Short Run to Charleston, SC -- June 11

We only had a two-hour run to Charleston today. This lovely map, which was on the floor of the Charleston visitor center, shows our route. Our anchorage was just east of the bay along the left edge of the map. We worked our way north along the Wadmalaw River, then east on the Stono River, and finally through a narrow creek and dug channel to the Ashley River, which runs down the west side of Charleston. (The next day we ran out Charleston Harbor to the long, straight, dug channel that parallels the coast along the Isle of Palms.) 


Our marina was on the Ashley River close to downtown. We had some interesting neighbors. They had very nice facilities but they were a long hike from the boat.


Janet did some research and found us a nice 90-minute bus tour (air conditioned) and a reservation at a very hip southern-style restaurant. The tour guide did an excellent job. We'll just share this one photo of one of the grand old homes along the Battery. 


After our bus tour we walked around a bit in the old neighborhood on the east side of town and found a roof-top bar for a drink before dinner. Here's the First Mate waiting for our Uber after our fancy dinner. Our driver was a young woman from Venezuela who came to the US with her parents and siblings six years ago -- and is very glad to be here. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Now to Plan B

Image
More interesting developments today has us now working Plan B. First off, the seas in SW Florida are definitely not favorable for running south to The Keys for the next couple of days. Secondly, another sea trial this morning (with a very rough ride) had the engine getting up to 3500 rpm again and left the mechanic and I scratching our heads. He thinks we might have a problem with some gunk and debris in our fuel tank (which could explain how the problem comes and goes) and suggested that we do a tank cleaning. I agreed to this as it makes sense (they saw signs of algae when they changed the fuel filters last week), is probably good practice after over 800 engine hours and many dozens of different fuel sources, and won't cost us any time getting to The Bahamas given the marine forecast. And finally, Janet remembered that we have a gift coupon for a two-night stay at the Coconut Point Hyatt, which we "won" at a charity auction last winter. This will help us pass the time w
Read more

Bummer!

Today was supposed to be our departure day but we encountered more engine difficulties and had to head back to port after traveling just 8 miles. Bummer! So now we are back in Naples waiting for a mechanic to come next week. We don't have an appointment scheduled, but the guy said he will fit us in as soon as he can. We have switched to an independent mechanic who was highly recommended by two separate marine businesses here in Naples because we've lost trust in the company that has been doing the work so far. (Our engine difficulties makes a long story that most folks probably don't want to hear, and the story isn't over yet, so we'll save that for a separate post when the engine problem is finally resolved.) We won't be posting again until the engine is fixed and we have developed a new cruising plan. Hopefully it won't take too long and we'll still be able to get over to The Bahamas. 
Read more

Our 2024 Cruising Plans

We are almost ready to go for our third summer of cruising in Craunological II. In 2022 we did the Intracoastal Waterway from Naples to Maine. Last year we did the Great Lakes. In both those years we were gone all summer. This year the plan is a bit different -- just cruising for the first half of the summer and then doing various land trips in the second half. The plan this year is to leave Monday, May 13 for The Bahamas, spend a couple weeks there, then head back to the US, run up the Intracoastal to Chesapeake Bay, and finish up with a couple weeks cruising in the Chesapeake. Our only time constraints are that we have to be in Norfolk by June 15 because we have a flight that day to Boston. After spending some time visiting with our kids and their families in Lexington MA and Manhattan NYC we'll fly back to Norfolk on June 24 and then take two weeks cruising the Chesapeake. We will then have Capt. Dan -- our regular boat trailering guy -- pick up the boat somewhere on the western
Read more