Friday July 16th 2010

How could it possibly be a week since I last wrote?? The days are flying by so fast!!

We finally left Isle of Hope, Georgia on Tuesday morning, but not without first finding the only DQ in the entire Savannah area. And it was only a short distance from the marina! We spent our last day there, getting the alternator repaired, doing some last minute shopping and seeing a little more of the area.
One moment of panic occurred when I got pulled over by the Savannah Police. I could not imagine what I had done wrong. Seems the license plate tabs on the loaner car had expired. What a relief that was!!!

Our last night there, we had another terrific thunderstorm. When it was all over, we met with Della, who went over our charts of the ICW and told us what they had experienced in all of the areas they had been to. They later gave us all their charts, and said they would not be needing them, as they don’t plan to go North again! Really nice!!

So, we left our oasis and kept cruising North. Was a lot of fun when we reached Hilton Head, South Carolina. There were boats everywhere, and parasailors, and jet skis galore!! We could see the famous lighthouse, and the golf course that has its 18th hole right at the lighthouse! Hilton Head is a HUGE island. As we motored between the islands, a severe storm warning was issued. We could see it coming! We decided we should cut our day short, for safety sake, and pulled into Skull Creek marina at the North end of Hilton Head. No sooner were we settled at the dock, and the storm hit. Boy! Did it rain! The thunder and lightning were loud!

Wednesday morning we left Skull Creek, and soon after, the instrument panel went dead! Just when we were about to turn around and go back, they came back on. They were fine the rest of the day!

We decided to make up for lost time, so we kept going, and going, and going! Mission accomplished. We logged in 82 miles for the day, and made it to Charleston, South Carolina. The trip was a little more interesting. We got to see lots more mansions, and long, long docks. We arrived in the Charleston area about 8:30pm, and anchored close to the St. John Yacht Harbor. Had a refreshing deck shower and a quick dinner before heading to bed.

Thursday morning we got ready to leave early. Uh oh! No instruments again! And shortly thereafter, no engine either. We were dead in the water. Dave felt that it was an electrical problem, so we went over our options.(which weren’t many!) Decided to call Tow Boat US. Within 45 minutes, Hamilton had us in tow and took us over to St. John’s. Dave had already called and left messages with about 8 different electricians, and we were waiting to hear from them, but Hamilton gave us the name of his personal mechanic, so we called him too!

While we were waiting, we decided to give the pool a try. Ahhhhhh! Very nice. The marina had just undergone a huge renovation, and everything looks great. We enjoyed watching all the little kids play in the pool, and our time in the shade. We stayed several hours, and finally starting getting some call backs.

Back to the boat for a dinner of burritos and beer, and a good nights sleep.

It’s Friday morning, and the electrician just left. He found an old corroded and broken connection, hidden somewhere in the engine. Once he replaced it, the boat started right up. Yeah!!!!

Dave has gone up to take a shower, and when he gets back, we are on our way again. We will try to get as far as possible, to make up for yesterday. We’ll let you know how it goes!

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral

PS – HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACINDA!!!!! Our fabulous daughter-in-law celebrated her birthday on July 14th. She has been a great addition to our family and truly makes Matt complete. Her birthday present this year is the new house they get the keys to on July 28th. We wish them the very best in their new home!!!