Toogoodoo Creek to Charleston ~ Thursday, April 12, 2007 Strong winds were predicted for later in the day on Thursday, so we decided to leave about 6:45 am. High tide was about 4:00 am and we needed to travel the next part of our journey on the rising or falling tide, but not the low tide, which was predicted to be at 10:15 am. “Irish Ayes” and “Harmony” left about the same time, but “Stargazer” planned to stay another night until they listened to the weather report that morning at which time they radioed us that they, too, were headed for Charleston. Charleston, South Carolina ~ April 12 – 21, 2007 We arrived in Charleston about 10:00 with no problems, despite the fact that the wind had already begun to blow and the water was choppy. We had a messy docking. The young girl at the marina who came to help tie us up was not very experienced and did not do a good job with the lines. We got the power cord out, she plugged it in, but somehow it slipped out and she dropped it in the water. She was horrified and so were we! We dried it off and sprayed it with no- rust spray and it has worked fine so far. Thus began our stay in Charleston at the Charleston City Marina. It was an omen. We were in Charleston for the American Great Loop Cruisers’ Association Rendezvous, which was from Monday, April 16 through Thursday, April 19th. We arrived early so we could see the sights in Charleston before the meeting started because of the long distance we had to travel after the meeting to get to Norfolk, Virginia, to make our flight home on May 3. Our friends, Sue and Doug, on Beach Cat, and Phil and I made plans to sightsee together. The men wanted to see Patriots Point, the Naval and Maritime Museum, which has the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown, known as “The Fighting Lady”, the submarine Clamagore, a Coast Guard Cutter and a destroyer. They are also building a Congressional Medal of Honor Museum on the Yorktown. It was especially interesting to go with Doug because the airplane he flew in Viet Nam was on the flight deck of the carrier. He was a pilot for the Marines and flew over 300 missions. He showed us exactly where and how the planes landed on the carrier and how they took off. Just to do either of those things, let alone fly a mission, takes more nerve than I would ever have! Sue and I went through the submarine and through the Yorktown, which is huge, but very small when compared with today’s aircraft carriers. Seeing the command module for Apollo 8 was particularly interesting because it was retrieved from the water by the USS Yorktown. It was a major factor in enticing Phil to want to work in the space program. The next several pictures are also especially meaningful to Phil because each of the pictures depicts a plane that Phil refueled at the Olathe Naval Air Station where he worked while attending the University of Kansas. The men stayed and Sue and I went to downtown Charleston to see some of the historic homes and get an over-view of the city. On Saturday, we went to the Festival of Houses and Gardens. It was the last day of the annual month long event. We went through nine different historic houses and gardens, all private homes. The homes were lovely, as were the gardens. One afternoon, Sue and I toured a Victorian house, the Calhoun Mansion, which is also a private home, but the attorney who lives there allows docent-led tours of several of the rooms. It was amazing, very ostentatious. It is a beautiful house, contains 24,000 square feet, 14 foot ceilings, elaborate chandeliers, a stairwell reaching a 75 foot domed ceiling and a ballroom with a glass-domed skylight. It has been very carefully restored at the cost of five million dollars and furnished lavishly with his collections of items from all over the world. The weather Saturday night began to change. The wind really began to blow. The storm that wreaked such havoc in the Midwest arrived in Charleston in the form of high winds and a little rain. The winds made the water really rough and because of where our slip was, we caught the brunt of the wave action as it rolled across the bay. The dock we were tied to was a floating dock and there were times when we could hardly stand up on it because of the waves, rocking it so hard. Our boat rocked and rolled. We were fortunate that we had no damage to the boat, as there were others in our group who did have damage. The wind did calm down, but it stayed windy the entire time we were there. Finally the last night, Phil told the marina that we had to move. We had been there eight nights and could not stand another night of that movement. We moved to another slip inside where we were more protected and, while it was still windy and the boat still moved some, it was a huge improvement! The wind and rough water surely tainted our feeling about the Charleston City Marina, which was actually a very nice facility. The meeting was very good. About 175 people attended. The schedule really kept us busy. Phil was sick the first day, so I went by myself. The people were all so nice and very friendly. The first session was on emergencies on the water. I told Phil that had I attended that meeting before we began this trip, I would probably be at home! We had sessions all day, then a cocktail reception and dinner, where there was usually a speaker. We were introduced as current “Loopers” at one of the meetings along with many others. It was fun to hear them tell about themselves and how they got started on the Loop. When the meeting ended, we decided to stay another day. We were tired and had many things to do on the boat. So we did the laundry, grocery shopped, cleaned, etc. We went to dinner with Mike and Pat, “Irish Ayes”, at California Dreaming, a restaurant just across the bridge from the marina. It was prom night and many young couples were there for dinner before the prom. It was fun to see the couples in their dresses and tuxes. |
Our Travel Log
Travel Log