" When Pigs Fly"

Good bye, Savannah. Hello, Charleston!  We enjoyed our stay in Savannah.  We explored the river area, learned lots of tidbits of history on the trolley tour and ate lunch at The Lady and Sons restaurant.  We walked through several of the city’s squares, visited the Ships of the Seas Museum and, like two old salty sailors, had a beer at a river front bar. 

We also caught some music in the City Market area as we were walking back to our vehicle.  It’s amazing how that warms the atmosphere anywhere.  We caught snatches of music as we wandered through the shops.  It was a lovely way to end our final day in Savannah. 

Johnny Mercer and me.  I was his inspiration for "Moon River" (...wider than a mile...)

The Cracked Earth, monument to citizens of Savannah who died in WW II.  All the names are engraved inside.  

Low tide 9' down

Same spot as above, now at high tide with the 9' back.  Notice the ramp.

One of the homes near our marina in Savannah

What could be more Savanna?! Did you know that Spanish Moss isn't moss at all, it's related to the pineapple family. In the old days they used it pack their mattress and pillows. Only thing wrong with that is it's full of bugs...ughhh!

Spoonbills, it's hard to see their pink wings

Unique transportation in Savannah.  Hard to see but the people are pedaling this car while the guide steers and narrates. They all seemed to be enjoying a beverage too!

Can you see the eye lashes?

The last few days of our boating adventure have been relatively mundane. We’ve traveled several lazy rivers with just a few spots of low water. We have managed to pass these areas without touching the bottom, although you could see at times where someone wasn’t so fortunate. Of course I’d like to think good planning is a part of that. Planning seems to be everything, with the tides and currents to consider, it kinda goes back to an old work adage, “plan your work and work your plan” and we do. The Captain spends a good deal of time planning each leg of the trip; what the tides are doing, how far we can travel per day, what marinas are available in each area and where we will need gas. Then each day starts with a review the charts, tide tables, weather and guide book.

Some people having fun as we passed by Hilton Head

Water tower at Parris Island.  It says "We Make Marines".  Ohhhraaaa.  Had to have this one for the Captain even though he did his time in San Diego as a Hollywood Marine

Crab pot and its buoy sitting in the mud at low tide

Sea gulls following our wake.  First time we've seen this!
The Captain is also very proud of Otto's straight line in the water.

Did I mention low tide?  The dock is sitting in the mud.

In the marsh lands the walkways from the homes to the docks seem to stretch for miles.  Long way to carry a cooler and don't forget the keys to the boat!!

Otto and the auto guidance have been working great but as luck would have it we have a new glitch with the Garmin system.  As we moved away from the dock in Savannah the Captain noticed that the fuel flow wasn’t working on the Garmin. The fuel flow tells us the amount of gas we have on board, the rate at which it’s being used and the range we have at the current usage.  It’s not essential to finding our way through the ICW but it helps us know how much gas we are using, something we track pretty closely. The Captain talked with a Garmin tech on the way to Port Royal, GA our first day out of Savannah.  Nothing the tech suggested worked, even though Frank was back under the helm pulling wires, so we cruised in to Charleston without the fuel flow.  Frank contacted a Garmin guru in Myrtle Beach who will make a house call when we get there. 

Fortunately we still have the flow scan which was original to the boat so we have some idea how we’re doing on fuel. We have found discrepancies between that flow scan and the Garmin at times so we’ll be conservative on our estimates.  There’s nothing more embarrassing than calling Boat US for a tow because you’ve run out of gas!

All those lazy rivers sort of set us up for an adrenaline rush when we entered Charleston Harbor. Charleston is the East Coast’s fourth largest port so we knew it would be rough with a lot of traffic. We couldn’t have been any more wrong! It was 5x’s rougher than we expected. The waves were coming at us from all directions, traffic was everywhere going in no particular pattern. Large cargo ships with thousands of truck loads of goods, car haulers, oil tankers, all kinds of sightseeing boats of all sizes, huge pontoons up to 150 feet, not to mention the everyday recreational traffic. We both needed to keep a sharp look out. Our salvation in the harbor was Otto. He was taking us to our destination’s front door step so we didn’t need to worry with that issue.

Docking the boat was its own adventure. We were given an assigned slip, and told that the tide was coming in. That meant we would get a 2.5 MPH push side-ways as we approached the slip, in addition the wind was blowing pretty good from the bow. Frank had seen stated on the Active Captain site that this place will take your captaining skill straight to the trash can. However, prevail we did; the Captain did his thing, as always, I had all the lines ready to go and there were two dock hands ready to catch them. It’s always nice to have someone on the dock to toss a line to; somehow they just give you that warm fuzzy feeling even if it’s their first time too. You don’t that until after you’re docked.

First view of Charleston

The marina here is huge. There must be 200 plus boats of all sizes and types. Some look like they haven’t moved in years, others look like party barges with beer cans arranged as neatly as only an inebriated sailor can do. Still others look like the pristine homes we have seen making our way here with crews of 6-8 washing and waxing. Then there are boats like our Pig, the looper boats, all loved but used every day and beginning to show the signs of that use. Our Pig, doesn’t get washed as much as she should, her shine has leeched away long ago from the hot Florida sun and salt water, she’s abused sometimes while docking, she eats us out of house and home at the fuel docks, but she keeps us going on and she’s still our home. 

Charleston is fantastic!  We are in the Charleston Harbor Marina which is right next door to Patriot’s Point where some of the grand old war ships are docked.  Hope to explore the Yorktown during our stay.  The marina is connected to a very nice hotel with a pool to which we have privileges.  I may get a little down time by the water with my book before we leave!

The Yorktown CVA 10

Yesterday we took our bikes on the water taxi to the old part of town.  We spent the afternoon riding around the area reading the historic markers for the old beautiful buildings, visited the Battery, which is a neat park area on the water’s edge, and had barbeque at a place called Queology.  The server told us it means “the science of barbeque”.  Cute, huh?  We are looking forward to a boat ride today out to Fort Sumter.  It’s been days since we’ve been to a fort!

Car being driven on to the ship.  We must have seen at least two dozen enter this thing.  BMWs  are made in SC and shipped to Europe.  Go figure!

The tug is pushing this big guy to the dock

One of the "antiques" we found at the Battery. (No, not Frank!)

Battery Park, what balls.

Part of the story of our country

Fountains at Waterfront Park

Open for public enjoyment!

See ya on the water