Layover in Beaufort SC

—Blogpost written by Bob

Friday afternoon, April 20

After arriving at Beaufort’s Downtown Marina and tackling the bilge pump switch changeout, we took nice hot showers—they were absolutely wonderful after 3 or 4 days without a shower. Then we had happy hour in the warm sunshine.

Rainy Days is tied to the inside of the face
dock at Beaufort's Downtown Marina.

After happy hour we went out to eat an exquisite dinner at the Old Bull Tavern—it was really nice to splurge on dinner out!

Saturday, April 21

We were beat when we went to sleep last night and we slept like babies. This morning I couldn’t believe how my thighs ached—it was from keeping my balance in the rough weather we experienced yesterday.  We went out for a light breakfast at Common Ground, a little coffee shop along waterfront park before walking around the shops in the historic district.  There we looked at the weather forecast for the next couple of days and decided to stay an extra day (Monday) because it is supposed to rain all day.

A view of Beaufort's Downtown Marina from land.

We had a nice lunch at Hemingway’s, a cute
little bistro along the waterfront park.

Beaufort has a beautiful waterfront
park near the marina.

In the late afternoon I worked on our travel plan for the next 10 days or so. Our next major stop (for 2 days) will be in Southport NC, arriving next Saturday. From there it will take another week to reach the Chesapeake Bay and, then, several days more to get to Baltimore where we will spend the summer.

----------

We have noticed a big change in Captain Jack, our domestic long-haired cat, since Lizzie’s passing. He comes up into the cockpit more frequently when we are underway and he is much more sociable, almost to the point of being clingy. Jack was content to chill out somewhere else while Lizzie was the center of attention.

Sunday, April 22

The Ladies Island Swing Bridge as seen
from the Downtown Marina.

This morning was very still under cloudy skies.  We had a leisurely breakfast onboard.

-----------

Last night I finished reading Jim Comey’s new book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership. It is a very good read and does a great job of laying the groundwork for the decisions he made during the election of 2016 and how he dealt with Trump’s frequent lying and demanding loyalty (like a mob boss) when he came into office. Trump fired Comey while he was visiting a FBI field office in California (Trump didn’t even have the guts to do it in person while Comey was in Washington) and, then, Trump complained to Comey’s interim replacement about authorizing his trip home on government funds. (Since then, of course, Andrew McCabe, #2 in the FBI, was terminated while he was on leave just prior to his retirement, losing most of his retirement benefits.)  Where will this all end?  How much of our government's integrity will be lost in the process?

----------

Our goals for the day include doing laundry and checking engine fluids, possibly even getting provisions for the next seven days or so.

This afternoon, I removed the FORTRESS anchor from its temporary position on the bow since the windlass, hooked to our primary (ROCNA) anchor, has been working fine. Without the windlass, hauling up the 44-lb primary anchor with all its chain would be a real challenge. I re-stowed the secondary anchor on the cabin top, eliminating a potential snag issue when getting into or out of a slip.

----------

I’ve also spent some time refining our project list for our mid-summer haulout, adding re-packing the rudder tube to the list since I’ve been experiencing some leakage there while underway. I’m also putting together a list of weight reduction ideas because I think we’re sitting a little too low in the water. Under power, the stern squats a little lower in the water too—for this reason, we are going to reduce our cruising RPM to about 2200. Up until now, we have been cruising at close to 2500 RPM but the difference in boat speed (between these two RPMs) is insignificant. Hopefully, our stern will squat less under power.

----------

Maggie finished the laundry this morning and we got provisions using the marina's courtesy car this afternoon.  We were back at the boat in time for happy hour.

----------

Today it has been one month since Lizzie, our dear Maine Coon cat, passed.

Monday, April 23

It was raining heavily from the time we woke up this morning and kept it up the entire day. We braved the thorough wetness for breakfast at the Common Ground. Afterward we picked up a Uber ride to West Marine where I got a new bilge pump switch under warranty. We picked up a few other things in the shopping center and got another Uber ride back to marina in time for lunch at Plums.

We emptied our solids container for our composting toilet which we do at 3-week intervals. Next time we do this, we’ll probably be in Baltimore. I hope anyway.

About 3 PM we had a brief break in the rain.

I noticed that the leak in the fresh water system is getting worse since the fresh water pump runs more frequently. There must be a leak at an equipment connection somewhere in the system. I will be checking out the entire fresh water system when I replace the water heater this summer—it will be one of the first of the 38 projects currently on my list that I tackle when we arrive in Baltimore.

----------

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to clear up and we can be on our way northward.  Stay tuned for more of our adventures on the ICW...

Thanks for following our blog!