Myrtle Beach, SC to Georgetown, SC - We had a little trouble leaving the dock in Myrtle Beach with only one motor. We kept getting pushed back into the dock, but once Ben put Whisper's remaining motor into reverse, we were able to back out of the fuel dock which we were docked along side. We spent a little time cleaning the boat, I took a shower, and we got gas, filled up the water tanks, and pumped out (the head holding tank), so we didn't get off the dock until 9 am.
We thought we saw Calvin on Woodstock and Chris and Amber on Escapod behind us, but we weren't sure until we heard them on the radio later in the afternoon. We first ran into Escapod a few weeks ago when we docked next to Escapod in Norfolk. We all left Norfolk the same day, but they took the Dismal Swamp and we took the Virginia Cut route, so we didn't see them again until Beaufort and by that time they had picked up Calvin on his 26 ft hunter, Woodstock. Calvin is a pilot but decided sailing sounded fun, so he went to Annapolis, bought Woodstock and headed south. We really admire what Calvin is doing, but whenever we think we're a little crazy for heading off on this adventure, we remind ourselves - we had actually been sailing before we started the trip.
We got to Georgetown after dark, walked around town and stopped to have a drink (and ended up having dinner) at the Rice Paddy bar. It was a little of a surprise in North Carolina to see the signs prohibiting smoking (by order of North Carolina Session Law 2009-27), but it was more of a surprise when for the first time since Virginia banned smoking last year, everyone at the bar lit up. Ben and I both appreciate it when people are obviously regulars, and so it was fun to see a guy walk in, and the bartender ask if he wanted a beer, and then bring him his preferred brand.
Georgetown, SC to Bobby Kennedy's Dock, North of Charleston - It was another day in the ditch. The last few days of "sailing" have really been motoring down a narrow channel, staying between the markers, and occasionally passing or being passed by faster or slower vessels. It's not very remarkable, and it's not even close to the romantic picture of "sailing to the Bahamas." It is what it is. Two of the slower vessels we passed this morning were Woodstock and Escapod and this time we were able to hail them on the radio and see what they were up to.
We were hoping to make Charleston today, but about 2:00 it became obvious it would be just out of reach, and we didn't want to be in the busy Charleston Harbor when it got dark, so we looked at the guide book and saw there was a marina about 10 miles before Charleston Harbor. We called and they had space for us at their fuel dock, but not until 5:30. (Because Whisper is 18 feet wide, a lot of times she doesn't fit in slips designed for narrower monohulls.) We decided to slowly meander to that marina since otherwise we'd be there before they were ready for us. It paid off because as we slowed down we ended up seeing several dolphins, including one that followed us for a few minutes. We also realized how friendly people are in this area. Because we were moving pretty slow, a ferry hailed us and asked if we were looking for an anchorage and was ready to provide us with a few local spots. It's supposed to be 35 degrees tonight so we said thanks, but we were headed to a marina so we could plug in and run our electric heaters.
A few minutes later Ben spotted a man standing on his dock waving us down. He had space for us to dock, electricity, and water. Free dock! We'll take it. He helped us dock across from his own sailboat, and introduced himself - Bobby Kennedy. He and his wife, Jan, have taken their Hinckley Bermuda 41 down to the Bahamas and up to the Chesapeake, Jan is from Virginia and their daughter went to UVA. They offered to let us stay as long as we'd like and said they would be driving into Charleston tomorrow if we needed a ride. What nice people!
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