September 9-15 Charleston to Thunderbolt

October 9, 2016 
Returned to the boat yesterday.  Couldn't enter the city for a few hours until the state troopers started letting everyone passed their checkpoint.  The city was dark, no power.   Only a few streets were littered with debris,  The marina was also without power but that didn't deter many boat owners from returning early.  Armed with flashlights, everyone around the docks was quite jovial , relieved it was all over.  

Our boat fared well.  So far the only broken thing I can find is the wifi booster which limits our internet capability until I can order another.   We lost a kayak paddle which ended up on the dock.  The heavy rains did a far better job than Mary or I would have achieved if we'd tried to wash the outdoor carpets and decks.  It all sparkles even the sundeck couch which, oddly enough, was almost dry last night..

So all is well.   

Ready to leave Charleston, we were up early in anticipation of slack water which was, depending on source, at 9:04.  Luckily though we were in a moon phase which made the tidal current transition very mild.  In some cases the current can pause for literally a few minutes before swinging the other way with an unsettling acceleration of current speed.

There was a sail maker on a sailboat a few slips from us who graciously agreed to help with our lines but he had another appointment so we had to leave about 8:30.  Current was not strong but it, and the stronger wind conspired to push us towards Ron's boat next to us.  It’s a 1988 Sea Ray 40 foot sedan bridge aft stateroom cruiser.  He and Meg got married the day before and left for the southwest on a trip.

Anyway we didn’t hit them but I had to play the shifters to jockey the boat around as the sail maker slowly, really slowly, took off our lines.

Once out of the slip we zipped around Charleston through Elliot Cut cut fighting the incoming current.   Elliot Cut is a narrow channel between Charleston Harbor along Wappoo Creek to the Stono River.  The narrow confines of the cut act to accelerate the current and so we found ourselves skating along at 4.5 mph.

Once in the Stono River we had a push from the current for a few miles until it switched back pushing against us and dropping our speed but not nearly as dramatic as Elliot Cuts.  But no worries since we had plenty of time to reach an anchorage beyond Fenwick Cut which is the last of the notorious shoal areas.

Winding our way along the ICW it began to heat up.  Another 90+ degree day.  We went through Watts Cut with no issues since it was high tide.  And then further down stream we sailed through the narrow and short Fenwick Cut which is another one of those areas best down at higher tide levels.  

Anchoring in the Ashepoo River

A few miles up the Ashepoo River is a wide spot in the river near Mosquito Creek.  And that's where we anchored.  This spot was only a few miles from  B&B Sea Food docks up the creek

The B&B Seafood docks are reported to be a little rough, but the people there are fine with cruisers like us using the dock to take pets to shore.

Grounds at B&B

Walking the dog down what is main street.  The only street

B&B Sea Food Company grounds

Tiny dot in the distance is us anchored

We took the dinghy down and put a perplexed dog in with Mary and then rode the mile into Mosquito Creek and the dock at B&B.

B&B docks

The dock is, well, a dock-of-sorts.  It's in pretty rough shape but stable.  The people there were all hanging around a pickup truck drinking beer.  A lady who evidently is the store person came over asking if we wanted to buy shrimp.  I said yes, but tomorrow morning.  But I went in the store anyway.  It's like a little fish market with a few other items including beer and candy.

The store

Mary in the meantime had started down the road being pulled along by the dog who's  intrigued with all the new aromas (shrimp, fish and other rich sources of smells).   It was a good 30 minutes before they returned to B&B, Mary carrying the dog half way back.

By then the beer crowd had doubled.  I joshed around with them for a few minutes, declined the offers for beer (Bud Light) and then we headed back to the boat.  Mosquito Creek is aptly named.

It was quite windy so embarking before and debarking after was a thrill ride.  Bubbie seemed unappreciative being tossed around and handled back and forth.  But she survived.

B&B as I said has a bit of a crumbling dock but they sell fuel and until recently would let boats tie up for the night.  There is one shrimper boat and next to the dock is a boat ramp.   All this is located basically in the middle of nowhere with only a few houses and a volunteer fire house.  Nice folks though.

Once back on the boat we hauled the dingy up after I got the generator started.  The generator start  battery is really getting weak and it takes several tried to crank it over.  We would normally just tie the dinghy to the boat overnight but the current was so strong through here it figured it would be better to have it on board.

I started the water make and the A/C units.  It was still near 90 outside at 7:30.  Hot!

I let the water maker run awhile before sampling the output and it stunk.  Even Mary could smell it.  So we let it run another 20 minutes and the smell slowly dissipated so I flipped the lever and it starting filling out tanks.  The odor was probably from the membranes which had sat for several weeks without being back flushed.  But the water in the tanks seems just fine.

It only took 2 hours to fill the tanks, about 140 gallons.  The boat sort of cooled off but once I shut everything down the soothing air conditioned air seemed to evaporate and it was humid and in the mid 80’s inside the boat within a half hour.

Not good sleeping so I ran fans and tried to sleep on the couch where it was cooler.  The dog, a smart one, stayed with me so I had a nice little furnace to keep me sweating.

After awhile I went to our stateroom, 85 degrees so I kicked the fan in high gear and had a fitful nights sleep.  Mary can sleep through anything.  So can the dog.

We sort of woke up this morning around 9AM.   82 degrees.  Ugh …  I think I'm obsessing about the heat.

I ran the generator for about an hour to top off the batteries and lower the dinghy.  Made coffe and then after I shut it we all climbed aboard the dinghy and went back up Mosquito Creek to the B&B Sea Food docks.  While Mary and Bubbie set off I went into the “store” to buy shrimp.  2 pounds for $14.   They even packed it in ice for me in a really nice plastic bag.

As I was walking back to the dinghy I met a South Carolina DNR cop-like guy who was about 6’7”.  They were just getting in their duck boat.  He was really a big old boy with this almost child-like sweet disposition.  Probably not someone to annoy though.

Also met “Tough”, an old black lab who walks with a sort of limp.  My guess is hip dysplasia.  He wanders around the property and then barks to get inside the store and the cool air.  

In the store there was a little container for donations to a lady who worked at B&B but who was burned pretty badly and is currently unable to work.   So they were soliciting donations.  I added some and then went walking to find the poop expedition.

I didn’t see them until I turned back towards the store.   The expedition failed but we at least got fresh shrimp.

We hung around on the boat until noon when we hauled anchor after rigging the dinghy for towing.

The Ashepoo and Coosaw cutoffs are waterways that we have to travel through and are notoriously shallow.    We normally take a different route which adds about 5 miles, but in this case we were so close to the cutoffs it made more sense to just wait for high tide and go through.

