Horse Flies and Weddings

There is a bit of a war that is going on around here.  If one stands out of the wind in the sun and gets still for more than 10 seconds, one will be attacked by Green Heads (horse flies).  Of course one can wear bug juice and keep some of that to a minimum but sooner or later one will feel the sting and see the results.  Some of the bites don't go away soon and I have doozie that keeps getting bigger.  It is sort of entertaining in a weird way to see  which bites bloom and which do not.  Could it be that cruising in the heat is getting to us in a Shining (the movie) sort of way?  "Oh honey, I'm home.

Last evening a large river boat pulled up to the Megadock and embarked a wedding party.  Beverages were flowing even before the thing left the dock.  They were docked across from us and we, being the smallest boat on the dock, were the subject of many comments from the poop deck some twenty five feet above us.  Most were from folks that are not sailors.  What's that thingy on the front?  Looks like they have a lot of rope going all over the place. Where's Port Aransas, Texas? 

There is a sailing vessel just arrived from the Caribbean Sea.  Been there for a year with two youngsters aboard.  They enjoyed it thoroughly but were looking forward to getting off the boat and hitting the stores and restaurants of Charleston.  The girls were "home schooled" but not like doing that at home on land.  We have read several articles that seem to indicate cruising youngsters are generally very well prepared for college since they have not been in front of TVs or IPods much during the cruising and since there are fewer distractions whilst aboard.  Might be a good thing to send the kids to sea for a year sometime in their early years.  Imagine how being away from TV, IPods and cell phones might impact their thought processes. Thinking-  what a concept.

Being aboard forces one to deal with stuff as it occurs. Find the problem.  Evaluate the problem, Develop solutions.  Implement the solution then see if it worked.  Sort of basic but we do it daily.  For instance, our latest challenge is the air conditioner.  Instead of air, a vessel system uses sea water to cool and condense the refrigerant.  Said seawater is usually full of stuff like jelly fish, leaves, seaweed and other stuff.  There is a strainer that keeps that stuff from going through the unit.  Although the water here is "clean", that strainer needs constant attention, sometimes at the most inopportune time.  We discovered that there is some sort of slime building past the strainer in the lines and that causes the unit to stop.  Just after dinner (supper to those from SC and GA) it happened-  no cooling!!!!  Yikes Hal, get on it..  Heat index at the time was 117 degrees so I had to jump on it.  That is twice in two days. Bear heads top side so as to not listen to me heatedly discussing the problem with my inner self.  Inner self gets testy at times like that particularly that late in the day.  Got it done but it dis not take long to heat the cabin.  This is one system that, next to a water tight hull, is most important to this crew.  I think I will experiment with bromide tablets (same stuff used in spas) in the strainer.  Maybe it will keep the slime cooties moving. 

Thunderstorm Afternoon in Charleston

Even at the dock there are almost daily maintenance items to fix. The air conditioner strainer filled and stopped up to the point that the a/c was short cycling. The probable cause: a growth of some type in that element that one could easily flush out. Not so. The stuff that was in the strainer was affixed firmly to the basket and looked like short cropped blond hair. It would not simple flush out. I am calling it swamp fur. With such a small space to air condition, one would think that maintenance is very seldom. Again, not so. The filters are a weekly cycle. The strainer is on about a three week cycle unless we anchor in some grassy place in which case it can be on a three hour cycle. So, life in our small liquid world is maybe more intense than at home. Stuff that breaks must be addressed at the earliest possible moment.


I took the first part of today before returning the rental car to tour two more places, the South Carolina Aquarium and the National Military Museum. The latter is more to the point a heraldry museum with complete uniforms from just after the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan today. The curator will not display any uniform unless it is authentic in every way. They have a recently found uniform from WWII missing the Eagle/Globe/ Anchor collar brass. If and until they get the exact brass worn on that uniform, they will not display it. It belongs to a native son of Charleston, graduate of The Citadel and KIA in the South Pacific when his was shot down. The family could not find the original collar brass so this uniform may never go on display.

With no car, we are now back to cruising mode though we are not making way. That means backpacks to the local convenience store for stuff and the courtesy bus to the local hardware supply should we need a quirkwheeler to two. Of course, we have the fold bikes not likely to be used by Bear. The afternoon thunderstorms are regular, big and spectacular. We are trying to Zen ourselves into small so that the lightening does not find us.

Tonight, for the first time since starting the cruise, we will be grilling. I know, I know that long time since our last grilling does jeopardize our citizenship as Texans but we will get one in just under the wire. Starting small so as to work our way back into grilling, we will be doing burger meat. Don’t want to take on brisket until we get back in shape. Dang, I am looking forward to firing up old Bessemer and burning some animal. Brisket does not exist in the meat counters of the local grocery stores. Mark, whilst in the Corps at Camp Lejeune intentionally sought out a brisket for the 4th of July a few years back. The butcher immediately asked him if he was from Texas and how to cook the thing. Had only one in the “back” and commented that only Texans ask for them. Seems BBQ here is “pulled pork” or pork ribs. The aforementioned is usually dripping with some sweet foul sauce and is more like a sloppy Joe’s sandwich. I tell you, it jest ain’t right. Besides that, they usually drink it with ultra sweet tea. Dang!

