ON OUR WAY HOME - CHAPT. 10 - FALLING IN LOVE WITH CHARLESTON

We arrived late on the 24^th in Charleston Harbour, trying to navigate around the gazillion number of buoys that mark the channels. Trust me, at 11 pm, all flickering lights look alike especially when there’s a well lit city in the background!

As we made our way in the bay, we were overwhelmed by the “city smell” but mostly by the very strong flowery fragrant. We finally made it safe and sound to Ashley River where we dropped anchor in front of the Charleston City Marina. We were very pleased to fall into bed after a non-eventful but still tiring crossing from Freeport (420 nautical miles in 53 hours).

Friday morning, we were well rested and ready to tour “the good old South”. We LOVED Charleston. Everything is charming and beautiful. There was plenty for our eyes to take in: the lovely architecture, the luscious gardens, even the narrow alleys are tended to. The city is so rich in history and so well preserved that you almost expect to run into Rhett Buttler and Scarlett O’Hara! So we walked around a lot, toured some art galleries and nice boutiques (of course I had to do some shopping – you know me…). Charleston is perfect for that kind a leisurely pace: there is no high-rise, making it a “human-size” city. We also discovered a fun wine bar, called Social, where we met some wonderful new friends, Pat & Denise, and Kent & Lynn. I hope we’ll have the opportunity to see them again. We had a wonderful time with them.

But no matter how much fun you’re having, the boat is always in the back of our mind. Are we well anchored? When will it be ok to leave? These things are important especially when there’s a tropical storm at your doorstep.

After a lot of consulting, reading, internet searching, talking with our friends, and calculating miles, waypoints and average speed, we decided to use the only window available to us: leave very early on Monday morning and stay ahead of the bad weather, putting as many miles as possible between us and the storm. The objective is to be in Hampton by Wednesday when Beryl will hit Charleston. This is also where we parted ways with our friends from Que Syrah. Daniel’s boat can easily go along the Intracoastal water way (we draw too much at 7ft and our mast is too high for the many bridges). It will be a bit of a longer journey for them but an easier one for his crew who are still feeling sick on rough open waters. We’re looking forward to getting back together further north, either in Hampton or New York.