Baldhead Island, NC to Charleston, SC: Officially South!

Loose Seal set forth from Baldhead Island, NC a little after sunrise on  Wednesday, November 29.  Baldhead Island had been adorable--from what I could tell on my short walk to the Dockmaster's Office the day before--but I didn't get to take an extended visit to its quirky lighthouse. I was slaving away hand sewing a patch on the leech side of our mainsail. Ben's caveman strength had managed to tear the sail as he was lowering it the night before.   Luckily, we got some beautiful shots as we exited the marina. 

Our friends, Scott and Karen, at the helm  of Mariquita, were leading the way out of the channel.  We were pumped and prepared to take our second(!) overnight sail alongside their beautiful Endeavour 40 (see last photo above). We had a gorgeous, sunny trip to Charleston, but unfortunately had to motorsail for most of it.  No complaints except for the constant assault on one's ears. I take that back, we did sail for a small stretch but were only catching about 3 knots at most. I encouraged Ben to take out the drone for its inaugural flight around Loose Seal and Mariquita.  It was also the first time we could bask in our bathing suits with the Autohelm  in control.  We took the opportunity to  pose a truly cheesy photo for our boat card. 

Boat Card winner! This will go on little business cards we pass out to other boaters.

Also on this trip, I decided to get more creative in the kitchen and undertook more challenging meals than granola bars and sandwiches.  Challenging, for me, basically means anything that is hot and requires more than two steps.  Those who know me at all know that I am no powerhouse in the kitchen. Ben is usually more willing to whip something up  out of desperate hunger while I'm sitting pretty with cereal.  If anything, this trip is forcing me to be a little more adventurous and creative with the combination of a tiny oven and no refrigeration, save our icebox.  It also doesn't hurt that Karen, on Mariquita, is a whiz in the galley who balks at very little. She's taught me a ton and has lit a fire under my butt to get me braving the galley more often. ​

Toad in a hole! Learned from my American Girl cookbook.

The Vissers' favorite snack.

Homemade tortilla chips and CHEESE DIP. Ben's fave.

Okay, okay on with it. So we continue to motorsail to a beautiful sunset. That's gotta be the most incredible part of all of this so far: sunrises and sunsets. (That, and dolphins.) Granted, I'm not always awake for the sunrises but I'm getting better. Just to have that unlimited horizon available to you, all the time? Well, I guess you coasties and lake dwellers know what I'm talking about.  It totally wows me every time.  I kept watch this time until 2 a.m. or so and then Ben took over. 

When we arrived to Charleston's harbor, we needed to decide between a  few less-than-desirable anchorages. (For you non-mariners out there, an anchorage is a more protected spot where you can drop your boat's anchor for free versus a marina where you would have to pay, but could shower and poo in a real toilet for example.) The anchorages closer to downtown had comments on Active Captain (think Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps for boats) about anchors fouling on sunken debris. Coming in, we saw several derelict boats, two beached onshore and one that was sunk with just a mast sticking out.  We decided to anchor the first day farthest away from downtown, which was about a twenty minute dinghy ride.  Our first foray into Charleston showed us that there were pet moorings everywhere, incredibly gorgeous architecture everywhere, and some much needed tacos for these hungry sailors.