Just because its green doesn't mean its grass

 November 26 - December 7

It is now painfully obvious that Ostinato will not be tied up to her dock in Shell Point by Christmas.  King spent two days calling marinas beginning in Jacksonville and going north up the intercoastal to locate a place that we could leave her so we could return home for Christmas.  Thirty plus phone calls later, he had only located 2 options.  The first, 3 weeks at $5.00 a foot per day (ouch!).  The second, the price was ok but they could only promise one week. Apparently, we are not the only ones wanting to be home for the holidays.  And then......he found it!  A full month at St. Simons Island near Brunswick, GA and at a resonable price.  Yippee!!!  Not Florida but south enough that we won't need to worry about snow....... hopefully.

At this time, big off shore jumps with Bentley aboard are not in the cards.  The fake grass does not impress.  Pee, ok. Poo, nope, not happening.  It was not an issue for the early days of the trip because there were no weather windows of more than a day. So the daily march down the intercoastal continues.  At Belhaven and Oriental we found space on the city docks.  Belhaven had power, Oriental did not.  While we have diesel heaters, one is on the fritz so a chilly night on Ostinato.  Even Bentley joined us under the covers!  

In Morehead City, we called SSCA friends Jeff and Wendy who gave up a day to drive us around to resupply groceries and find extra fan belts to replace the ones our engines have been eating like ice cream.  In Wrightsville Beach, the resturant/marina gave away our reserved space before we arrived.  Since we are in the middle of the great sail/power boat southern migration, and its cold, a slip is a prized posession.  No surprise that our calls to other marinas found there were none to be had so the night would be spent swinging on the anchor.  It was a lovely anchorage.  Lots of space for us and the other crazies anchoring out in December.  The best part was there wasn't a breadth of wind.  The water was smooth as glass all night.  This would be the perfect opportunity to talk Bentley into using the "grass".  Bentley had other ideas.  Pee yes, poo, still no way!  In our push to move south, we have ignored the dinghy.  It hangs limply on its davits, unfit to perform its duties.  Neither of us were thrilled about jumping in a half inflated dinghy in the dark.  Just how long can a dog hold it?  Well, Mr. Google suggests 48 hrs is OK.  We didn't push it.  Georgetown Marina was only 8 hrs away!  There will be no 48 hr or longer jumps in our near future. 

The fake grass does
 not fool Bentley

Anchorage near Wrightsville Beach

 

The sun just couldn't seem to break through on this stretch.  The intercoastal between Georgetown and Charleston weaves its way through some of the skinnest waters we have seen so far.  I still remember the two hours we sat hard aground waiting for the tides to rise during our trip North in 2018.  The guides say it has been dredged since then......but recent reports of 4 feet have been noted in several areas.  Add 3 knots of current, a couple of swing bridges, a half a dozen boats going various speeds and you have the makings of an exciting ride.  Oh, did I mention the rain?  We cruised into Charleston harbor and headed north to the marina but not before we circled SV Buying Time, Bentley's favorite people from Deltaville.  They were anchored in the harbor off the aircraft carrier Yorktown, so a blast from the air horn announced our arrival and bought everyone on deck..... in the rain.  By the time we tied up to the Charleston Maritime Marina we were cold, wet and ready for a rest.  Bentley, however, was ready for that walk we had promised.  Resting can wait.

Charleston is such a great city.  The marina location gives you easy access to free buses, Harris Teeter grocery and several great parks to walk Bentley.  Our favorite resturant/bar, High Cotton, is still open so a visit with the crew from Buying Time was in the cards!  It did not disappoint.  

The choice from here was to continue down the intercoastal or do an overnight jump to St. Simons Island in Georgia.  A good weather window for an overnight jump was available for the next day. The marina was called and they can take us early.  A plan!  The day was spent doing laundry, filling Ostinato's desiel tanks and getting a much needed pump out.  Tomorrow we get a little further south! 

A full moon lit our way

December 8 - The morning was perfect but to insure a daylight arrival a late morninng/early afternoon departure was planned.  Plenty to do while we waited.  A last minute food run to Harris Tweeter, checking engine fluids, and stowing items that could go bang in the night.  Then the fog rolled in and for the next two hours we did our best to ignore signs of a possibly torpedoed planned.  By 11:00 the worst was over and King declared we were good to go.  The current in Charleston makes for interesting docking but it was near slack tied and King sprung the stern away from the dock and then pointed Ostinato's bow toward the marina's opening.  We were off.  The sun was shinning bright and it had warmed up a bit but there was not a breath of air.  This would be a motor to St. Simons Island not a sail.  That's ok, it's Bentley's first overnight and if we were given the option, an easy motor would be our choice for him.  The duty rotation was started immediately giving the person not on duty the chance to relax or even catch a nap.  Bentley isn't the only one that will appreciate a slow and easy night. It's been a while since we had experienced the joys of an overnight.  The opportunity to leave Charleston had developed quickly so I hadn't had the time to check the moon phase.  The full moon that rose on our stern was the cherry on top of the day.  It was like having a dazzeling search light following our course south. Perfection!  Our 2 hrs on, 2 hrs. off continues to work well for us.  It was decided once the sun set, Bentley would go to bed with the off-watch person.  He loved this idea.  Only one spot of traffic showed up on the chart plotter just outside the port of Savannah.  AIS quickly identified all but one as anchored.  This was good but it didn't keep me from checking it repeatively just to make sure.  King adjusted our course to give us plenty of room to slide past the anchored ships and I would keep an eye on the one moving......little did I realize that would be for the entire watch!  Everything seemed to be in slow motion, like moving in glue.  Our path through this little patch ended just as the clock hit the end of my watch.  Ostinato arrived at the channel makers for St. Simons just as the sun was peaking through the horizon.  My favorite part of the day.  Watch end.

St. Simons Marina was
Ostinato's Christmas home

 We are tied up to the Morningstar marina.  Its a hike to the heads but we have experienced that before.

It was even more to find a place to walk a dog.  The over 1000 steps certainly gets the blood running early in the morning.  Thankfully, it also helps keep the calorie count down from the outragiously yummy blueberry muffins they provide to their marina guests each morning.  On our 2nd day, Shadow, a sailboat from Deltaville arrived and we enjoyed a lovely dinner out.  They will be leaving their boat for the month nearby in Brunswick.  Reuniting with folks you have met along the way is one of the parts of sailing we really love.

Surprise call from Kim to offer to pick us up a week early.  "Would we like that?"  "YES!!!!!"  Of course the night before we told Angel and Michael that we would not arrive home until the 17th.  Lucky for us they are the best house-sitters in the world!