LIVE ABOARD'S IN THE USA

Having left six days before Andrew and Emma I came back to Charleston, where the daring duo had left the boat. A great time was had by all accounts with much father and daughter bonding; Andrew just loved having time with his other little girl.

I travelled separately, as it was cheaper for me to go via New York and spend the night in a hotel, which was actually quite fun. I met Andrew in the arrivals hall and we stepped outside into a sauna. High 90’s with close to 100% humidity, it was at this point that he informed me that he had burnt the air conditioning pump out trying to heat the boat three weeks previously.  I have never experienced heat like it; we couldn’t get water into our mouths quickly enough before it seeped out of our pores.  Time for separate cabins!

The boat had been out of the water to have some repairs done, following our incident with a cliff in the Caribbean, and the Yard had done a fabulous job. Hullabaloo back to tip top condition, and beautifully clean below decks too, many thanks to Emma.

And the ants have gone! Now whether this was due to the ant traps laid by the father and daughter team before they left or whether, finding themselves on dry land once more they thought quick chaps this is our moment lets get the hell out of here before they take us to sea again and orgainised a swift exit down the cradle, I do not know or care they are no longer with us!! Hurray!

One of many

Keen to get into some breeze we left the yard the next morning and motored downstream to Charleston, finding a berth in the Maritime center perfectly located for the center of town. We stayed for five nights, waiting for the pump to be delivered for the air conditioning unit and some weather to blow through. Charleston was everything I had thought it would be. We toured the town on foot and in a horse drawn carriage, guided in the latter by a frustrated Jim Carrey actor who was hilarious! Streets and streets of beautiful old grand houses, you could just imagine what life must have been like in the town’s heyday.

The Inside

The Outside

We spent one-day visiting the old Magnolia Plantation, no longer in operation but a fascinating insight into life in the Deep South in the days of slaves.  We visited the slave’s houses and learnt about life for them on the Plantation. Each slave had a specific job in the planting and harvesting of the rice and the methods used were brought with them from Africa.  One of the grandsons still ran the gardens whilst his father lived on the estate, and they had lived in the slave houses as recently as the 1960’s. I had presumed they would have all left the plantations once freed, but of course they had nowhere to go. Our tour guide painted a rather edited picture of the slave’s existence and it was obvious that their lives were very different to the planation owner’s who had a fabulous lifestyle…

Shelter from the sun

As we were walking around the beautiful gardens a storm hit out of nowhere and suddenly we found ourselves in a gale by a lake with two alligators having a disagreement and it felt very spooky. There was talk of a tornado forming, time to go home! But the experience stays with me and I keep thinking about the lives that were led there.

American Sushi

Before we left we had to provision and it is true everything is bigger and better in America. From the sushi I had at the airport to the rows of vegetables in the supermarket constantly sprayed with water to keep them fresh.   I would have quite happily slept in the vegetable rack it looked so appealing and cool!!  

The night before we left Georgie got her results for her degree. On our last trip home we had been up to Leeds to see her end of course exhibition, and had been blown away by what she had achieved! The phone call came at 7pm – a 2.1 with a first for her design report, I can’t tell you how proud Andrew and I are! Tears all round and much celebrating both sides of the Atlantic! As a little girl academia was not the easiest of things for George, we have so much respect for her hard work and perseverance.  She has always tried her hardest and she is the first in either of our families to get a degree, little bear you rock! So sad not to be with her but luckily her fantastic big sis was on hand with champagne and tissues! So looking forward to seeing her graduate!

Beaufort Docks

An overnighter was needed to get us to our next stop at Beaufort in North Carolina. We started with champagne sailing, just us and just us; there are hardly any ships in that part of the world. By the time we reached our destination the weather had disintegrated and we were very happy to tie up at Beaufort Docks.  This was after we had called up the Coast Guard to ask if the waves were breaking in the entrance.  They very obligingly sent a boat out to look for us and reported back that it was safe to enter. What a lovely town, we spent a happy two days exploring and resting up.

