Still Freakin' Cold!

Cabin Boy here, filling in for Cap'n Dave. I've been offered the chance to blog rather than do dishes, and have jumped at it.

Today (Saturday) began much like the day before, and the day before that: biting winds, a hurried nature call over the downwind rail, then back to the warmth of my sleeping coccoon while water heated for a shower (thanks to Cap'n Dave, who had been up for a bit) and coffee brewed (ditto). What was different this morning was the presence of the lovely Jessica, who arrived last evening to supply us with cheese, chocolate-covered pretzels, and other essentials. Haystacks for dinner was another of the day's highlights, but the real event was our Coast Guard helicopter fly-by, organized by Jessica. While the helicopter circled overhead, we did our best to not give the appearance of being in distress. Fortunately, Barry had his flare gun taken away just as he was about to either signal for help that we didn't need or blow the helo out of the sky.

After breakfast, Jessica headed back to Savannah, and Alana headed south past Tybee Island and out on the big detour that would take us around the extensive shallows between here and Savannah. Until we had to turn northward into the Wassaw Sound, it was fine sailing, making 5-6 knots on just the genoa over quite flat water, and the sun shone most of the day. If only it had been warmer. Cap'n D saw a porpoise jump well clear of the water, and I saw a sea gull defecate.

Tonight we're anchored in the Wilmington River about 45 minutes from home. We'll time our arrival at Isle of Hope to arrive with favorable tides tomorrow morning, and spend the rest of the day warming up and doing a bit of sightseeing in Savannah.

Cold, Wet, Windy & Fun

Yesterday, my brother Mike, who now lives in Boulder, joined me for a few days of local sailing. It dawned cold and rainy, but since we were locked into a schedule we left Isle of Hope as planned and made our way out to sea via Wassaw Sound. We cleared the sound and headed up the coast to Port Royal Sound, dropping the hook just east of Parris Island before sunset. We encountered 25-26 knots of wind, plenty of rain and unexpectedly cool temperatures en route, so were pretty beat. Rather than some sort of gourmet feast, we enjoyed a couple of cans of Steak & Potato soup sprinkled liberally with cheese, then headed almost immediately to bed. It was too cold for lounging about and we both appreciated the warmth of our sleeping bags.

After a good night's rest (about 11 hours worth) we woke to clear, sunny skies. The wind was still fresh and forecast to strengthen, so we opted to transit to Calibogue Sound via the ICW rather than the usual ocean route. The northwesterly wind direction allowed us to sail most of the way, so we didn't feel too wimpy for having taken the "old person" route, and we were anchored in time for a latish lunch (turkey subs again).

Following lunch we took the dingy out to test some recent repairs to the outboard. Happily, it ran fine so Jessica will be able to join us for dinner tonight. She's driving up from Savannah and we'll be picking her up at Harbor Town Marina via dingy.

For some reason I'm unable to upload pictures, but will do so at a later date when we have a stronger internet connection.