Charleston Update

When we began this cruise, we said that we would have no plan, no schedule and no particular destination. That has allowed us to enjoy each place, albeit for a night on the hook or, as it turns out, several weeks in Charleston. We have seen the pressure to be somewhere at some particular time as it has affected several other boats. Some are driven to get north, as we were at one period of our cruise. We will soon see the pressure to get south or to the islands. That leaves us with a bit of a decision to make. When we are done with all the medical issues and are clear to taxi, do we head north for the remainder of the warm months or do we cool it a bit and wait until the cool weather chases us south and most likely to the islands. Another factor is the visit to Texas during the holidays. How long will determine where in the great migration we fall.


Apparently, the southern migration causes much congestion along the waterway and in some cases, huge congestion at certain ports where boats wait for the “weather window” to cross the green monster (Gulf Stream) and play in the islands. One favorite staging port is Marathon, Fl where there are several hundred mooring buoys and a facility to accommodate hundreds of crews. When we stayed there, only a few dozen boats were there. We were told that Boot Key Harbor can be a real zoo if weather windows do not come a go regularly. Who knows? This is our first rodeo.

We reached a wonderful milestone yesterday. Admiral Bear took her first unassisted walks on the Megadock. She got off the boat by herself and walked about half a mile or so in two sets. It was the first time in several months that she did not need assistance just to move. Limited walking is part of the recovery process which will take some time. Having been immobile for five months has left her “out of shape” to say the least. We hope to see continuous improvement to the point where she once would walk the beach for hours. Who knows? We might start using the dink again. It has been patiently parked on the bow for over five months and that means we have missed much along the way. We will not miss it on the reverse. That is of course, if we are in good favor with Mother Ocean. We are looking forward to some offshore time and this place has inlets from sea spaced about right for overnighters. Besides that, Why Knot is tugging at the dock lines seeking to be underway once again.

By the way, I still have not done the toe rails.  I did re-patch the dink, same hole, for the third time.  That about did it for the day yesterday.  Wouldn't want to overdo it.