Boats do go aground here often.  Running through at high tide reduces that risk substantially.  So we went through at high tide.  We had plenty of time to make it to Beaufort about 25 miles away.

Entering the Cutoff ... guided by Bubbie the navigator

Staying in the visual center of the cutoff and not cutting the corners worked fine for us.  Lowest depths I noted were in the low 6 foot range which provided us with about 1.5 feet under the keel.

Looking towards the City through the mooring field from our anchorage spot

We arrived in Beaufort after a few hours and noted that the mooring field has been doubled in size.  Nice for bigger boats like ours because they’ve finally added  balls large enough to handle boats our size.

But we chose to anchor (its free) and went to the far western end of the field and anchored.  We put out 125 feet of chain because the depth was 23 feet and adding our bow height over the water gave us an effective depth of 33 feet.  125 feet was an about 3:1 or 4:1 scope with the tides.  In essence we weren’t going to be moving anywhere.

Wedding guest in the blue shirt.  Our dinghy is 3rd one from left

We fed Bubbie and then took her into the public landing dock where we squeezed in behind a guy going to a birthday party.  Funny man!

We are anchored in the distance beyond the mooring field

The river front here is very ice, with a dog park, swinging benches and playgrounds all in the back of many shops and restaurants located on the main street.

Mary took Bubbie over to the dog park and dropped the leash so she could sniff butts with the other dogs.  Evidently she's a bit more demure that most, and immediately rolled on her back and started wiggling around, scratching her back and ignoring her brethern.  Then suddenly she sprang up and took off running, knowing full well no one could catch her.

Savvy Mary though, enlisted the assistance of bystanders who leaped up and helped corral  Bubbie until Mary could grab the leash again.

We stopped for an ice cream and strolled back to the dinghy amidst a sea of evening strollers, many with dogs and children.  Quite the family town,  Bueaufort.

Ice cream for some, not everyone.  Right.  Like the dog didn't get a taste

Back at the boat we grilled some of the tasty shrimp we had bought this morning and than watched Donna Reed.  It would have been a Fraizer night but we only have a marginal internet connection to the free Beaufort waterfront wifi. 

We shut the AC off with the generator at 10:15 and I was able to enjoy a few minutes of coolness before the heat built up again.  Did I say it was in the mid 90’s here again?

Beastly hot last night.  We all tossed and turned and complained until about 4AM when the boat finally started to cool down. 

 If the sun is out the boat becomes a oven and the solar panels do a superb job of charging the batteries.  If the sun is obscured by clouds then the boat is cooler but the solar panels don’t put out as much power.  Catch 22

River walk with Ladies Bridge in the distance.  .

Disrupting restaurant traffic

We dinghied to the free dinghy dock again (sans  dog) and went to Q on the Bay, a bar with TV’s so Mary could watch the Packers (they won in a cliff hanger).  Met a Joe and Courtney from Pewaukee, Wisconsin of all places.   She is a vascular PA working at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and she knows Dana.  Small world.  Especially so when you consider she lived in Green Bay for many years.  And yes.  Another rabid packer fan.

Back at the boat the winds kicked up quite a bit from the south, south west.  We are rocking pretty good but non of us, including the dog, mind the motion.

I wanted to see how much Beaufort charged for the mooring balls so I checked on their web site.  $20 for a mooring ball.  $1.95 per foot in the marina.  $0.00 for anchoring.

I made a reservation at  Isle of Hope Marina to ride out some weather forecast to be blowing through Wednesday and Thursday.  We are staying at Thunderbolt marina tomorrow and the next day but Hal the dock master there isn't too keen on us remaining past that time.

The forecast had been laying out how it wasn't going to rain until Monday.  Well, its Sunday afternoon and severe weather warnings are all around us.  So far tonight the most severe storms tend to be skittering by Beaufort to the north or dissipating before the reach our area.

Storms all around but not on us

 But I can see a large line of thunderstorms out to our northwest sort of making their way towards us.  I expect the really severe stuff will bypass us, but we’ll for sure get some rain.

Its only 85 outside at 10pm.  At least it isn't still in the 90's.  My obsession with heat continues...

We were up early in anticipation of the rain that was forecast to arrive around 8AM.  It didn’t.  But we took Bubbie in to shore anyway.  She did her thing rather quickly.  The water front was almost deserted which was perplexing at first until I realized it had to be a week day and everyone was at work.  I knew this becasue the day before we watched a Packer game.  Memory aids take many forms.

 A quick ride back to the boat and once we were all aboard and had the dinghy hoisting harness attached, I started up the engines and then hauled the dinghy back aboard.

As we made our way out of Beaufort I was watching another boat about a mile ahead of us, John William according to how he talked on the radio.  It appeared to be a Pilgrim 40 Tug which made us think of Dave and Joanne who now own one.

We had the current pushing us along at almost 9mph so we had time to burn since we didn't want to  go through Fields Cut before 2:30pm because of the tides.  So what the heck, we decided to abandon the normal ICW route we always take and go out Calibogue Sound and back in to the Savannah River at Tybee Roads.  This is the big ship channel leading into Savannah which intersects the ICW after a few miles.

Passing by Harbor Town Marina where we were going to meet Greg and Laura

This route is a little longer but avoids Fields Cut which for us means having to through at  high tide.  And it was different.  We've been through here half a dozen times now and it's a nice change to have some new scenery.

The detour was uneventful except for the large freighter which was barreling out to sea as we came into Tybee Roads.  We slowed and slid along its side which minimized the wake effect it had on us.  Otherwise, it was rather easy and more enjoyable because the channel is large and I can let the auto pilot steer the boat.

We pulled into Thunderblolt's face dock, and recognized Josh, one of the dock master from past visits.  And he instantly recognized us.

Tied up at Thunderbolt next to a 60 foot Hatteras 

After we tied up and talked with Josh it seems the has changed their policy and now wont let anyone stay past 2 nights?  Weird.  We'll have to check with Hal, the venerable head dock master who has been here for 15 years and has an astounding store of knowledge about the area.  

On the plus side, there are plenty of big mega yachts to salivate over.  The weather is supposed to be nasty.  Maybe and tomorrow and Wednesday, the day we slated to leave.  Maybe even Thursday depending on which forecast you read.

In any event I made a reservation at Isle of Hope marina just a few miles down the Skidaway River to spend Wednesday and Thursday which, averaging all the weather site predictions, are the high probability storm days.  Besides, we can have the AC on which Mary and I may desire, but Bubbie the dog seems to need.  She doesn’t do well in hot and humid.

We stayed aboard tonight and didn't walk to one of the three restaurants within a mile here.  Mary caught upon Laundry and I on some record keeping so I know when to change filters etc.   Then I washed off the bow where some alien flying creature left alarmingly large stains.  Same for the solar panels. 

