Stay Over in Beaufort SC

—Blogpost written by Bob

First Day in Beaufort SC (Wednesday)

It was 32 degrees when we woke up this morning (Wednesday, November 13, 2019) in Beaufort SC.  I am so glad we were in a slip with shore power so that we could have heat last night!   The sun is shining brightly today, even though it is still cold, and the high wind has died down.

s/v Rainy Days docked just inside the west
end of the main long dock at
the Downtown Marina.

Safe Harbor has taken over management of this marina recently and, as a result, the loaner car that has been a staple here is no longer available.  We'll have to use an Uber to get groceries in the next day or two.

Beaufort's Downtown Marina.

After taking showers in the morning, we stopped and had coffee (and later, lunch) and walked around the harbor and downtown.

The waterfront park
in Beaufort SC.

Lola was outside in the cockpit enclosure most
 of the day fending off birds.  She was
totally wiped out in the evening.

I had considered turning our boat end-for-end at slack tide today but when I checked the tide for Sunday morning when we are leaving, high tide will be at 6:03 AM.  If we leave at 6:30 the tide should still be slack but there is not enough daylight at 6:30 AM.  Anyway, we have a few more days here that I can turn the boat end-for-end to make our departure safer.

Dusk over the Downtown 
Marina's mooring field

Second Day in Beaufort SC (Thursday)

Thursday, November 14, started out overcast and rain is expected later in the day.  The outside temperature was still cold (43 degrees) at 8 AM.  

I have been waiting for a slack tide to move our boat end-for-end.  I have the following (slack high tide) possibilities over the next few days:
          Today @ 9:43 AM (south wind less than 10 knots) <-- best opportunity!
          Friday @ 10:25 AM (but strong wind from the south)
          Saturday @ 11:11 AM (but strong wind from the south)

The reason that this is important is that when we leave on Sunday morning, the tide will be incoming and we would have to back up against the (2-knot) tidal flow.  It is much safer to motor forward into the strong tidal flow.  

Just before slack tide I rowed the dinghy down near our new slip ahead of the boat so that I didn't have to deal with a trailing dinghy as I battled the tidal current.  With the help of two dock hands we got the boat moved into a different slip and oriented so that we will be facing into the tidal flow when we leave on Sunday.  Even though it was supposed to be slack tide we still had an incoming tidal flow to contend with and the tide tried to move us broadside in the narrow pathway between boats.  It was a little like a carnival ride of bumper cars, except that we didn't hit anything (fortunately).  Backing into a slip with a tidal current was certainly more stress than I want to endure again anytime soon.  I was so glad for our 3-blade fixed prop and its larger pitch at this time.  (I think next time we'll try Ladies Island Marina just north of the bridge and far away from the extreme tidal flow.)

The view out back from our new
slip as the light rain started.

The view out front from our new
slip as the light rain started.

Maggie did our laundry in the morning.  We ate lunch onboard and then did our grocery shopping at PUBLIX on Ladies Island during a break in the rain.

Third Day in Beaufort SC (Friday)

It rained all last night, it is still raining this morning, and it is expected to rain throughout the day.  So, this blogpost might answer the number one question I get after people learn we live on a sailboat. That question is “What do you do when it rains?”

We are currently situated along the ICW between
Charleston and Savannah, actually in a slip in
Beaufort SC, within a massive rain event.

I'm sure that we get this question from people who don't understand what a sailboat like s/v Rainy Days is like.  They must think we live on a daysailer like a Sunfish or Laser.  We are spending the day inside the boat, Maggie is cooking (sugar-free) muffins, and I am updating this blog while listening to the testimony in the impeachment hearings in the background.  Our activities are probably very similar to any other (retired) individuals in a land-based home.

Lola sitting on the
companionway hatch.

I keep thinking about the difficulties we had moving our boat yesterday and I am absolutely convinced that we will be going to a different marina (probably Ladies Island Marina) the next time we come through this area.  The risk to our water-based home is too great.

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In the late-morning Maggie cleaned out the quarter berth and in the late afternoon I checked the engine fluid levels--all was OK!  (I'm surprised that I didn't have to add any coolant.)

Fourth Day in Beaufort SC (Saturday)

Today, Saturday, November 16, 2019, is our fourth and last day in Beaufort SC.  The weather is even more dreary than yesterday--it is raining heavily and continuously.  The outside temperature is 49 degrees (at 8:30 AM) and that will be the high for the day.

We had two primary objectives for the day: (1) restock our onboard supply of rum, and (2) watch the Penn State-Indiana football game on TV.

We postponed emptying our solids container until we reach Jekyll Island Marina where we just made a reservation.  We need to empty our composting toilet's solids container after every 3 weeks of use and it will be 3 weeks once we reach Jekyll Island GA next Wednesday.

During the rain today I made up a bridle using
some existing 1/2-inch polyester line I had
laying around.  I would prefer nylon line
but polyester was all I had.

Penn State beat Indiana 34-27 and were in control most of the game.  The game was close enough to be exciting.  Next Saturday it is Penn State vs. Ohio State and we will be watching it while anchored in the Tolomato River, just north of St. Augustine FL.

We will continue down the ICW tomorrow morning...


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