Folly Beach - 2017

Jan 9 thru Jan 11

--Blogpost written by Bob

Our wait for the completion of our boat's re-powering continues--this should be our last full week here in the low country.  We continue to visit our boat occasionally and travel by car to nearby attractions, including Savannah, Georgia.

January 9

Today, Monday, we visited our boat again in Rockville SC to check on progress.  The new transmission was delivered on Friday afternoon and we believe all the connecting parts were in house as well.  We learned that our old transmission, while it didn't seem to leak fluid when sitting still, had a badly worn gear--this confirmed that we made a good decision to replace it with a new one.

----------

For lunch, we had left-over pizza from Grimaldi's in 
Mount Pleasant--we think it is the best 
pizza in the Charleston area.

---------

I've done a lot of reading here in Folly Beach and I thought I would share my comments on three recent very diverse books I've read on my Kindle app.  I have not been a big reader most of my life since I never had time to read for enjoyment but I'm certainly making up for lost time.  (I have supplied a hyperlink to Amazon.com for each book.)


Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance is a (New York Times Bestseller) book I first heard about when the author was interviewed on CNN shortly after the election.  (Incidentally, an elegy is a sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead.) 

The author's family moved from their roots
in western Kentucky to Middletown, Ohio.

The book is a memoir about (the author) growing up in Middletown, Ohio in the 80's.  His family originally came from western Kentucky.  The author, does a good job of describing his dysfunctional family, poverty, and the closed mindedness he experienced along the way.  Except for the dysfunctional family, my childhood, growing up in a suburb of Pottstown, PA, was very similar--only in the 50's--not the 80's.  I could really relate to this book and recommend it highly.  (The author, after completing high school, signed up for the Marines and eventually got a scholarship to Ohio State and then graduated from Yale Law School.) 


Bull Canyon: A Boatbuilder, a Writer, and Other Wildlife by Lin Pardey is the story of Lin and Larry's life while landlocked in southern California building their second sailboat, Taleisin.

Lin Pardey is a famous writer who generally
specializes in sailing adventures.  In this
book, the couple is landlocked
while building a sailboat.

Crossing the Wake: One Woman's Great Loop Adventure by Tanya Binford is about the author's completion of the Great Loop, starting and finishing in Southport, NC, in her small 25-foot trawler, Annabelle.

The author's boat was a 25-foot
trawler named Annabelle.

The Great Loop is a cruising adventure that includes the ICW, the Hudson River and Erie Barge Canal, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf Coast.  The author did this 6,000-mile trip alone in 6 months, joining other "loopers" at various points along the way.  The trip from the viewpoint of a relatively inexperienced woman boater is very unique and entertaining.

January 10 (Savannah)

Warmer weather is in the forecast for today--so, we decided to drive to Savannah, about 2-1/4 hours away from Folly Beach by car.  We parked our rental car at the Visitor Center and took an Old Town Trolly Tour around the city.  We got off the trolly at interesting points, took photographs, had lunch, and then hopped back on the trolly to complete the tour.

This bright gold dome is on top of City Hall
on Bay Street in Savannah.

Savannah dates back to 1733 and is the oldest city in Georgia and has always been an important port city.  (My adopted hometown of Annapolis is more than 100 years older than Savannah but doesn't have the very large homes built by the wealthy plantation owners typical in Savannah.)  Savannah sits on high ground-- about 40 feet above the level of the Savannah River.  

The architecture in Savannah is absolutely beautiful.  
I think these homes were on West Perry 
Street in the historic district.

Savannah dates back to 1733 and is the oldest
city in Georgia and has always been
an important port city.

Savannah currently has 22 of the original
squares (like parks) throughout the 
city. They either contain fountains 
or bronze statues.

Old cotton warehouses have been converted to shops
and restaurants along River Street in Savannah.
This was my favorite area of Savannah.

We checked out the floating pier along River Street and there was just one boat--a large sailing catamaran.  I noticed the completely empty pier across the river at the Westin Hotel.  We considered these two options for a Savannah stopover with our sailboat before we started this trip.  I'm glad we came by car instead because the city is just not set up with appropriate marinas.  Many boaters seem to prefer to stay in a marina in Thunderbolt, GA and take a short bus ride into Savannah--we may do this in the future.

January 11

Just before lunchtime today, the temperature was near 70 degrees and the forecast for the coming 10 days is for day-time highs in the low 70's and for night-time lows in the low-to-mid 50's!  This is beautiful weather for January!

The inside dining room of the Lost
Dog Cafe in Folly Beach

After another delicious lunch at the Lost Dog Cafe in Folly Beach we made another trip to our boat this afternoon to check on progress and to try to judge when Marine Propulsions will be completely finished with our re-powering.

The transmission is installed and the engine is being aligned.
In this photo, temporary 1-inch thick shims are in place
to support the engine--these will be replaced with
permanent ones constructed from aluminum.

The boat's bottom is being painted with Petit Ultima in
green.  With this bottom paint, it goes on medium
green, then it dries almost black, and it
turns green again when the
boat is splashed.

As of right now, the boat will be splashed early next week.  It looks like we will be extending our rental of our oceanfront apartment into next week sometime.  We could be on our way again on next Friday (inauguration day), Saturday, Sunday, or the following Monday--we'll know more precisely by the middle of next week.

Lizzie (our Maine Coon cat) walking 
Maggie on the beach.

Thanks for following our blog!