Rest & Renew in Charleston, SC
The Charleston Lighthouse
Dock access everywhere! Our vessel is center with the mast. The bath/laundry house is on the left. So very convenient!
Charleston Harbor Marina
May 10 - arrived just before sunset. The weather is murky, overcast and most likely rain tonight. Our accommodations are spectacular, right on the channel and steps away from the bathrooms & laundry!! The Marina is connected to the Charleston Harbor Hotel, so we have use of all the amenities - restaurants, bars, swimming pools, walking paths, gym, firepits and the common areas within the hotel. The Marina also shares docks with the College of Charleston BoatHouse. There is a water taxi located on the next slip to us. All the facilities are connected nicely with boardwalks and well manicured walkways. Spent most of today exploring and doing essentials (laundry, showers, etc)
Our first full day enjoying Charleston Harbor Marina
Weather is still a concern
May 11 Tuesday - no break in the weather for Wednesday and Thursday; thunderstorms with high winds. We delayed our planned departure from Charleston to Friday, putting in a reservation request. David has meetings this week and I can get back to blogging. I connected with Sailing Dippity, a black sailing couple out of Ft. Lauderdale. Their situation is different - they do not have autopilot, yet they are on their way, or already in the Bahamas! Hope to include them in a project or co-sail in the future.
Today, we are still getting acclimated to our new “home”. After some discussions with the marina manager, we can stay in our slot - it appears that we will be here until Saturday now; changing departure again! Five days, plenty of time to get to know the resort, tour Charleston and provision.
Another Broken Egg
Stunning tilework at the vendor’s market
Exploring Charleston
May 12 Wednesday, went into Charleston and had a good breakfast at Another Egg, walked through a vendors market (similar to Fanueil Hall) and visited the Old Slave Mart Museum. This is an actual space where slaves were sold, however, many of the original structures had been taken down.. Yet another way to erase blacks folks history, I guess. It rained most of the morning and the rest of the day. Pretty boring. After getting back to Bubista II, I rode the taxi again and did some provisioning at Harris Teeter. David wants to try Traders tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow- AM fitness center and pool in the PM. Gas situation has everyone nervous (pipeline company hacked by a group demanding ransom), most of the gas stations around us are closed. I'll do some blogging tonight, working on destinations page.
Present Old Slave Mart & Museum
c. 1930 Old Slave Mart
Posters explain the history of the site
Making friends at the firepit
May 13 Thursday. Pool is awesome, the weather is HOT. Met some nice people by the fire pit at the resort. Susan and Kristen.
They are from Nantucket and have invited us to have dinner, when we get back. Also met Tim, a businessman, who was doing a bunch of work on his 50 foot yacht. He is headed for Maine as soon as he is done, following the Gulf Stream north. Some provisioning done at Trader Joe's. Uber is really difficult due to the hack of Colonial Pipeline. I hope this is not a routine accurence for our fragile future.
BBQ to die for ….
On the advice of Gizele, ordered out from Rodney Strong's barbecue, it was awesome.
The weather window opens
May 14 Friday, we finally found a weather window and we will leave tomorrow, Saturday, early. It looks clear with good winds, until we enter the Chesapeake. After Carlos did a little cleaning and tested the engine, the boys went out for nine holes at the Patriot Golf Course. Pretty spectacular day.
Last minute checks
The starboard battery is charged and appears to start OK, although sluggish, We may need to replace that battery soon. Said goodbye to Charleston with a home cooked meal and hit the bed for an early start.