After dinner we took Bubbie for a walk.

Obeying the law

At least she didn't befoul the pretty landscaping around the sign

This is really a mega yacht boatyard … eye candy for me, plethora of new and exiting smells for the dog.   Free donuts aside, not much for Mary here.  Not even a good selection of dead things collect! 

Watching the radar, the rain seems to swirl all around us but never on us.  It's like there is a god of umbrellas who chose us for some reason.

A splattering of rain this morning woke me up at 7AM while the AC was humming away enveloping us in cool and less humid air.  Wonderful!  Mary, covered up in a blanket along with the dog.  And me splayed out uncovered and luxuriating on the cool air.  We all slept soundly for the first time in several days.

The usual form here at Thunderbolt Marina is to deliver ½ dozen Krispy Kreme donuts to every boat on the docks..  But it wasn’t honored this morning.  Mary who got up 10AM along with the dog who also has a penchant for sleeping late, hurried me out the door to speak with at Josh at the marina office about the missing donuts.

He had them but didn’t want to leave them on the boat due to the rain.  Chuckling, he whispered to me that Mary, when she was paying the bill yesterday, started poking around the front desk.  Josh asked what she needed and Mary, not batting an eye said, “donuts.  Any old donuts back there?”.

Mary brought the dog up to the office and we took her for a walk and then collected the donuts.   We
brought them back and needless to say, the ½ dozen barely survived being taken on board after the dog walk.  I turned down Josh's kind offer earlier, to take along another box, something Mary doesn't need to know. 

We hung around the boat as the clouds thickened again.  I wanted to get to River Supply, a West Marine type store just up the road for some cleaning stuff.

River Supply

They are reasonably priced unlike West Marine which is the place most of us have to go for marine supplies all the while choking on the price markups.    All 4 of the items I purchased here, were $1 to $2 cheaper here than at West Marine.  And all I bought were cleaners, waterproofing spray and some wax stuff.  Nice folks there too.

I made it back before it began to rain and we spent most of the day inside exploring various places to anchor down the way and trying to correlate those places with the weather which is just basically horrible.

A Tropical Storm, (Julia) is expected to form over Florida tonight and then track over Jacksonville and up the coast before veering out to sea near Savannah.    We do like our storms.   I think we are approaching the point where they should at least name one after one of us.  Hurricane Bubbie?

Mary wasn’t feeling well and headed for a 3 hour nap.  The dog, apparently trying to show her support, waddled down to the stateroom with her so I was pretty much alone the whole afternoon.

I did some navigational work and finished up a lingering blog posts and started another.  I’m at least into June now, translating my notes and pictures into something close to readable.  Hunched over a computer though is disturbingly familiar.  I must have done a lot of this in a former life.

We needed a few things from the store so I rode to the BiLo a few miles from here.

Grocery store

And I also stopped in at Home Depot to buy some 5 micron water filters for the primary water maker filters.   We need to make water one more time before we get to Brunswick where I'll pickle the membranes since we wont be using it for several months.

Later we took Bubbie for a walk and I ran into a guy who was walking this impeccably trained Aussie shepherding dog.  Turns out Scot is a professional animal trainer and behaviorist and regaled me with tales of his academic travails (he has two master degrees)  with his thesis research up in Denali.  Interesting guy.  And the dog, was incredible.  Meanwhile Mary and Bubbie had wandered off ack towards the boat.

When I returned we were able to watch some Fraziers and then went to bed.  Rain was on and off. 

Earlier this afternoon I talked with Hal, the head dock master here.  Interesting guy who knows all this history of the Thunderbolt marine from the large mega yachts that arrive here for refurbishment to the little mini dredges they have in the basin complete with a permanent pipe for spoil.  The pipe goes under the river over to the other bank which is their spoil area.  Very interesting.

Eye candy and interesting stories

He told me he has a Master degree in History from somewhere and derives great enjoyment amassing facts about the area.  Did you know there was a fort right on the spot where Thunderbolt Marine is situated?  And there was a Civil War battle here?   The things you learn ...

Anyway I asked about staying here and he said sure but  two big (86 foot) yachts were arriving later. He said were good for tomorrow and I told him we’d talk in the morning.

He normally gets here before six with a stash of donuts.  Every morning.  We define morning as sometime after 9AM.  But  he knows us and so we’ll be fine when we stagger in at 9:30 asking if we  can stay another day.

I really like this place even though its really just a boat yard.

After a short stroll through the yard (love these towering mega yachts) we went to bed.  Bubbie though seems to prefer the dinette cushions at least until I’m in bed with my computer.  Then she’ll saunter on down and hop into bed, or wait for me to pick her up and put her in bed.  

We all woke up this morning.  At 9:15.  Donuts were at the door.   After we returned I had to snatch the 3 remaining ones away and dispose of them lest they be consumed making a breakfast of a half dozen Krispy Kremes.

Those Krispy Kremes are lethal.  The things are laced with sugar and fats.  300 calories per innocent little donut.  I'm told, in no uncertain terms, that they are simply divine.  I cant eat them.  Nor should the dog but I suspect complicity here because the dog gets excited now when that little box appears.

We walked up to the office with Bubbie in light rain and spoke with Hal who was fine with us staying another night or even two!  

While Bubbie and Mary dodged rain drops on a walk, I called Isle of Hope marina and changed our reservation from today to tomorrow.  I’d rather just stay here because of the scenery (mega yachts) and I can talk with Hal for hours about the facility and the large boats stay here for refits etc.  Interesting stuff to me.  

Tropical storm Julia is now a real Tropical Storm.  Its currently raining hard and blowing hard too.  The track is still up the coast but now looks like it will just hug the coast all the way through South Carolina.  For us that means lost of rain and some troublesome gusty winds.

We could leave and go anchor at Walburg Creek to ride out the weather, but the lack of sun and difficulty going anywhere in the dinghy for Bubbie to do her thing would be an un-fun experience.  How do I know this?  I’ve been through it numerous times. 

In a marina we have power and water and internet so there is entertainment available to take the edge off the crappy weather.   At anchor we would have to limit the satellite use since the batteries power everything and the solar panels wont come close to keeping up with the power consumption with the overcast skies.

Like I said earlier, we are getting soft.  In the old days we’d tough it out.  Those good old days in 2012 and 2013 …

They love their oak trees down here

We went to eat out at Tortugas Island Grille down the street.  We walked there since it was a little less than a mile.  The river front street is scenic.

Tortugas Island Grille 

Tortugas is touted as a really good place.  Those touting must have exceedingly low expectations.  Or maybe we’ve become too hoydee-toydee?   The food was marginal, the price high and the place was in sort of a strip mall but actually comfortably decorated.  Only beer and wine though.

