Memorial Day Week-End

Even though Memorial Day has come and gone, I am just getting to how our 3 day week-end went.  Walter and I loaded up the boat Friday afternoon and headed out of the marina.  We were towing our new dinghy named "plus 1" for the first time so we opted to motor through the Charleston Harbor to the ICW until we get used to "plus 1" floating off the back of the boat.

It was a great day it only took us about 4 hours to get to a nice little inlet by DeWees Island.  We dropped anchor (3 times) before we got a good hold.  By this time we figured it was 5 o'clock somewhere, time for a beverage :-) 

We settled in and made plans for dinner but the winds kicked up to 20 knots (yikes) the propane grill just could not compete with the winds.  So on to plan B, cook steak and veggies on stove in cabin. It all tasted great, could have been PBJ sandwiches and we would have been happy settling in for our first night of a long week-end.  I was even able to sneak a small pint size container of Haagen Dazs on board without Walter knowing for a surprise, it was a hit.  Did I say that the winds kicked up, we had done our homework before we left the marina and never saw any mention of slight gusty winds.  No worries, we were still thrilled to be on the water and able to capture a great sunset.

When it was time to settle in for the night we batton down the hatches (still windy) set the anchor alarm and off to sleep we went.  The rookie that I am thought that it would be a great night's sleep only waking up to the sunrise to continue with our adventure.  I was wrong.  The anchor alarm went off at 2:00am making a noise like an aircraft carrier horn sounding off for us to get out of its way.  Startled, I got out of  bed made my way up the steps tripping over the cockpit entrance and stumbling to my feet, with Walter right behind me.   Walter quickly went to inspect the anchor, while I stood at the helm thinking I was helping in some way. 

The moon was so bright that night that neither one of us needed a flash light to see.  Walter recognized that the tides had changed and the anchor was still set hard and strong but the anchor line had slightly wrapped around the keel, so Walter worked his magic (still windy) got the lines all set while I was still standing at the helm holding the wheel, not that it was helping but it made me feel as if I was. When all was said and done we were able to relax.  Morning came quickly especially when you are sleeping with one eye open just in case the alarm went off again.  Walter on the other hand slept like a baby (he could sleep on a picket fence if he had too).  I made breakfast and some coffee, we cleaned up and were on our way up the ICW to our next anchorage spot in Awendaw. See happy Captain

Wow, the things you see from the water that you would never see from the road to include many beautiful homes.  A few hours later we were at our next anchorage spot.  It looked fantastic, you could see the ocean even though you could not get to it (sand bars).  We dropped anchor (this time only took one attempt) and we were set. 

The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze perfect time to test out "plus 1".  I loaded up a bag with water, cell phone, towels while Walter started up the engine, she purred like a kitten when the winds started to pick up, so much so that dinghying to the sand bar would not have been the smart thing to do.  So Walter settled in for a afternoon siesta and figured it was 5 o'clock somewhere (again).

After a while Walter thought he should check the diesel levels, why I don't know, the tank indicator said we had more than half a tank.  To his surprise it was well below what the indicator was showing, dangerously low (no running the engine that night for any extra battery juice) so we brought out our handy dandy ICW book to find the closest fuel dock.  McClellanville here we come.  But not before we batton down the hatches again for 20-25knot winds.  I decided that I was staying up until the tides changed so I could go to sleep with no worries of the anchor alarm going off again knowing that the boat would be moving. 

I also decided that I would get up when the morning tide change was coming just to make sure all was ok, even Walter got up with me.  We sure were tired at 5 am but when we saw the sunrise it was all worth it.

Coffee pot is brewing and bagels are being eaten, sun is rising, before you know it we are on our way to McClellanville.  It took us about an hour out of our way but we found the fuel dock, filled up the tank and then back on the ICW heading back to Charleston Harbor. 

Walter and I had forgotten that it was Memorial Day until we got closer to IOP. 

Oh my!

Boats everywhere from DNR, Coast Guard and what seemed like every boater in the lowcountry was on the water.  We could not get past IOP fast enough until the water depth got so low that we hit bottom (low low tide, yikes) just before the Ben Sawyer Bridge.  That made me a little white knuckled but Walter of course is a real trooper and reassures me that we will be fine and we were. Finally it was our turn to motor past the Ben Sawyer Bridge, we found a little more water and picked up our speed toward the Charleston Harbor, hurray!

As soon as we hit the Harbor the sails went up and we headed home with "plus 1" trailing behind us.

Lessons learned:

The weatherman could be wrong

You can't grill in 20-25 knot winds (have a plan B)

Anchor alarms are just a part of the experience

Fuel gauges can fail

Planning an outing on a holiday week-end (not the best idea)

Priceless:

Ice cream makes a happy surprise

New experiences

Great memories

Drinking a hot cup of coffee watching the sunrise can make it all worth it