Autumn days in Charleston

We had a great time with Andreas and Nancy over the weekend. We had a relaxed Sunday morning and Nancy cooked a wonderful brunch for the four of us. Andreas headed home in the early afternoon and Nancy shuttled us around for a couple of errands and then dropped us off at the dinghy dock.

Monday was sunny and cool and it was a good day to do some boat projects we had been planning…we now have cockpit lights. We noticed a few new boats in the anchorage and decided it was getting a little overcrowded in here; but a very rainy Tuesday was in the forecast, so it was probably just folks settling in somewhere for the weather. It was the perfect rainy day for washing the boat and trying out some rain collection ideas. We were a little bashful to try out some of our more elaborate water collection ideas in the middle of a crowded anchorage; we’ll have to try those out during another downpour when we aren’t under the scrutiny of our neighbors. After the rain died down, some contrary winds set in and the entire anchorage started to waltz; boats sailed and drifted on their anchor lines and neighbors who were perfectly comfortable with their space found themselves right on top of each other. While sitting in our cockpit I could carry on a perfectly normal conversation with the man anchored behind us…everyone was either in their cockpits or up by their anchors on stand-by just in case a re-set was necessary. Some folks just picked up and left, including the man behind us. We heard one of the boats nearby on the radio calling one of their neighbors, and it ended up being Sally and Conrad aboard “It’s About Time”; we worked the same gate at the boat show with them, and we were thrilled to bump into them again.

Once the boats had settled down we all listened to the turmoil on the VHF radio as a 60 foot sport fisher, “Water Witch”, in the channel started taking on water rapidly. The captain remained calm and gave the Coast Guard all of the information they needed; he continually told them how much water the boat was taking on and asked for a TDA from the coast guard. Where we were all sitting in the anchorage, we could tell the coast guard hadn’t left the station yet. Oddly enough, a fast coast guard vessel came into the station and then they finally sent out a slow behemoth of a rescue, but the vessel in distress was almost under by then. When the coast guard lost radio contact with the vessel, it was the first time I ever heard a mayday called and it was disturbing. Other boats were rushing to the rescue to try to get him some pumps aboard, but we really don’t know how it all turned out. I hate to say it, but I think a lot of folks in this anchorage lost some faith with the coast guard when we saw what appeared to be a poor reaction to this disaster.

We joined Sally and Conrad along with some other friends on their boat on Tuesday evening for dinner and drinks and caught up on what everyone has been up to and what everyone’s winter plans are. When we left their boat, there was a new neighbor anchored very close to them. I actually wrote most of this entry right before sunrise on Wednesday morning because the waltz started up again about 5am and I just couldn’t sleep through it. I noticed Sally and Conrad’s new neighbor is no longer anywhere near them, but is quite close to someone else, and another boat is breathing down their necks. It doesn’t appear that we were too close to anyone this time, but with the way we all move around our anchors, you never know who you’ll snuggle up to in 15 minutes…maybe its more like a square dance than a waltz.

Today (Wednesday) we borrowed Nancy’s car to see a plantation with Claus and Barbara from “Jonathan”. We visited the Magnolia plantation on the Ashley River and the gardens were just breathtaking. I can only imagine how lovely it must be in the spring when everything is in bloom. We also have some new plans to catch a ride to the triad with Nancy on Friday, so we may very well see some folks at home this weekend. Obviously, we are indebted to Nancy! I’m a little nervous about leaving the boat at anchor for days after the hassle of the past 24 hours; however Claus and Barbara said they’d keep an eye on her while we are gone so we can breathe easy.