Looking at the ever changing weather I think we will be staying here yet another night to let the winds settle and then leave Friday morning.  Seas are forecast to be 2 feet so it’s the ocean for us.  Maybe we can make it into Brunswick Landing Marina Saturday night.  But for sure Sunday.

Taking the ocean route avoids Hells Gate and the Little Mud River,  shallow areas that are best navigated at higher tide levels.  It makes timing a challenge.

The ocean route out the Wilmington River is deep and wide and is right in front of us.  Easy passage if the ocean cooperates.

Weather is looking good Friday.   Thunderbolt marina here let us stay another night so we will be cancelling the Isle of Hope reservation and leaving from here Friday morning for Walburg Creek.

Ugh ... The marine forecast changed.  We wont be taking the ocean unless there is yet another drastic forecast change.  The ocean was forecast with 2 foot swells.  Now they are calling for 3-4 swells.

The ICW (non-ocean route) takes us through a place called Hells Gate, a short and narrow little cut that is impassable at low tide.  So we have to leave the dock by 7AM to make it through there and also Little Mud River, another shallow stretch, a few miles further down.

Today I helped a shrimp boat off the dock.  Brians Crew was the name of the boat and Brian is the captain.   A bit of  controversy.  Yesterday they came in.  The story goes that Hal took a radio call from a “trawler” which he inferred was a pleasure boat.  It wasn’t.  Brian came in being towed by another shrimp boat.  They stopped near the dock and the let the tidal current nudge them against the pier right behind us.

Brian wanted to be hauled to fix a rudder problem.  Wayne and his boss from the boat yard refused.  Stalemate.

Seems Brian is not much liked by the yard guys here.  Wayne the yard manager refused to lift the boat out of the water because, as he told us, they’d probably end up breaking the thing because Brian was looking to get rid of it.

Brians Crew being towed by Norma Jean

When I returned from the store again there were Chatham County police on the dock.  One,of the group of 4, was Brian’s cousin so Brian tells me.  While the police were talking with the marina management, Brian was just finishing up arrangements to be towed by Norma Jean II, another shrimp boat.  They were headed up to another facility to be hauled out.  Brian's boat lost its rudder so he couldn't steer.

Everyone eventually left and I was out on the back deck as they were getting ready to leave so I went out to see if they needed help with their lines.   I got an earful from Brian about Thunderbolt’s lack of consideration towards commercial fisherman and eventually, as he was winding down, Norma Jean pulled up and got a few lines tied to Brian's boat.   And they just let the tidal current gently nudge them off the dock.  I took off the lines as they slackened up. 

So next time we are through here we will have to look him up an buy shrimp.  His brother was also with him and serves as the front office guy.  Brian is the shrimp boat (he has 3) captain.

A rather weird experience.

This morning Josh left 6 more donuts and Mary got to them first before I could get them away.    Not sure how the dog fared.

A Fleming 55 pulled in here in the evening right behind us.  They are on their way to Ft. Lauderdale and are leaving before 6AM.  We’re planning on a 6:30AM departure because of the tide levels in Hells Gate.  They are from Boston and immediately fawned over Bubbie, a Boston Terrier.

Had another nice conversation with Hal.  He’s bringing donuts again before we leave tomorrow morning.  Maybe ...

September 1-8 Charleston and Tropical Strom Hermine

Hermine is the Tropical storm barreling up the Gulf.  It’ll be a Category 1 hurricane by this evening, then is forecast to cross the panhandle at Apalachicola and run inland crossing back into the ocean around Charleston.  Hey!  That’s where we are!

It's expected to be down graded to a tropical storm with winds around 45 mph as it crosses over us but the track could change. Being downgraded to a tropical storm and not a hurricane means the  winds wont be so devastating.  In any event we doubled up all the lines, I caulked some leaky spots and put out extra fenders.

Actually, most people here have doubled their dock lines and laid out extra fenders.  On one sailboat though, a  young couple were nonchalantly scrubbing their decks.  Maybe they know something we dont?

I rode to the store for hurricane supplies.  Rum and thin chocolate filled Oreo cookies.

Storm Prep

I returned and put the rum away but was dismayed to find a whole row and half of Oreo's missing without any evidence of the package being opened.  I cast a suspicious eye towards the dog but she was happily snoring away oblivious to my return.  I was ready to complain to the store until I realized where they had gone.  And it wasn't Bubbie.   Right Mary?

The last Oreo ... before the storm

We met a friend from Mary’s old CUPA-HR days, Stuart who is at Medical University of South Carolina located here in Charleston.  We had a few drinks up at the Bridge Bar.  Stuart is on the emergency response team and now that Hermine is slated to arrive tomorrow afternoon, he was pretty busy, inter-spacing phones calls and drinks. 

We also happened to run into Elizabeth from the marina office.  We have taken to her because she was the only one who seemed to follow through with anything.  Very competent. But alas, she was promoted and has left the marina to assume the duties of  Concierge at the resort office which is 200 yards away.  Not surprising she was chosen.  She is really good.  Our loss.

Current forecast are now calling for sustained 30-40 mph winds tomorrow afternoon and into the evening.  That we can handle without having to think about removing the fly bridge enclosure.

Walk on the night before the arrival of Hermine

Not much more we can do to prepare.   Lines doubled, fenders out, rum replenished, Oreo's on board.
Wait.   Scratch that last one.  

We woke up to torrential rain followed by a slight mist and then nothing.  Wind began to pickup so by noon we were beginning to bounce around and jerking the dock lines.

A little stormy out

A catamaran across the fareway on the next dock did suffer a parted stern line but they caught it as it parted, and were able to fend off the boat in the slip next to them and avoid a collision.

Otherwise its just a vision of bouncing boats and rough seas.  And high tides.  The storm, is a Tropical Storm not a hurricane as it passes over us.  When I last checked at 11, it was centered a little south of Savannah and maybe 50 miles west.  It’s slowly curving its way to the east towards us here in Charleston and is projected to be over, or very near us around 5pm.  Winds will clock round to the west then and we’ll probably get more backside rain, and some heavier wind gusts.

Its now expected to re-enter the Atlantic in North Carolina near Southport (Cape Fear) and then dawdle up the coast becoming a hurricane again.  Mid East coast and up to New York may have an exciting holiday.

All this wind is noisy.  Even Bubbie is having a hard time napping.  Not Mary though.

Video at the height of the storm

The stormy winds built throughout the day but the rain subsided.  We are on the eastern side of the track which means we get the winds, but not so much rain.

A good hurricane demands a hurricane party.  Many of the boaters here gathered in the Tiki bar to ride out the storm.

