It’s been two weeks since we pulled into Charleston, and we’ve settled in so well, we may need to be pushed out of here when it comes time to leave. Pat left shortly after we arrived, anticipating the birth of a new grandson, who arrived on April 15th. Fred and Marianna remained behind, allowing time to enjoy the city and for the crew (Julie) to make a road trip. Although Marianna will be pulling out soon, (with another new crewmember, Isaac, on board), we will stay behind for another week or two before heading north again.
Sunday’s highlight was an Easter egg hunt in the graveyard.
Easter Sunday
The first full day in Charleston after our arrival was Easter Sunday. We decided to go once again to the Circular Congregational Church for their early Easter service. Afterwards, we were invited to what turned out to be an amazing Sunday brunch, followed by an Easter egg hunt for the children in the only open space between the buildings – the graveyard. It was a lot of fun to watch (and maybe help a little with a few hints), and a tremendous metaphor for the day.
The first full day in Charleston after our arrival was Easter Sunday. We decided to go once again to the Circular Congregational Church for their early Easter service. Afterwards, we were invited to what turned out to be an amazing Sunday brunch, followed by an Easter egg hunt for the children in the only open space between the buildings – the graveyard. It was a lot of fun to watch (and maybe help a little with a few hints), and a tremendous metaphor for the day.
The next weekend, we joined some members of the congregation to prepare and serve breakfast at a men’s shelter in a small way of giving back to the community. We don’t always get the chance to do this.
Flying High
Shortly after arriving, we learned that the US Navy Blue Angels were going to be performing over Charleston harbor in a couple of weeks. We decided to stay at least through the event, especially since it was going to be centered over the Maritime Center. It wasn’t hard to figure out when the jets had arrived, since the sound of them was deafening as they made maneuvers over and around us – first, in practice runs on Thursday and Friday, and then in the performances on Saturday and Sunday. Their precision flying and speed were amazing and awe-inspiring, and we couldn’t believe our luck at securing such a perfect ringside seat for all the action. We were even closer than the VIP seats, which were on shore just outside the Maritime Center building. (This location also created a minor inconvenience, by putting the marina offices and restrooms on the other side of a security barrier for 3 days.)
Shortly after arriving, we learned that the US Navy Blue Angels were going to be performing over Charleston harbor in a couple of weeks. We decided to stay at least through the event, especially since it was going to be centered over the Maritime Center. It wasn’t hard to figure out when the jets had arrived, since the sound of them was deafening as they made maneuvers over and around us – first, in practice runs on Thursday and Friday, and then in the performances on Saturday and Sunday. Their precision flying and speed were amazing and awe-inspiring, and we couldn’t believe our luck at securing such a perfect ringside seat for all the action. We were even closer than the VIP seats, which were on shore just outside the Maritime Center building. (This location also created a minor inconvenience, by putting the marina offices and restrooms on the other side of a security barrier for 3 days.)
Skimmer races ahead of us toward the finish line.
Racing to the Finish
The week of April 8 – 11th was Charleston Race Week. About 150 boats are engaged in races through the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the event. Races take place both in the harbor, and out in the ocean. We would have normally paid little attention to the activities associated with this event, but that all changed when Dave jumped aboard another boat in the harbor to help it move from one slip to another in the marina. John on Ragtime was looking for crew to help him race his Gulfstar 44 ketch in the ocean races over the 3 days. After making sure that he understood our experience was limited to cruising, not racing, we agreed to join him. Fred joined us as well, contributing both his sailing and racing experience to the crew.
The week of April 8 – 11th was Charleston Race Week. About 150 boats are engaged in races through the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the event. Races take place both in the harbor, and out in the ocean. We would have normally paid little attention to the activities associated with this event, but that all changed when Dave jumped aboard another boat in the harbor to help it move from one slip to another in the marina. John on Ragtime was looking for crew to help him race his Gulfstar 44 ketch in the ocean races over the 3 days. After making sure that he understood our experience was limited to cruising, not racing, we agreed to join him. Fred joined us as well, contributing both his sailing and racing experience to the crew.
Dave takes the helm during the downwind leg.
We ended up racing 2 of the 3 days with – how shall we phrase it – mixed results. The conditions both days were windy and the ocean was rougher than we have generally experienced (with the possible exception of a few nasty inlets). On the first day, we managed to start and finish the first race, but we were only on the first of 4 legs in the 2nd race, when the headsail blew out and we had to “retire” for the day as they say in the racing world. We later learned that our first finish didn’t count, since we didn’t pass between the correct marks to indicate the finish line. That’s OK. Tomorrow is another day.
Fred helps to raise the main sail.
John pulled out his back-up headsail for the 2nd day’s racing, but it was having some problems, and we had trouble pointing very high. This proved problematic as we tried to tack across a narrow start line to begin the race. Although we were successful for the first race, we took too long in the second race, which disqualified us. So, once again, we decided to “retire” for the day. Since, in our first race, Cathy managed to aim for the wrong marks at the end of the 2nd leg of the course, we managed to be disqualified yet again and therefore got credit for neither of the races we entered that day. It wasn’t all a loss, though. We still had fun and learned a bit about racing in the process. We ended the 2nd day with a sail north up the Cooper River past the old Navy base. Since we’d never been that far north, we had a good time seeing this part of the river from the decks of Ragtime.
Studying the racing rules. We probably should have done more of this.
John and Anne had to leave for home unexpectedly the next morning, so Saturday’s contests were our last attempt to prove ourselves for this event. We still have quite a ways to go before we would go from calling ourselves cruisers to racers. And it’s a lot less to worry about when it’s on someone else’s boat.
