (or at least beg a ride); the need to socialize with fellow cruisers; general laziness.

Now that the apology is out of the way, let me say that a lot has happened in the past few weeks.

Our leg into Charleston was a bit rough. We got fairly strong winds out of the west and could not beat into the waves. So, we spent an extra day offshore waiting for the conditions to moderate. After a first day of first-rate sailing, we had a second day of second-rate motoring and then a third day where we had to stand off, that was fairly miserable. Crew was seasick off and on and we had to fight our way into the Charleston inlet, as we arrived when the tide was set against us. Yes, we could have hove to and waited, but no one wanted that. The highlight was a pod (or several pods) of dolphins that rode our bow wake for much of the last day. Dolphins have become a commonplace sight, of course, but we still get excited to see them. We tried trolling a line for Mahi or Tuna again, but no joy.

Meantime, we managed to rip two points on our second reef. And, the depth sounder decided to pack it in. More repairs.

The biggest problem is that I had decided not to refuel in Morehead, thinking that 45 gallons of diesel would be sufficient for what was supposed to be a two-day passage. I was wrong. As we sucked down fuel setting into steep easterly waves and wind, we kept watching the level. It was pretty clear we wouldn't have enough to make it -- and running out of fuel in the Charleston inlet, with its strong current, was not something we wanted to do. I think it was Morgan (who did an expert job of getting us closer under sail) who suggested calling Tow Boat U.S. to bring us fuel. Once again, we used our sat phone, as we were too far offshore for cell phone service. The dispatcher sounded annoyed at our request, but when the tow boat operator arrived with 10 gallons of diesel, he seemed in good spirits.

With our fuel, we continued along our way and slowly made it into the inlet, anchoring opposite of City Marina on the Ashley River at about 0530. Next afternoon, we managed to get into City Marina on the "Megadock." Expensive marina, but a nice one.

In the evening we went looking for BBQ and found a place called "Oink!" (Eds: we thought it was called Oink! because of the giant neon sign proclaiming it, but we discovered later that it's actually called Nick's), Not sure if it was two days of not much food (Noi didn't feel much like cooking) or that the food was indeed excellent, but the pulled pork and fried green tomatoes (complete with a local IPA beer) really hit the spot. In subsequent days, we explored Charleston, which has much to recommend it. In fact, we'd say it's currently the favorite of the cities we've visited. We've been to several of the BBQ joints and loved them all (Sticky Fingers, Swig & Swine, etc.) and a truly amazing seafood place called Hyman's.

Meanwhile, we have met some wonderful people: A guy named Ed Snowden, captain of a superyacht. Ed is from North Carolina, the same state that his more famous (infamous) namesake hails from. That's caused him lots of problems. Also, Richard and Kate on S/V Atalanta -- they are heading to the Western Caribbean but have done the "Thorny Path" through the Bahamas to the Eastern Caribbean and had lots of good advice.

Our current plan is to leave Tuesday, head offshore and hopefully make it to Fernandina Beach, Fla. in a few days.