We then motored round to The Bight at the southern tip of the Outer Banks, and probably one of the only spots that we can get into.  Such a beautiful place, we climbed the lighthouse, definitely need to do more exercise, and took long walks on the long sandy beaches and felt we had got a taste of what the banks are all about.

Leaving the Bight

Our draft is a problem out here and we sadly cannot use the Intra Coastal Waterway, so settled weather for the next few days decided us on leaving for Long Island knowing we are coming back down to the Chesapeake in September. I much prefer long trips at sea, one night always seems so exhausting, but once you settle into a trip you manage to get enough sleep napping in the day. Lack of wind decided us on utiilising the Gulf Stream for the first part of our journey and we managed a 268-mile day sailing slowly and/or motoring! It was very humid, muggins here didn’t realise that this was the heat from the water carried North from the Caribbean.

We even caught a shark!

For some reason we haven’t managed to buy a new fishing rod so out came a hand reel, two got away with the lures, but luckily as the skipper was getting quite upset about not having a fish supper, Harry the Dorado obliged. Smiles all round.

We had two sets of dolphins playing on the bow, lots of fog patches which aren’t much fun and really are wet and dripping. I wonder how we pick up flies and moths a hundred miles out to sea, where do they come from and how do they live so far from land and Google doesn’t seem to know the answer! And I think I saw the shadow of a stealth plane go overhead one morning, it might be invisible to radar but made one hell of a noise.

Dressed for the Party

Sunset In the Great Salt Pond

We arrived at Block Island and put an anchor down in the Great Salt Pond and settled in for our first Fourth of July celebrations. It is a fantastic place and we spent our days exploring by foot and kayak, almost sinking one afternoon in our enthusiasm in rather choppy waters.  We dressed overall for the holidays and loved the fireworks and the parade, which for a very small island took over half an hour to pass us. 

Fourth of July

Next stop Fishers Island, which seemed very quiet in comparison. There are some seriously wealthy owners on the Island and we had been warned that we might not be welcome strolling around.  However the locals seemed very friendly and the village that we saw was one of the prettiest we have seen. Mental note to self take flip-flops in the Kayak, we burnt the bottom of our feet wandering around and probably looked a little odd.

Leaving to motor the four miles to the entrance to Mystic River we got caught in a pea souper of a fog and had to put our anchor down between a little island and many rocks, and wait for it to lift whilst our fog horn competed with many unseen vessels around us, we really couldn’t see a thing.  Once we could see again we motored up the river and dropped our anchor just South of the bridge as recommended by our new friend Dan whom we had met over the celebrations and who keeps his boat in a marina there. He was so helpful to us with advice and so friendly we were quite taken aback; he and his wife, Carol, even picked us up from the Supermarket!

The Charles W Morgan

We visited the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum and had an amazing day.  The Charles W Morgan, the last wooden Whaling ship in the world, is the centerpiece and we learnt all about the life onboard and the process of catching a whale and turning the blubber into oil, all done by 35 men.  We also learnt how to build a ship and make rope; I have accumulated more knowledge in the last six months than I have in the last twenty years.

We are now in Essex on the Connecticut River and will spend a couple of days here exploring. We had an interesting time coming in under the bridge, I think we probably had a foot or so to spare but it was very tight and highly nerve-wracking. The weather has not been very good for the last few days; we have to wear jumpers, which is a bit of a shock.  Then we look at the weather at home and stop complaining.

Essex

We love America; happily we haven’t met another Jackass, possibly heard one or two on the radio. We are blown away by how lovely and helpful everyone has been so far, long may it last. One slight issue with a motor boater who lent on our davits and had to be gently persuaded that it might be his problem, but all came good in the end.

I have however developed a worrying new addiction, I have downloaded an app for ace patience and can’t seem to stop playing it, and it is a worry! Especially when the app announced I had reached an achievement, 24 HOURS OF PLAY - OMG! I am turning into a teenager with wrinkles!!!