Hurricane Party.  They even extended Happy Hour

Northwest winds for us mean the boat while be blowing off the dock.  So I was out there several times tightening lines because Margret Rose next to us was, at its closest, 2 feet away.

After 11PM the strong quests moderated and the winds slowly dropped and we were fine.

Woke up to cool air and sunny skies.  We sustained no damage.  Well, the wifi booster did break leaving us with no internet connection.  The Cat 5 cable contacts had corroded but I don’t think that was storm damage but an existing condition.  I had meant to replace the wiring in Brunswick. 

Dennis’s boat next to us though must have really been hobby-horsing in the winds.  He sustained a broken rub rail in the center of the boat and his bowsprit and anchor literally smashed the dock box on the main pier.

Dennis's Boat hobby-horsed so badly his anchor literally chopped up the dock box

Another consequence of hobby horsing when the rub rail caught on the dock

During the height of the storm the owner of Margret Rose (next to us) and I re-tied another boat's lines to keep it's extended swim platform from banging on the dock.  But at that time Dennis's boat was fine.  His damaged must have occurred later during the night when the winds clocked around.  

Only other damage reports were from a few bimini tops being blown off and A Dock (the whole dock, all 35 slips) broke loose I guess and the dock guys had to go out in small boats and lash the thing back to the breakwater.  The docks here are floating and slide vertically on pilings. 

So we can log this as another storm we were lucky to ride out without too much damage.  I’m fondly thinking of house ownership and the many storms we enjoyed from the soft cushions of an arm chair.

More gadgets.  Port side Battery Charger Monitor

Later in the afternoon Mary cleaned windows and I installed the first remote battery charger monitor for the port side.  Have to order another one for the starboard side now.

Replaced the corroded CAT 5 cable that this afternoon after riding over to Staples which is near the Harris Teeter grocery store.   After Staples I made a stop there too.

We managed to take he dinghy down today and took a ride up the Cooper River near the Charleston Naval Shipyard.   Bubbie rode along, looking like a Pillsbury doughboy dog in her life vest ... Bright orange very bulky.

We were out for over an hour and when we returned to the boat, Mary and the dog went for a nap.  I took dinghy over to the fuel dock for gas then ran out in the rough water and up Ashley River.

Sorry Bubbie.  No ride this time.

The Ashley River has as much current flow as the Cooper river.   Most of the marina's are there and they were filled with large, mega yachts.

I was gone about two hours, mainly because it had gotten so rough out it wasn't possible to go fast.  Once I was back I woke everyone up and we hauled the dinghy back aboard.

Later a friend of Dennis, the sailboat owner, came over and he and I removed some of the broken rub rail pieces.  It's not too bad really.  It will just require a piece of stainless and some teak scarfed into the existing rub rail.

I took a stroll along the docks and chatted with a couple who had just returned toting some water  toys.  I was curious where they went and, it turns out, there is a nice spot up the river about 6 miles but with strong current which the use to ride on their big floating lounge chairs.

On the night time dog walk, we ran into a lady who warned us about coyotes here, as many as 20 in roving packs.  There is a warning sign to that effect we discovered shortly after being informed about it.

Cleaned windows and hull today.  Updated nav systems and reserved a car for tomorrow and the next day for shopping.

Clean boat, at least for a few days

I finally labeled the Racor Fuel Filters so I can keep a better record of what filter I've changed.  Then we went to the pool again tonight but only stayed an hour or so..

Labeled Racor fuel filters

Later I walked on bridge paused for a few minutes to  watch a large bulk carrier go through.  

Big bulk carrier going through the bridge

Picked up the car today.  The guy who came to fetch me from Enterprise listed off a whole series of great restaurants to try.  I forgot them all.

Full crowd at the Enterprise car rental office

I drove over to Lowes after waiting an hour to even get up to the counter at Enterprise.  There were at least 30 people at Enterprise either returning or getting cars.  The lady that seemed to be in charge, did a great job of handing the crowd.  We even had a sign up sheet which is why I know there were 30 people in line.  I was the 30^th to sign in.

At Lowes they didn’t have a 1/2” – 5/8” reducing nipple putting a crimp in my plans to change the shower head in our shower with something a little less massive.  Maybe a plumbing store?

Lowe’s also didn't have any herb plants.  But they did tell me about a Damp Rid alternative made by Arm and Hammer (the baking soda folks).  Its just plain, non-smelly de-moisturing stuff you hang in the closets to keep any mold and mildew at bay.  Remember we do live on a boat in the water most of the time.

Next was West Marine where I was hoping to find Klear to Sea, a plastics cleaning product which is phenomenal.  It’s the best stuff I’ve ever used and its especially good at cleaning my array of dollar store glasses.

Back at the boat I lamented my shopping sorrows to Mary who was ignoring me and concentrating and polishing up the last of the stainless rails on deck.  I turned to the dog but she just rolled over and continued her 6 hour nap.

Later we walked to the car by way of the hotel and stopped in to see Elizabeth who worked at the marina office when we arrived but has since moved up to being the resort concierge.  She’ll do really well up at the resort although the marina is already suffering from her absence.

We then went to the UPS store to mail a wind thing Mary made for some friends of ours, then to Walmart where we bought more stuff including food items in quantities to assure a starvation free trip on the 4 day trek to Savannah.

We had dinner aboard, and then while walking Bubbie, we ran into a Pit Bull (on a leash) who, instead reciprocating the usual butt smelling dogs enjoy, tried to eat her head.  No damage though.  Bubbie didn’t seem effected and was happily back to de-mulching the plantings like normal.

The bridge at night

Another superb night to walk on the bridge too.  Many people out strolling, running or skiing up the steep incline which is a little nuts.  The skier was a young guy, an athlete I'm guessing, who returned my hello with normal hello back in a normal, un-strained voice even though we was skiing up hill!  

We didn’t get over to the hardware store and Publix until later this afternoon.  The morning hours were consumed with boat cleaning, specifically the swim platform.  I use Sno Bol toilet bowl cleaner to take the rust stains out.  Then lemon juice to treat the more mild stains left behind.

Resort entrance and the dog walk

Looking back the Fish House restaurant (R) and the new resort building (L)

I spent a good share of today figuring out where we can anchor now that we have a dog to consider.  This significantly narrows the anchoring choices because we need to be close to a landing spot so we can take the dog ashore.  Boat launches, marinas, little towns and beach areas to be exact.  Down here such places aren't exactly abundant especially when you toss in weather and current considerations.    The abundance of small patches of sand and brush look like possibilities until you consider that  alligators and snakes prefer those areas.  An encounter would probably not turn out well. 

Walking on the bridge tonight I watched a RoRo and huge container ship pass each other.  Very cool observing this from way above.  Alas it was a overcast night and the pictures turned out murky.

