Captain's log Week 3

11/25/10 to Myrtle Beach
7:15-3:30
8.5 engine hours (one engine)

Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that we have made the decision to leave Southport.... even though we have only one motor....
After some consideration last night, Laura and I decided to take a chance with one motor and keep going. Best case scenario, we won't have a new motor for at least another week. Sitting around in Southport that long would be a disaster.

The downside to having only motor is that you are significantly less maneuverable. For more than you ever really wanted on how boats turn (or don't), see the post in the "Captains Log" titled: "Two hulls, one Motor =("

11/26/10 to Georgetown
9:00am-5:45
8:45 motor time
This is kinda why they call the ICW "the ditch"... It's a lot like driving a loud car that's hard to stop through a wide ditch.

11/27/10 To North of Charleston
8-4:00pm
It's hard to live in a 30'x18' box with another person 24 hours a day, with almost no privacy and no one else to talk to. This was one of those days when we probably could have used some space. But, at the end of the day we made a gin and tonic, watched the sun set (these two things are becoming something of a ritual), saw a dolphin and the world seemed a bit better.
We were told by the marina at which we planned on docking, that we would need to wait for an hour (in high current) for their dock to be ready for us. We stared to circle around a little river a few miles from the marina and ended up getting waved over to a private dock by a man working on his sailboat. He ended up offering us his spare dock (complete with power and water) for free for the night. It was exactly what we needed, just a little something to make us remember that it's good to be on the boat. Laura has written a bit more about this in her section.

11/28/10 to Charleston
This was where we really had a hard time docking with one motor. High current, high wind, a packed and largely enclosed marina, and one motor. In the end we managed to get it done without hitting any of the many millions of dollars of yachts in the harbor (and some of these really were yachts, not boats). I wish I had this on video, it would have been a good one.
Tonight we went to a restaurant we had never heard of before, but one which came highly recommended by my friend and coworker Lori Shinseki. "McCradys" was fantastic, look for it in our (yet to be created) restaurant review section. Actually, it was an instant favorite.

11/29/10 Anchorage North of Beaufort SC
9:45-4:45
7 hours motor time

We anchored out in the ICW. We didn't sleep, we almost lost 2 sets of ground tackle (anchors and chain/rope), had to get help from a passing boat, I ended up in a wetsuit..... enough said. Read Laura's account for the details.

11/30/10 to Beaufort SC

Took it a bit slow today, just went into Beaufort SC about 25 miles from where we Anchored last night. Took the opportunity to do some much needed laundry and get dry.
Had another great Dinner at "Saltus" See restaurant review section.

12/1/10 Beaufort SC again
Started to leave in the morning, but decided that it was just too windy and that we could really use a day off the ICW. This feeling was compounded by the fact that sleep was hard to come by the last two nights. Overnight we were bullied by choppy seas, high current and really big wind. It was like trying to sleep in a washing machine. staying put for the day is a good decision.

12/2/10 to Thunderbolt GA (yay new State!)
7:15-4:15
7 hours motor time
It was really quite cold last night I think it actually got below freezing. We brought our little salad garden in from the cold (thank you Larry and Roberta). I'm still surprised at how warm the little space heaters keep the cabin. The cold front that passed through over the last two days has finally blown out. Winds have come down and so have the waves. Finally we had a good nights sleep. No waves no worries. I'm realizing that this trip down the ICW, which was always an afterthought for me, (something to get through on the way to the real adventure) is in it's self an adventure. It is physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing. It is also beautiful and always changing. I will always remember it. We are docked at Isle of Hope Marina in Thunderbolt, GA (actually, I think it might be it's own town, but it, and Thunderbolt are pretty close to Savannah). Calm relaxing day, just what we needed. Eating cheese and crackers with a glass of wine watching the remains of another sunset.

Our battery is worrying me a bit as the voltage readings are quite low. We have 4 55W solar panels on board as well as high output alternators on the motors (or motor). The day was sunny and we ran the motors all day. We should be seeing more than 11V in the battery. Most boats carry several batteries which are split up for separate uses. One dedicated for starting the engine and one for the "house" lights, pumps, etc. We have only one battery on board for everything. Granted it is the bad ass of all batteries developed by NASA for long term use in space, but it is also 10 years old. Worst case scenario the motors don't stars and we have no electronics. We can always use a handheld GPS a chart on the iPad (yes these are just as good as paper charts) and start the motor with the pull cord until we can find a new battery. (Larry Jones bite your tongue).