It was a very dramatic day! Kerry woke me up this morning a little earlier than usual. He had been already and had been monitoring the swinging boats around us. All boats were dancing around the anchorage, floating on top of their anchors and into the path of other boats. I felt like we should turn off our anchor light and throw up a disco ball! The catamaran beside us was one that was getting too close to us. He was also up in his cockpit, monitoring the situation. Later, Kerry contacted them by radio to let them know that we were also monitoring things and could move if necessary. He had told us that he had actually moved in the night to get away from another boat that was in his way but, in the process, moved to closer to us. The winds were quite high as well adding to the situation. The sun was just about to rise and we decided to start our day as soon as day broke. We plodded on towards Savannah, GA. I popped downstairs to start school, when Kerry tapped on the door to let us know that it was going to be a bit choppy and uncomfortable for the time that we were in Port Royal Sound (an area of open water). He knew this, not only from the direction of the wind and the prediction of the sea state...but, from a boat called Grace who hailed him on the radio as they were turning back?! We had met up with them along the way as we travelled around Charleston and we anchored together that night. They seemed like very nervous / cautious sailors and their boat did not have any forward protection from the elements. Kerry had noticed that the captain was all bundled up in foul weather gear at the helm as well. When you are getting waves over the bow, a windshield and enclosure sure come in handy. We realized this as we made the turn into the sound. Waves were spashing the windsheild but it wasn't really too bad. Uncomfortable, yes...but it was only for 4 miles. We could hear some boats approaching the Sound behind us and worried about what to expect. Kerry got on the radio to let them know that we were through and that it was tolerable. They seemed thankful for this advice.
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| Lovely old homes on the water! |
It was a very dramatic day! Kerry woke me up this morning a little earlier than usual. He had been already and had been monitoring the swinging boats around us. All boats were dancing around the anchorage, floating on top of their anchors and into the path of other boats. I felt like we should turn off our anchor light and throw up a disco ball! The catamaran beside us was one that was getting too close to us. He was also up in his cockpit, monitoring the situation. Later, Kerry contacted them by radio to let them know that we were also monitoring things and could move if necessary. He had told us that he had actually moved in the night to get away from another boat that was in his way but, in the process, moved to closer to us. The winds were quite high as well adding to the situation. The sun was just about to rise and we decided to start our day as soon as day broke. We plodded on towards Savannah, GA. I popped downstairs to start school, when Kerry tapped on the door to let us know that it was going to be a bit choppy and uncomfortable for the time that we were in Port Royal Sound (an area of open water). He knew this, not only from the direction of the wind and the prediction of the sea state...but, from a boat called Grace who hailed him on the radio as they were turning back?! We had met up with them along the way as we travelled around Charleston and we anchored together that night. They seemed like very nervous / cautious sailors and their boat did not have any forward protection from the elements. Kerry had noticed that the captain was all bundled up in foul weather gear at the helm as well. When you are getting waves over the bow, a windshield and enclosure sure come in handy. We realized this as we made the turn into the sound. Waves were spashing the windsheild but it wasn't really too bad. Uncomfortable, yes...but it was only for 4 miles. We could hear some boats approaching the Sound behind us and worried about what to expect. Kerry got on the radio to let them know that we were through and that it was tolerable. They seemed thankful for this advice. 
The next bit of (potential) excitement is crossing the Savannah River. This river is frequented by very large container ships and crossing the river can be tricky if a ship is coming. Luckily, a ship was not in our way and we made it across. Winding through the last part of the trip today we approached an extremely large mast just in front of a building at the Thunderbolt Marina. At one point, I thought that it was just a structural featur
e of the building made to look like a mast. It just seemed far too large for a sailboat. Sure enough, as we approached the other side of the building we could see that the mast did, indeed, belong to a sailboat. The name on the boat was Mirabella V. We did a quick search and found that it was the largest sailboat in the world. Here are some round number stats: it is 246 feet long, the mast is 250 feet, the beam is ~50 feet, and it has a draft of 13 feet when keel is up (33 feet when keel is down). It was quite impressive. We finally pulled into the anchorage. It is just a small creek. A couple of other boats had already landed for the night. One of the first boats, a Canadian one, came out and waved us in! We had a nice dinner (If I can say so) and cuddled up for movie night. 
Greetings from from Silverheels III Actually guys the boat that you saw is the largest "single" masted yacht. We viewed the Maltese Falcon in Antigua last winter. Hope you never have to meet this one in the AICW! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon_(yacht)
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