LAT: N 32° 25.7'
LON: W 80° 40.8'
SLOW TIMES 50s, winds 10 - 15 kts, brisk and cloudy
today's sunset
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Cap'n Tim Runs Aground!

Captain's Log

910 - We leave Tom Point Creek about an hour after Tevake.
1121 - After running aground on the South Edisto River near Fenwich Island.
1202 - At the Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff.
1301 - In Coosaw River.
1412 - In the Beaufort River at Pigeon Point.
1449 - Through the Ladies Island Bridge, anchored at Beaufort.


Arggg me maties, you must pronounce it BEEEWW-FERD South Carolina, cause it ain't BOE-FERD, North Carolina. If yer gonna be a pirate, ya gotta learn her wordin'.

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Tevake, with wind filled sails, rocks.

Shoots N' Ladders?


No Way! It's Candy Land Man


Madonna- Guest Editor

A leisurely morning, we took off into the sun a while after Tevake had left our secluded anchorage in Tom Point Creek. We traveled through wide channels with a lot of shoals where it was harder than usual to see the markers. Tim, on his cell phone with his parents, ended up running aground (for shame!) when he mistook some shallows for the channel. The boat lurched forward and it was easy to tell what had happened. There was a sensation that the bow was going deeper than it should. Luckily it wasn't too bad. Tim (in further brilliance) decided to go forward instead of backward but only for a short while. He had suspected that we had passed through the shallows, but he was wrong. The only rush was that the tide was falling and we were afraid that we would be left high and dry. A friendly boat going down the ICW radioed us and told us that backing up would probably do in this case. We realized we should be thankful that this is the first time it had happened. The depths are often lower than the charts show, and there are more shoals by the day. (We also hadn't driven out of the channel before.)

We carefully backed up and spinned around. Hannah had gotten out the lead line and had measure four feet. It seemed to be sand and not mud, a texture that was okay to plough through but not as fluid and sticky as mud. We slowly chugged our way back into the channel.

We were glad it hadn't been more serious and that we were back on track. Our route was very curvy today, winding our way into different little rivers around the Savannah area. A little later we caught up to Tevake. The had their sails out and looked awesome. Most sailboats we see are motoring probably because it's a pain to try to sail through the smaller channels or maybe because it's not the season and it's harder work getting the sails up and keeping things together when it's so cold. We were thoroughly impressed with them. They were sailing fast and we managed to do a long photo shoot of them getting all sides of the boat. [Strike a pose, there's nothing to it, vogue (vogue vogue vogue). -Ed.]

After a great shoot we continued on through shoaling channels with large "no wake" signs. We made the bend into Beaufort and scooted under the Ladies Island Bridge. We thought of anchoring in Factory Creek but it looked like there were some good spots by the dinghy dock and downtown Beaufort. They were all sailboats, and some looked pretty worse for the wear so we anchored a bit further and waited for Tevake to come in.

It was a beautiful evening and as the sun was setting and the moon appeared brightly in the sky we got Surely into the water and rowed her in. Beaufort was charming and decorated for the holidays. It is great to travel during this season because every town is looking at it's best. The downtown seemed active and we walked down the candy cane lined street and stopped into the Common Grounds coffee shop by the water.

It was a cozy setting with comfortable seating, good coffee and the New York Times, which we hadn't seen for a time. Bethany and Perry joined us with stories of their sailing adventure and a cold (Bethany had one). Sailing is so cool, but we can't imagine how much tougher we would have to be to stand in the wind with bare hands holding onto lines trying to reign the wind in and not run into anything. It is an admirable way to travel.

So we had a bit of down time and then made our way to Luther's Restaurant for some grub. The Navy vs. Army game was on and we hunkered down with our beer and burgers in the dim lights by the bar. When we got ready to head back to the boat we had our second photo shoot of the day by the decorations in the front room at Luther's. We were in the holiday spirit when we walked back to the dinghy dock and Hannah rowed back in the still water to Slowly where we readily fell asleep.

Fun Facts!
The fresh water system on the boat is important to us for showering, washing dishes, flushing our toilet, and washing our hands. The reservoir for this system is two tanks in the lazarette, under the aft deck. Each tank holds 85 gallons of water, filled through two holes in the deck. Two pipes exit the tanks and meet over the keel of the boat. A single pipe then runs the length of the boat up to where the helm is. Here they run into the fresh water pump. This pump runs on 12v electricity and has a pressure switch built in. Whenever the pressure in the pipe drops below 35 psi (pounds per square inch)(like when a faucet turns on), the pump turns on until the pressure is back above 35psi. After the pump, the pipe splits, sending one end to the cold water valves of the various sinks, and spigots around the boat. The other end goes to the hot water heater. We have a 12 gallon hot water heater that heats water with either 120v AC electricity or with the freshwater coolant getting cycled through the port engine. From here the hot water goes out to three sinks and the shower. One interesting aspect of this system is "automatic" leak detection. Whenever you hear the fresh water pump run, and you aren't using water, it means a sink is dripping, or there is a leak in the system after the pump.

Animal of the Day
The Common Loon, Gavia immer, sometimes looks like a Cormorant in the winter because of it's dark color above and white below. In the summer they are much more contrasty with a beautiful checked back and collar and a black head and white chest. They swim low in the water, like Cormorants, and have a dagger like bill. Their name probably comes from the maniacal laughter noise they make though we haven't heard much from them since it isn't their loudest season.

Grub Report
Buygaas. We wanted 'em so we got 'em. Brewskies Burgers at Luther's, with bleu cheese and bacon, medium rare that came with some sour cream tasting french fries. We also tried some of Bethany's Spinach and Artichoke dip and Palmetto Pale Ale, from Charleston. We like both the Palmetto Lager and Pale Ale. Pretty darn good. We wish we had had room for their wings and bruschetta.

Wine Review: Ciro, Rosso Classico, Librandi, 1999. This wine was a little smacky, a little bitter with a fruity undertone (Tim claims it's pruney). We give it three propellers.


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