Tonight as I was walking I saw a couple concentrating in the sidewalk pathway leading to the bridge.   Naturally curious fellow that I am, I walked over to see what they were studying so intently.  A snake.  Tiny little fellow that had somehow ended up on the sidewalk.

So the guy, at his wife's urging, used his foot to gently nudge it into the brush.  I thought it was a garter snake.  Looking it up later though, it appears it was a pigmy rattlesnake. 

Sparkling clean sea strainer basket

Had to clear out the sea strainer for the AC again this morning.  And there was a live crab in the strainer of all things.  It escaped by attempt at capture and sunk back down in the strainer body where I couldn't reach it.  The crab will probably just waltz out the thru-hull when I open the valve.  I don't think it enjoys the dense muck any more than I do.

The aft AC raw water pump experienced several minutes of strained pumping as in no water flow.
It's a little weak so I have to bleed it for an extra long time before it will get water moving.   But it works now so we are cool!

Bubbie is acting weird.  Last night she got all excited when I returned from a walk and skittered out the door onto the deck for awhile before deciding to return inside.  Tonight she was hopping all over the place and waited patiently on my side of the bed for me to finish showering.  Then went back up in the salon.   Last night she ended up on the dinette seat until Mary fetched her back to bed where she immediately sprawls out between us and falls into a deep, snoring sleep.

Our last day here.  I took the car back around 9 this morning to avoid the rush hour traffic.

We cleaned the shower, and I changed all the fuel filters and made sure the engines ran.  We had the bottom cleaned by Mickey, from ICW Divers.  Very good guy.

I biked, for the last time,to Harris Teeter for a few, last minute items including my favorite, Canada Dry Seltzer.  They had a special going, 2 for 1.  But there was only a single 12 pack so I asked and someone went and checked.  Yup.  Only one.

At the checkout I usually say right away I'm from out of town could you use your  courtesy store VIC card.  The nice lady complied and listened to my story of woe concerning the seltzer.   Evidently I made an impression because she gave me the 12-pack of  Polar Seltzer I had as a substitute, for free.  Nice store.

Bubbie was treated to a spa like shower by Mary and spells flowery.   Although I suspect she may have incurred a deep distaste for the shower.

We went to the pool, well I did, and then Mary joined me at the bar for some food and a few drinks before taking Bubbie for a walk.  I usually split off from them and head for the bridge walk.  I'm really going to miss that.

We are all set to leave tomorrow at slack water, around 9:30.

August 17-31, 2016 Charleston

We pretty much stayed on the boat both days staying out of the heat (100+ heat indexes).  I rode to Harris Teeter a few times (expensive) and we went to the bar for happy hour.  Otherwise we occupied ourselves with cleaning the interior of the boat and doing odd little projects.  And some blog updates.

It did rain this evening, some big thunderstorms but we only tasted a few sprinkles.  At least the heat is moderated somewhat.

Storm approaching from the west

Greg and Laura aren’t able to visit us in Hilton Head next month.  After doing some math it turns out to be cheaper to just stay here.  We almost certainly have to be plugged in at a marina somewhere to run the AC or Bubbie will perish, and I wont sleep.   Mary would probably take her sweater off.

Hurricanes, always on my mind this time of year, are in the news.  Mid August through the end of September are the peak hurricane months.  There are two rolling our way now, but the first is expected to stay well out in the Atlantic.  The second is too far away for any accurate predictions, but the forecasters are more concerned with this one because it has the potential to track right over the US, east coast or Gulf.

Met another Gold Looper today.  They sold their house, did the loop and now live in a small condo here in Charleston where they keep their boat.

The dog's nemesis,  The landscaper with the blower returning what she dug up 

Bubbie is increasingly upsetting the nice landscaping here.  She does her thing and then frantically digs up the ground to cover it up.   The preferred mulch here is pine needles.  The dog must have grown up down here in pine mulch country cause she loves kicking them all over.  Now there is a trail of pine needles strewn over the crisply delineated walkways when we pass by.  Hope the landscapers don’t see this!

Not much outside activity today.  Hot.

Thunderstorms in the afternoon.  At the pool the free treat of the day was Root Beer Floats.  It was hot, Mary had two.

18th Hole complete with fire pit and bar under a tent.

I was able to take an abbreviated walk to the nearby golf course.  Very nice.  I was going to inquire about green fees and such but there were two groups of golfers waiting so I decide to try another day.

The aft AC raw water cooling pump died tonight, or so it appears.  Normally the 110VAC electric pump drives a magnetic impeller which circulates cooling seawater to cool the condenser.  Evidence of its operation can be seen in a steady flow of water from a through hull.

This evening there was a startling lack of evidence!  The aft AC does not produce cool air if the raw water pump isn't working.  Thus we will be sweating in an 85 degree cabin unless I get the other AC units on line and setup a Rube Goldberg arrangement of fans which keeps the aft stateroom hovering just below 80.

So out came the fans.  The other AC units were cooling so we wont to too uncomfortable tonight.  And I yanked out the spare AC pump to get it ready.

We made it to the Fish House for breakfast before their closing time of 10:30 this morning.  We had decided to indulge and try a gourmet breakfast advertised by the Fish House restaurant..   Perhaps the advertising may have been a little overstated.  George Web and the Waffle Houses are just as good, and half the cost.

Non Bubbie type critters live around here

We took a little walking path through the marsh but were cautious after confronting a red and white sign warning of their snake and alligator population.  

Back on the boat I tackled the dying AC problem.  I had the new pump out but to test the water flow first.  We have a single thru-hull which passes sea water to the three pumps for the air conditioners.   In this case though, the aft AC unit was over heating and shutting down either because the pump was failing or because the water flow was restricted.

The aft AC is last on the feed pipe for sea water.  I did a few tests and found that running alone it was fine.  Once another AC unit came on line the aft AC water flow trickled and stopped. 

Ah Ha!  Water flow!  I haven't cleaned out the AC sea strainer for months.  It rarely ever clogs.  But we are in Charleston now so there maybe more stuff in the water than I can see.

However I couldn’t budge the sea cock lever to shut off the water flow so I could clean out the strainer.  It took a few blows from a hammer to get it moving so I could finally shut if off.

The strainer was completely plugged with ooze and mud.  And little squirmy creatures.  The Cooper River is a muddy river!

Open sea strainer and cleaned strainer basket.  And a hammer.

I cleaned out removable sea strainer basket and then attacked the sea strainer containment vessel.  It was also full of ooze and muck.  I sucked it out with a our Little Green Machine upholstery cleaner (pseudo shop vac).  But when I lifted up the holding tank of the thing, the bottom popped off spraying sea water all over everything including some engine parts.