Dave and Fred enjoy the game.
RiverDogs Baseball
We took in two Charleston RiverDogs games at the Joe P. Riley stadium (the “Joe”), which backs up to the Citadel campus north of downtown. Since the first game was in the evening, we had to time our departure to make sure we didn’t miss the last bus back to town. We would have had no problems, except it was just our luck that the game was tied at the bottom of the 9th, as the tying run crossed the plate seconds before the final out. That meant extra innings. We stuck it out as long as we could, but finally had to leave as the 11th inning was about to begin. It turned out the RiverDogs beat the Lexington Legends by 1 in the 12th inning. We were glad we didn’t wait any longer, since we just made the last bus.
We took in two Charleston RiverDogs games at the Joe P. Riley stadium (the “Joe”), which backs up to the Citadel campus north of downtown. Since the first game was in the evening, we had to time our departure to make sure we didn’t miss the last bus back to town. We would have had no problems, except it was just our luck that the game was tied at the bottom of the 9th, as the tying run crossed the plate seconds before the final out. That meant extra innings. We stuck it out as long as we could, but finally had to leave as the 11th inning was about to begin. It turned out the RiverDogs beat the Lexington Legends by 1 in the 12th inning. We were glad we didn’t wait any longer, since we just made the last bus.
Our second game was a day game (to ensure we had no bus problems) and was supposed to have an all-you-can-eat buffet. When we arrived, however, we were surrounded by thousands of kids from area schools. Apparently, we had chosen to attend on “Education Day”, and the usual buffet was not going to be held. Instead, we were offered a seat in a Sky Suite for the same price, where a waitress would take our orders and we could order as much as we wanted. That suited us fine, and we enjoyed a great view and some good food.
It wasn’t so good for the River Dogs who lost the game to their opponents, the WV Power. Maybe next time.
We picked up a new toilet to replace our broken one.
Boat Stuff
You may recall that we had a few items that broke down as we made the journey from the Bahamas to Charleston. First and foremost, there was the matter of a broken toilet that needed to be addressed. After checking with West Marine, the toilet was under warranty and “all” we had to do was return the old one in order to pick up a new one. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant task to take a used toilet by bus to West Marine. Luckily, when Dave mentioned this to the marina staff, someone was able to drive him to West Marine with the old toilet and bring him back with the new one.
Having installed the original just last summer, Dave had a pretty good idea what would be involved. We had already pumped out the holding tank and rinsed it with water to minimize the mess. Dave then disconnected the old toilet. While it was out, Cathy cleaned behind it thoroughly. Then we put the new one back in without too much difficulty, considering that some of the connections are not the easiest to get at. It’s been working great since. Whew!
You may recall that we had a few items that broke down as we made the journey from the Bahamas to Charleston. First and foremost, there was the matter of a broken toilet that needed to be addressed. After checking with West Marine, the toilet was under warranty and “all” we had to do was return the old one in order to pick up a new one. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant task to take a used toilet by bus to West Marine. Luckily, when Dave mentioned this to the marina staff, someone was able to drive him to West Marine with the old toilet and bring him back with the new one.
Having installed the original just last summer, Dave had a pretty good idea what would be involved. We had already pumped out the holding tank and rinsed it with water to minimize the mess. Dave then disconnected the old toilet. While it was out, Cathy cleaned behind it thoroughly. Then we put the new one back in without too much difficulty, considering that some of the connections are not the easiest to get at. It’s been working great since. Whew!
The burnt out inverter has been removed.
The other issue to be resolved was our burnt out inverter. It was a Peak 1200W inverter that Dave had installed in January. So, he contacted the company about the problem. They were very concerned about the issue and responsive in dealing with the problem. They immediately sent a replacement 1500W inverter and supplied a pre-paid UPS label for the return shipment of our damaged 1200W inverter. Unfortunately, we realized once the new one arrived that it lacked the remote switch. This is an important feature for us, since it allows us to turn the unit on without crawling back into the engine room. When we spoke again to the company about it, they told us they would ship a unit with a remote to us, but that we could keep the 1500W inverter for our trouble. They also said they would let us know what they found out about the damaged unit.
Cathy working to win prizes.
Work Hard, Play Hard
So, the rest of our time in Charleston is being divided between work and play. We caught up with our mail, which generated several days of activities, including doing our taxes. The Maritime Center has a free washer and dryer, so one full day was taken up laundering clothes, including some of the mattress and cushion covers that got so damp in the cold last winter. (The Maritime Center happened to replace the dryer while we were here, making this less of a hassle, since the old one had trouble with large, heavy loads.) And the marina’s excellent WIFI connection allowed us to do some work on the internet that had been long delayed.
So, the rest of our time in Charleston is being divided between work and play. We caught up with our mail, which generated several days of activities, including doing our taxes. The Maritime Center has a free washer and dryer, so one full day was taken up laundering clothes, including some of the mattress and cushion covers that got so damp in the cold last winter. (The Maritime Center happened to replace the dryer while we were here, making this less of a hassle, since the old one had trouble with large, heavy loads.) And the marina’s excellent WIFI connection allowed us to do some work on the internet that had been long delayed.
To take a break from the work, we found a few diversions. We had arrived just in time for the free Movies in Marion Square on Thursday nights, and have taken in 2 of the 4 movies so far. We’ve even won a few T-shirts in the process. The Farmer’s Market started up the day we arrived, and we’ve managed to sample its ware on a couple of occasions. Then there are those baseball games, and time spent with Marianna before they have to leave, to name just a few. With a couple more weeks to go, we should have no problem finding ways to enjoy the time in this beautiful city.
