Tues Nov 12 - In which we abandon ship

Bass Creek (river of grass) Anchorage – Beaufort, SC (Port Royal Marina)

Is it just me or does it seem to anyone else that, if the Emergency Alarm signaling that there is water in the hold is going off a lot, the solution should not be turning OFF the alarm that tells you IF THERE IS WATER IN THE HOLD???  Anyone with me??

I started my day by turning on the Raw Water (water from the sea around you) in order to wash dead little bugs off the boat.  This is my favorite way to start the day, of course…  Rick started his day by peeing off the side of the boat.  I think this is a favorite thing for the XY chromosome all the way through life.

To make it an even better morning, Rick said ‘Let’s try something’…  which are words that always make my blood run cold.  Today we were trying the ‘trim tabs’ – whatever those are.  He was very excited about it, though, so I made impressed noises.  Nothing bad happened, and he was pleased with the result, so that’s a win-win.

Then we had fig newtons for breakfast, because it’s was shaping up to be that kind of day.  Yes, it was calm and silent in the beginning – let me assure you that this is not how the day will end. And here’s a related tip – do NOT stop taking Bonine when times are good, because you just don’t know what’s around the corner.  And take a moment to appreciate the calm days, when you’ve got them.

As we moved into a more traveled waterway, I was reminded that two boaters passing each other are exactly like dogs.  They both turn around to look at the boat they just passed, to size things up and be sure they aren’t missing anything.  It’s butt sniffing, for sure!

We were excited to get to Beaufort – it’s supposed to be lovely; it’s on the top of many where-to-retire lists.  An added plus: we get to have lunch with Dale Kirby, the previous owner of Blue Horizon.  He contacted us early in the buying process, and has been an amazing source of info and documents.  He and his wife, Amy, intended to do the whole Great Loop, but had to stop early on when his father became ill.  We are all hopeful that they can buy the boat back when we are done, so that they can finally ‘cross their wake’, as it’s called when you finish the whole Loop.  Even better – what if we share the boat in the future?!!!!  It was a wonderful lunch and we peppered him with questions.  I hope we were able to reassure him that the boat could not be in better hands than Rick’s.

The first time we have seen Spanish moss

Rick with Dale

Last peaceful moment of the day

Right on schedule the predicted storm came in around 4pm, and things began to deteriorate.  We were on a face dock, right in the path of opposing wind and current, and our little tank was bucking like a crazed steer.  I don’t know much about physics, but there is something about how holding the end of a moving object still just magnifies the movement through the rest of the object.  To hell with physics, it quickly became clear that I couldn’t get on the boat either literally or figuratively.  Just the sight of it made me completely seasick.  In fact, being on the roiling dock was quickly going to have a bad outcome.  I made a run for solid land and began to plan how I was going to sleep in the marina laundry room – which was nice and warm, and had a table that, if not comfortable, was not bucking.

Took shelter in here, until they closed!

Bless that husband – even he couldn’t stay on the boat, and whisked me off to a hotel.  After some deep discussion we decided it was OK to abandon ship if we needed to.  This shakedown cruise is all about learning what we can and cannot live with.  I just didn’t think it would so LITERALLY be a SHAKEDOWN cruise.

The Days Inn was pretty shabby, but we realized we hadn’t slept on dry land in three weeks, and the bed enveloped us…. I knew Rick would stay awake wondering if the boat would be there in the morning, and I really should worry with him ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz….