Waiting out Hurricane Sandy in Charleston

After leaving Georgetown, SC we had a sleigh ride going down the ICW at 8.2 knots being pushed by the current to anchor in Whiteside Creek. 

Through the Ben Sawyer Bridge before the high winds closed it!

We had one bridge to get through and when Blue Heaven and three other boats got there she said I  cannot open now since the winds were over 25 knots.  We were relieved when she opened it which was good since the current was really strong and that was not the easiest spot for 4 boats to maneuver around.  

No we are not in the Bahamas yet!

 Listening to the weather closely, and checking the tides and currents, Al decided we wanted to get into Charleston Harbor Marina between 12:30pm and 1pm.  Current is very strong in this area so it is very important to know how it is flowing when docking.  With help from the dock boy and neighboring boaters, we got into the slip safely.  Arturus was two slips away.  This marina is on the opposite side of the river from Charleston at Patriots Pt. in Mt. Pleasant.  They have a free shuttle from the hotel and also had a cruiser’s special, so price was a bit cheaper and they also gave two tickets for using the water taxi.  The hotel has a lovely pool and beach area, all which can be used if you are in the marina. 

Blue Heaven stripped of dodger for hurricane.

The first task at hand was to prepare the boat for the higher winds predicted which were 30-40 knots.  We had been in winds that strong before but we have been nursing our dodger along (for non-sailor friends, that is the cover over the companion way which keeps wind and splashes off of us.) so we did not want to take a chance and have it torn apart, so we removed it.  Al also tied the main sail down more and put on extra dock lines.





Then a dock party took place with the weekend boaters introducing themselves and having a good time.

Sweet Grass Basket Vendors

Carriage Tours of Charleston

Since it was not to start raining until later at night, we and Blair and Dennis from Arturus decided to take the shuttle into Charleston to walk around and have dinner.Can you tell we are in Charleston.  Carriage tours, sweet grass basket vendors and the neat Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge!

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

 

Fried Green Tomatoes.  Delicious!

We had our first true southern meal at the famous “Jestine's Kitchen.” Jestine was a black woman who started the restaurant and who lived to be over a hundred. It is a small eclectic restaurant with all sorts of knick knacks all around.  We all shared fried green tomatoes with a pickled tomato relish to start off.  Delicious! Fried chicken, mac & cheese and southern green beans (cooked in broth forever, but good). We shared a piece of pecan pie for dessert.  Now if that isn’t a southern dinner, I don’t know what is!  Now that had to be exercised off by a lot of walking!!!

Looking out from inside BH

Saturday was very dreary and rainy as you can see in the picture, so chore time again.  Oil changed, freezer defrosted and laundry done.  Thought we would go tour the USS Yorktown, the aircraft carrier that you could get to at one end of the marina dock, but when we found out it was $15 pp we decided we did not want to see it that much! 

Blair and Dennis invited us over for soup and salad which tasted very good on this cooler wet day.  When going over we saw the magnificent sunset to the west with the pelicans on the marina breakwater and looking to the east was the full moon in the sky before it was even dark.  

Sunset looking toward Charleston

Full moon out before sunset!

A Mexican Train night.

We played Mexican Train dominoes afterward, which was a pleasant way to end a hurricane day.  The wind howled all day but was not anything we haven’t experienced before.

We awoke to a bright sunny day but still windy.  We went into Charleston on the 10am shuttle so we could attend church. We had an hour before the service started so we went through the Old Market.  I did not expect it to be open on Sunday but it was!   Afterward we had brunch at a restaurant called “Toast.”  It was great for breakfast but they also had sandwiches too.  It seemed to be a very popular restaurant. We hiked across town to the Harris Teeter for a few items and then took the water taxi from Mariner’s Wharf back to the marina.  We put the dodger back on and filled the water tanks hoping to move on the next day.  I made apple cobbler and so shared dessert with our friends from Arturus.  The winds died down quite nice in the evening which was a good sign.

Wrong!  About 3AM the winds picked back up to being higher than before and brought much colder temps.  So stay we did!  The winds also switched slightly from north to northwest which caused us to rock more in the slip. 

Cozy Blue Heaven with the new decor!

We wanted to get off the boat, so we walked to Shem’s Creek with Blair and Dennis, about a 2 ½ mile walk one way.  Had lunch and then walked back.  That took a good part of the day and tired us out quite well.  A night to watch TV in cozy Blue Heaven and sit with the heater on was on our agenda.  (Check out the new decor, it used to be gray blue with lighthouse theme.  Now it is more tropical.)

We kept watching TV for the updates of what was happening up north and nothing we experienced compares to what our northern neighbors had.  Everyone was in our thoughts and prayers.

Can you tell we are in the south?

Since it was so cold now we were not anxious to leave the dock where we can have heat, so another day in Charleston.  Up at the hotel where we catch the shuttle bus they had carved pumpkins for Halloween.  I loved this one.

We headed in to town to look for a sweet grass basket, but all I came back with was something from my favorite kitchen store.  The street vendors were not out.  I don't know if it was due to the cold or because it wasn't a weekend.  Their prices are usually better than in the Old Market.  I thought the prices there were out of sight!

Later that night we went back into Charleston and had dinner with Blair and Dennis, and Jack and Donna on Kathrian.  They are from Ottawa and came in the same day as we did and was the boat between us and Arturus in the slips.  We went to S.N.O.B (Slightly North of Broad) which we went to four years ago and it was as fantastic as it was then.  Everyone loved their meals and had a great time.

Crews from Blue Heaven, Kathrian, and Arturus enjoy a delightful dinner at S.N.O.B

We are all determined to leave tomorrow at 8AM.  Al said "We ate our way through Charleston.  So it is time to move on!"  We shall see!