The Charleston Delay

The weather in Charleston was unseasonably cold so we pushed back our return date to Wednesday, January 26th. The temps were in the low 40s when we arrived around 8pm and it dropped to 27 overnight. Our plan was to get organized on Thursday and head south to warmer weather on Friday. Riiight…

After a quick run to Publix we returned to the boat with a few provisions for the morning and were greeted by the smell of rotting food. Sometime in the last two months our refrigerator & freezer had stopped working, so we threw everything away (thankfully not much), left our new provisions in a box in the cockpit, turned on the heat and went to bed.

On Thursday, we discovered that the shore power circuit breaker on the dock post had tripped so we reset this and figured that the fridge would restart. It made a promising whirring sound but never got cold. After unsuccessfully trying the suggestions in the manual, we contacted a local repair guy, who promised to come by in the afternoon. However, he got tied up on another project, had to get a covid test and doesn’t work weekends, so we saw him on Monday. By this time, I had narrowed the problem to a faulty thermostat. When he arrived, he agreed with the diagnosis, promised to have one overnighted on Tuesday and installed by Wednesday. And so we wait…

In the meantime, we discovered that the shower drain wasn’t working because of a faulty float switch. After a quick trip to local West Marine and many uncharitable words directed towards the bowels of the grey water bilge, we can now shower without wading in water. A small but significant victory.

Cursing the float switch

And so…we have spent our time prepping for the next two months by sorting through the mysterious contents of seldom used lockers, getting the TV working, and cleaning, inside and out.

We also set up a fourth navigation screen and now have Aqua Maps, Navionics, Radar and Raymarine GPS. (which seems like a lot of gear considering that we should be able to read our depth sounder and see both sides of the rivers & canals as we head to Florida). However, the next stretch through Georgia is filled with twists, turns, dead ends & blind alleys, so the Navionics will show us the way whilst the Aqua Maps will show us the latest river bottom contours. The Raymarine GPS will show the most recent Bob423 track, which is easy to follow and keeps in safe waters…in Bob We Trust.

Slowly the temperature has been rising from our low of 27 degrees we’re now headed to the low 60’s today! The wind has been pretty fierce but has calmed some of the mornings. We’ve packed away the winter coats, hats and gloves…for now…and head out to enjoy Charleston!

Pomegranate Mimosas at 82 Queen
Oysters at Nicos

All things considered, Charleston is a pretty great place to be delayed. We have eaten well, revisiting Nico’s for oysters, both raw and roasted and 82 Queen for brunch (who knew that grits buried under a crab cake, poached egg and hollandaise can really be pretty good ), went back to Slightly North of Broad after a day of walking the city and enjoyed ribs, brisket and corn bread pudding at Lewis Barbecue. We have walked to the Publix most days for minimal supplies and prepared dinners and have also toured the Charleston Museum, walked the city & the waterfront.

Thinking of repowering SkipStone

The USS Yorktown was an interesting way to spend an afternoon: huge WWII air craft carrier that saw action in the Pacific with huge engines, huge boilers, huge mess halls…you get the picture. And soooo many stairs. The Laffy, a destroyer next door, dodged U boats in the North Atlantic and was attacked by Kamikazes in the Pacific. The Laffy was named for a Civil War soldier from the north and docked in the city where the Civil War started…hmmm.

Maybe we need a bigger boat

While we love Charlston…we are ready to move on!

19 comments

  1. It’s a good thing you guys like each other – Richard would have skewered me by now. I hope the preliminary glitches don’t continue! And hope the weather cooperates!

    1. hahaha, Lis. I guess this just wouldn’t be your kind of trip. But yours are pretty wonderful!! Richard would have definitely skewered me by now too!!

  2. Lovely to live vicariously thru you both. Charleston is a beautiful city. You got out of town just in time…24 inches of snow last Saturday and sleet and freezing rain today (Friday).
    (Keep an eye our for my friends, Jot and Etoile Holzapfel…New Castle NH. They are heading from Charleston south right about now)

    1. Hi MB, haven’t seen your friends yet…what is the name and/or kind of boat they have? We have seen so few boats on this part of the trip.
      Hope your weather -and ours – improves soon! Bet you’re enjoying with Remy either way.

  3. Gee, a pretty arduous beginning! But you are, of course, undaunted, making the best of a challenging situation–and you make it sound like just another day at sea. Love it! Keep up the good vibe!

    1. Thanks, Karen! Got to stay positive! Its all an adventure and feeling lucky to be in it!

  4. Oh, we’re sorry to laugh at your adversity but applaude your resiliency…..but way to recover with a little culture & marine history, a few mimosas & lotsa oysters! Please post again soon, you’re our lifeline to warmer climes… Bon Voyage!

    1. hahaha, Kate, you make us laugh! Adversity, yes. Resiliency, yes…hoefully enough! Small craft warnings kept us in port today but should hit Florida tomorrow…fingers crossed.

  5. Great to see a new post. They don’t call it “adventure traveling” for nothing. Keep up the perseverance and sense of humor!

    I wonder if we could meet up with you somewhere along your travels south. We’ll be on Marco Island in 2 weeks. Perhaps we could spin over to the east coast or the keys for a drink…

    1. Hi Dave,
      Would love to connect if you’re able to come near to us….we won’t make it to the West Coast this time! Text us your dates and hopefully it will work. Delayed today again due to small craft warnings so we just keep truckin’

  6. Talk about “rolling with the punches!” Charleston does sound like a great place to be delayed – your food descriptions has my stomach growling 😉. Wishing you safe travels and warmer weather 🌞

    1. Thanks, Maria! You’ll want to put Charleston on your travel list and we’ll help you plan the food itinerary.

    1. Great catching up today, Ruthie…we just keep on moving!! Hope to be in Delray before too long.

  7. The beginning of a new adventure!!! Love the commentary & photo with “cursing the float switch”. There are worse places to be stranded than Charleston, As we watch the snow slowly melt from a blizzard last weekend & ice storm yesterday. Have fun & stay safe.

    1. Yes, Deb, the shot of David on the floor head down was something!! But he fixed it!
      Hope your weather – and ours improves soon.

      We’ll be in St Augustine in a couple of days and will try to eat at one of your favorites.

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