The more we see of this place, the more we recommend it to be on everyone’s bucket list. Don’t come for a day. Come for a week. Bye ya’ll.

CS H.L. Hunley

One of the many fountains along the Cooper river park

Bear suggested I take another museum trip yesterday or wax the boat.  I thought about it for a long millisecond and drove to the warehouse where the CS Hunley is being de-salted.  Said vessel is a Confederate Submarine and has the distinction of being the first submarine to complete an attack successfully on another ship.  The Hunley was discovered a few years back after being on partol for over 135 years.  Her crew was still aboard and the hatches were dogged from the inside, meaning they made no attempt to escape.  The Hunley now resides in a very high tech fresh water tank at the old Charleston Navy Yard.  It will be there for another four years while the hull is cleaned of salt. 

Cooper River front park

The Hunley actually did three patrols and sunk three times.  The first two missions resulted in three deaths.  General Beauregard consented to the third mission after Lt. Dixon asked for another chance to get at the Yankees.  Beauregard approved the mission but told Dixon not to submerge the Hunley.  It was not until the Hunley approached the USS Housatonic and sunk her that he broke out a blue lamp and signaled the shore party that he may have decided to take her down and wait for better currents.  After all, she was powered by seven sailors manning a hand crank and the currents here can reach 5 knots or better.  The thing is that her only lights were candles and her snorkel not long enough to reach the surface at 27 feet.  The only air they had was what was in the four feet diameter tube. 

The crew was recovered and given a full Confederate Military Burial and equivalent of the Medal of Honor.  There were three descendants in attendance at the ceremony.  These Americans showed the highest form of courage, just like the young lions of today. To learn more about the Hunley, just google it.  There is much to the story. 

Inside the larger movie version of the CS Hunley.  Note bench seat to the left and hand crank to the right. 

About the Bear:  we are on track and have an appointment for a very high tech torture session on August 16th.  Until then, we are staying in Charleston where there is much boat work and many museums.  This marina, like several in Georgia and Florida has a courtesy van that will deliver a bi-pedially motivated sailor to places for parts and provisions.  It leaves every hour.  Not bad, huh?  Some marinas have a courtesy car that transient crews can take for an hour to the store or pars  shops.  Guess the attorneys have not found them yet.  Charleston has a trolley bus line that charges $5 for a day pass, so getting around is not a problem. 

The Beneteau 411 owners group has an active bulletin board and one of the long timers is the owner of Pied-a-Mer ( I think hull 157).  I discovered the boat last Wednesday whilst strolling the dock.  After a brief chat, I was invited to join the crew for the Wednesday races followed by an invitation for Bear and I to join them at the Charleston Yacht Club for post race festivities.  The crew I met included a fellow from the Empire of Britain (never can tell the accents) and a fellow from Ireland, I think.  We are looking forward to Wednesday.  It is always good to encounter another 411 to see what modifications have been made.  This boat cruised the Island for three years so I am sure there are things to be learned. 

Being the smallest boat along this dock, we have one small technical problem:  Internet access.  Since the dock is wired quite thoroughly, one should not have problems with signals.  The reason is that the signal is line-of-sight and when one of the "regular" size boats dock, we are shaded by huge walls of fiberglass.  I mean huge walls.  They block the breezes and even without looking windward, we know when they are windward. 

I have inherited the laundry duties which were completed before 0800 this morning.  One wants to hit the "wash house" before the dryers make it unbearable.  All of our laundry is starting to take on the same color since I do not separate the former whites from the other colors.  Many of our towels have been turned into sweat towels and they impart vivid colors to the tidy whities. 

Bear Watch Update

Little sailors being pulled

The ball is rolling for Bear to have the back procedure around August 16 in Tampa.  We are definitely looking forward to getting the checklist fixed and underway.  The procedure will take place over a four day period then we can return to the boat with her status no longer crew but upgraded to honored guest for some time thereafter.  Barring any unforseen complidcations, we can get underway soon thereafter.  She will be free to move about the cabin and cockpit but cannot participate in boat duties.   That's fine with me as long as it meets the objective.

Littler sailors being pulled

Yesterday, I visited Ft. Moultire on Sullivan's Island.  That place (the entire island) has been heavily armed since the Revolution.  One soldier stationed there was none other that Eddie Poe, who had this fixation with a Raven of Nevermore fame.  Seems that just after that posting, he decided to do something else, anything else other than the Army. 

The floatage along this dock is like a who's who of the big boat world.  We were sitting in the breeze yesterday when I looked out to see a huge wall of fibergalss dock between us and the wind.  Methinks it was about 200 feet in length and it took on fuel for several hours. One of the crew spoke to us but we did not offer to help wax the thing.  Their dock lines are bigger than our cleats.  This morning a USCG Cutter, The Chicoa docked for fuel.  They are headed to the Gulf for six weeks to go on station directing traffic at the spill.  They took on 2800 gallons just to "top off".  Very professional and friendly crew.  Then  again who wouldn't be nice if one has two Maw Deuces aboard.  (.50 cal. machine guns).   

I went museum hopping again but aborted the idea due to the heat.  I don't remember summers being this hot except for that senior trip to sunny Southeeast Asia.  One can shower and ruin the whole thing walking  back to the boat.  Hardly pays to do it. 

So, we become locals for a month and that will give Keeln Time time to catch us about when we are ready to go again.