Another 40 minutes of cleaning that up and I had everything back together.  Turned on an AC unit and bled the water line but it took a few minutes.  It initially had an airlock.  Had to do this for all three.  Now though we have cool air once again.

Bleeding the air out of the sea water line isn't too difficult.  The pumps aren't self priming but are positioned below the water line.  Bleeding the lines is essentially loosening the face plate screws of the pumps and let it pump air and water out until its all water.  The only hard part is the contorted position one must assume to reach the pumps.

Since I was down there I cleaned out the water maker, sea strainer as well.   Clean as a whistle.

After all this I talked with our neighbor who mentioned he cleans out his strainers twice a week because it so bad in here.  So I guess I’ll go check them next week.

Then I tackled the grill.  It’s, ah, very well seasoned.  Some would even say it imparts a cavalcade of smokey flavors to anything cooked on it.  Others conclude its filthy and needs to be cleaned. 

Full disclosure -- I haven’t cleaned it since we left Marathon.

It took a few hours but its spiffy now and all the gas outlet holes are unplugged.   Also gone (I think)  are the subtle, smoky flavors.  And the smoke.  It never occurred to me that people scurrying off the docks were really running from the billowing clouds of grill smoke pouring out of our boat.  I mean who knew?

A nice steady rain shower passed through just after Carnival Escape left for a Bahamas cruise.  It's berthed right across from us and, as I was told, it runs it's generators all the time never taking advantage of the shore power.

Bubbie hasn’t eaten her dinner for two days and Mary, frantic now, mushed it all up so she wouldn’t have to chew (she has some bad teeth).  Then she ate.  

Its Saturday here and weekend boaters are out in force.  Going to be a loud night but we don’t care because we’ll be basking in the cool air of our aft stateroom where we don't hear much of anything.

Another hot day but we remain cool.  

We finally put snaps on the nice curtain thing Mary made to cover the gaping hole where out defunct ice maker once lived.  Buying a new one is $1000.  So we haven’t replaced it yet since making ice in the chest freezer with old fashion ice cube trays works just fine.  Although I think we are a puzzlement to other boaters who have ice makers, but to save a  $1000 I can walk to the freezer and take out a tray of ice.

Yesterday I put up Mary's coat hanger doodad and then drilled a 2 inch whole in the our stateroom bulkhead and mounted our rear depth sounder.   Today I was going to re-do the wiring for it and some of the other outlets there but its quite the rats nest so I’m taking a few extra days to trace out all the wires and order some 12VDC outlets and switches.    Besides its mid 90’s again today.  

We are contemplating on dumping the directors chair that has sat up on the fly bridges for all these years.  It’s a little worn but Dave and I were able to thread some webbing from lifting straps through it to make it functional.  Certain people think its an eye sore.  So now its sitting on the sundeck either to be chucked in the dumpster or taken back up to the fly bridge.

It could go either way.

Stayed aboard most of the day although it was only in the low 90’s today.  Worked on a blog entry from Bahamas (yes, way behind).

 Rented a car for tomorrow so we'll have transportation for three days.

I was picked up at Resort entrance by the Enterprise driver who was delayed because of the elevated number of customers they had today.    He was an older guy driving a 15 passenger van.  He told me, as had other people, that Mt. Pleasant is experiencing explosive growth with several new subdivisions and additional office buildings and retail establishments.  His complaint is with the lack of expanded infrastructure to handle to boom.

Our Challenger 

They initially gave me a small car like I requested but it had a tire pressure light on and the nice lady immediately said no, we’ll get you another car.  Several minutes later I was driving away in another hot rod Dodge.   A Challenger this time.

We went to the UPS store first so I could return the Vornado fan that didn’t work (they sent a new one to us yesterday) and Mary was returning a Bubbie life vest that didn’t fit.  Seems Bubbie is becoming a little fatter sausage then we realized.

Then to Walmart where we bought necessary miscellaneous stuff.   I didn’t buy a whole lot of Birdseye frozen veggies that we can put in to microwave where they steam cook.  I’ve watched them go from 16oz 5 years ago to 10.8 ounces now.  Price differential is zero.

Since I’m turning into a curmudgeon I wrote them a note expressing my displeasure and inquiring why this was necessary.  We may have to start up a square foot garden here aboard.

On the way back we decided to be bold and explore Charleston culinary offerings.  We ate lunch at Wendys.  

Bubbie didn’t eat again.  In fact she sometimes acts like she’s had  a stroke just sitting their staring off into space.  Treats though still mildly excite her.  So does a walk, but when the Heat Indexes are up in the 100’s,  Mary has to carry her back. 

Mary and Bubbie were still napping this morning so I just headed on on errands to Lowes and West Marine.

Epoxied up some dings in the dinghy and tested the Foscam web cam we’ve had for a while.  I was hoping I could use it in the engine room but alas the resolution is too low and it only works in the 2.4 ghz band.  And, I discovered it wont pick up a wireless signal in the engine room with the engine room door closed. 

So I bagged it up along with some other spare electronic parts and took it up to the marina office for anyone to pick through.

Walking the dog tonight, I’d forgotten the car was parked by the restaurant so I had to go back to get the keys and decided to make a grocery run tonight to help defray the number of stops we have to make tomorrow.

One of my amazon packages with some electrical switches couldn’t be delivered so I have to go to the post office tomorrow to fetch it.

In a twist, Mary has been getting up before me.  However I’m convinced because the dog, knowing she gets walked by Mary, wakes up and sits next to her.  Bubbie has breath that, mishandled, could end life as we know it.  But it wakes up Mary while I, oblivious to all this, slumber peacefully.  Its rather nice!

We went to post office in hopes of locating this package of 12 volt outlets I had ordered from Amazon.  It wasn’t there.  But Elizabeth from the marina office called me because my other package had arrived.  The post office guy said the lost package may have been out for delivery again this morning so I should check and then if its not at the marina come back in.

When I enter the tracking number on the USPS site it says it was delivered to the front desk and handed to a clerk.  We’ll see.

After the that we went to a Publix grocery store a few blocks away and stocked up on some perishable things.  We aren’t leaving until the 9^th but have learned that splitting up all this shopping for two weeks of anchoring out, is best accomplished in smaller chunks thus making it far easier to lug all the stuff up the ladder on board the boat.

The docks here are floating which is a good thing since the tides can by 7 feet.  The bad thing is that we need the ladder to get on and off the boat.  The ladder can be trying with heavy bags.

Mary testing the warm waters at Sullivan Beach

Once the groceries were all stored away we ate lunch and then went to Sullivan Beach for a few hours of strolling on the beach.  Very nice, and very uncrowded.  Wish that were true for the roads.

Political humor even down here.  Credit: Jen and Dave

Back on the boat I retrieved my found package and noted once again how much ship traffic passes through Charleston.  Its great fun to watch all the heavily laden freighters run up the river to the commercial port facilities.  I think we just may take the dinghy down and take a run up there.

Its fun watching all the ships ply the channel so close to the marina (credit: Jen)

We decided to keep the car an extra day.   Nothing like spending a morning at Walmart.

The tropical storm moving over the Bahamas tomorrow is forecast to become a tropical storm or hurricane.  Its projected path is over the Keys and south Florida up towards the pan handle.  Looks like we may have escaped the worst of this one!

I had to wake up Mary and Bubbie at 10 this morning because the dog needed to walk and we had to get the rental car returned in early afternoon.

We managed to make it to Walmart and stocked up with what we needed.  Once it was all on board and stowed away I returned the car and then hung around the boat while Mary and Bubbie napped.

Cool, uncrowded pool on a hot day

Went to the marina office to pickup my other found, lost package that was delivered today and then left Mary and Bubbie napping while I went to the pool.  The water was noticeably cleaner and refreshingly cool today in contrast to when the Hagens were here.  

Dolphins were playing in the water near the boat this evening while we were cocktailing.

We didn’t do much else except eat dinner and talk the dog for a walk.  In this heat my knees feel almost normal so I started running again and ran over to the baseball stadium where College of Charleston was playing Navy.  Well I think it was Navy but  never could quite make out the opponent name.  The heat isn't nearly so beneficial to my eyes I guess.

Dennis's red hulled Valiant 47.  

Met Dennis our other neighbor who just showed up.  He’s in this beautiful red hulled sailboat.  Friendly guy from Ohio.  The boat is a Valiant 47 that Dennis refurbished which included a gorgeous red paint job.

We stayed aboard again most of the day.  I tackled re-wring the aft depth sounder and adding some 12 volt outlets around the boat.

Hanger doodad and Depth sounder

Turns out the depth of the original 12 volt electrical boxes isn’t nearly deep enough to accommodate a 12 volt cigarette lighter type receptacle.  And there isn’t any way to get a hole drilled into the bulkhead.  Scratch one project off the list.

Next I pulled wires through to a switch box near our bed so I can switch on the depth sounder easily. During that little escapade I stumbled on a pair of seemingly dead wires dangling by an access plate.  Only they turned out to be live 12vdc which is why the wires were too hot to touch. 

Wiring old boats ... always a joy

After correcting that problem I started to wire the illuminated 12 volt SPST switch only to discover the terminals were not labeled.  So that took some time to figure out.  For documentations sake, the two terminals closest together are the power in and load terminals.  The terminal standing apart is the ground.

We took Bubbie for her walks and continue to marvel how she can completely decimate a nice pine needle mulch bed in under a minute.  So then Mary has to quickly scrap all the debris back before the guy with the blower discovers who is redistributing his mulch.

Dennis next door arrived several weeks ago from Bermuda.  He lives here and works here too (un-retired).   He was working on his boat most of the day while we weren’t.  But then he has to return to Ohio to work while we can slowly tackle boat projects he has to speed through.

The clothes dryer is now almost useless because it takes several hours to dry a tiny load of clothes.  Looks like we’ll need to take the thing out again so I can try can get inside and clear out any debris that’s causing a blockage of the blower.  I don’t think I could get a new blower if I could even get it apart. The thing is 20+ years old.

Last year I was researching stacked laundry centers and they are rare.  For the stacked washer/dryer machine like this with 110 volt dryers within the space limitations we have exactly one replacement choice.

We also were informed that the front desk refused delivery of a package we had sent here. So the post office took it back and I have to bike the 5 miles to the Post Office to fetch it from them.  Ever experience Charleston traffic on a bike?  Ugh …

Rode to Post Office today.  They took 30 minutes to find the mail from St. Brendans Isle which is our mail forwarding service.

Finally.  The package!

Mary used the little dinghy to try and wash the hull but floated away with no oars.  And surprise!,  the current pushed away from our boat all the way down to the next dock.  So I gathered the oars and walked way over to the next dock where I met her.  She took the oars and rowed back cross to our boat.  There were several amused boaters watching all this.   We were the entertainment this afternoon.

I think I discovered a water leak in out internal water system somewhere.   There is an unusual amount of water in the bilge.  The only other explanations would be a leak in the hull or fittings or the salon AC unit condensate is draining in the bilge.

Worked on  the blog most of the day piecing together disparate pictures and log entries.

My package arrived but the one I really need is at reported to be sitting at the post office so another bike ride tomorrow.  It seems the mailbox for the marina here at the resort is rather small and when the Post Office cant squeeze any more in, the simply take it back with them.

Along with the new building and remodeling, Elizabeth told me they are doubling the size of a new mail box they plan to install in a month.   

Investigated the water leak.  The tank monitor show us at ½ or below which is inconsistent with usage since we filled the tanks which have not been used.   After poking around I can only surmise its coming from the front center line tank if it is indeed a fresh water leak in our system.  It shouldn't be too terribly difficult to remove but I wouldn’t attempt it unless we are at a boat yard.  

But I cant trace the condensate drain line from  the salon AC unit so I'm guessing it is draining in the bilge and could be accounting for the increased water levels.   I think we'll turn off the salon AC for a few days and watch the bilge water levels.

Sunset waling on the way to the bridge

Tonight's walk took me to a new route through an industrial/condo park and onto the Arthur Ravenel Bridge which is the very large and very spectacular bridge here in Charleston.   A surprising number of people were out strolling the bridge.

Meanwhile the AC units continue to function although the aft stateroom AC water pump didn’t start for several minutes again.  I’m only trying to run one unit because the water here is so laden with silt the filters clog up quickly and the pumps have to be bled to get them primed.

Tropical Disturbance #9 is slated to become a Tropical Storm and then probably a hurricane which is now forecast to cross the Gulf and then cut through the pan handle before exiting out to the Atlantic.   Where it exits is critical to us because it path right now is right over Charleston.  If it exits land well south and comes up this way it will have strengthened into a hurricane again and we’ll be SOL.

Tropical  Disturbance #9 is now Tropical Storm Hermine.  Its predicted track carries it west of us here in Charleston but as Hank from Southport pointed out, its asymmetrical shape is making the east side of the storm track more prone to storm level winds.  Great ….

View from the bridge looking towards The Yorktown and the marina beyond

In better news, I was up on the bridge tonight.  Great place to walk and wonderful sights.

The bilge seems drier now since I shut down the salon AC.  The Tank Watch system we have to monitor water tank levels is a bit unstable so it just may be a coincidence that I noticed the tank level drop when I noticed the unusual  bilge water levels.

Tomorrow is September 1!