Charleston

5/9-10/16  At  32 47.368N,   79 55.452W    Charleston Maritime Center

A shrimper trawling his nets in the inlet at Charleston

As we ate breakfast, a replica galleon that had been on the dock at the Maritime Center departed.  We hadn't had time to really take a look at it before it left, but did spot a Spanish flag atop on of the spars.

Replica of a Spanish galleon departing the Maritime Center

Charleston has been one of our favorite stops, and staying at the Maritime Center has the advantage of being centrally located and within easy walking distance of a Harris Teetor super market and Saffron, an interesting bakery.  Although we were both tired after the night offshore (neither of us gets a lot of sleep), we went exploring after a quick lunch. 

St. Michael's Church - one of many church spires in Charleston

Yellow crowned night heron preening on her nest

In spring, Charleston is filled with the sweet scent of jasmine and viburnum that seem to be everywhere.  We arrive too late to see the azaleas and rhododendrons blooming in the gardens, but the window boxes are filled with a wide array of colors and plants.  It's also nesting season at the yellow-crowned night heron rookery tucked into the live oaks in Battery Park. I'm always amazed that these birds can coexist with all visitors (and dogs) in the park, but they seem oblivious to them (and most people equally oblivious to the herons overhead), and can be seen, sitting on nests or preening in the limbs overhead.

Colorful window box

Garden with a window

Wrought iron gate

Gate into a garden with a fountain

I suspect we include photos of the same houses, gates and churches every year, but they are interesting.  Many of the buildings on the peninsula date back to the mid 1700's when the Europeans began settling the area and are listed with the Preservation Society which was founded in 1920 as a means of preserving historic buildings.  They've done a terrific job, as most of the buildings have been restored and kept up through the decades, no small feat in a warm, salty environment.

Miles Brewton house and gate, built between 1765-69 

The early version of 'barb wire' on top the fence caught my eye

Detail of the early 'barb wire'

Walking through city, I've compared it with Burlington over the years, and came to the conclusion that while they share many similarities, Charleston has more churches and restaurants per capita.  However, in my opinion, being a farmer's market person, Burlington is hard to beat for variety, quality, and size, and the fact all vendors must grow or produce everything they sell.  Both are great places with lots of history. 

This frog caught my eye

When checking the delivery schedule for the windlass gears, we were pleased to see the 'on the truck to be delivered' Tuesday morning.  Leonard began disassembling the windlass - not an easy job when the boat has been in a salt water environment.  Upon occasion, the unit has gone home, placed in a vise and whacked numerous times to get it apart.  Miraculously, it came apart more easily than at any time in the past for maintenance (this is the 2nd set of gears he's replaced).  While waiting for the gears to arrive, he removed the solenoids, and checked and cleaned the connections on them.

While waiting, we walked over to Harris Teetor and filled 2 back packs and several bags with more provisions - the next place to do so will be Great Bridge, just S of Norfolk (one advantage of doing this trip so many times, is knowing where to get provisions and do laundry).  By the time we returned, the shipment had arrived, now for the reassemble.

In a perfect world, everything works like a charm.  Contrary to the slick brochures, boating is rarely a perfect world.  It was the right part, but the shaft was just a hair too big, resulting in a bit of elbow grease with some sand paper.  Eventually things slid into place, and all that remained to do was get it greased, reinstalled, the teak cover in the cabin screwed back in place and clean up the mess .  Around 1800, the task was successfully completed and the up button took up the chain, and the down button lowered it (he got it backward one year).  Having a working windlass is wonderful - you never know when you might need to raise the anchor in a hurry, or use the windlass to kedge off a shoal, (we've done both) and having a functioning windlass makes either situation less stressful.

We finally headed over to N King Street for a celebratory dinner around 1930, savoring some great food at Smoke BBQ washed down with a pint of bourbon ale, ending with a visit to the place on the corner for some home made ice cream.  Given the calories consumed, we should have walked down to the Battery before going back to the boat!

We'll head on our way tomorrow, no rush, since we want the current pushing us off the dock and high tide to negotiate the shoals by the Ben Sawyer Bridge.  I  plan to walk over to Saffron for bread and treats after tossing a load of laundry in the washer (free at the marina).  Most likely we'll stop at Whiteside Creek, and if we arrive early enough, launch the dinghy and go check out the impoundment  for birds, and the beach at Capers Island.  It's always been a stop on the trip S, but we've never gone ashore in the spring.

Now that we have another sunny day, Leonard is reconsidering our options (why am I not surprised??) and is considering riding the falling tide and going offshore to Southport (or possibly Beaufort) to rock and roll in the 3' swell in a light SW wind for another over night (or 2).  Looks like the horse is smelling the hay in the barn, and I won't be watching the wild life along the salt marshes.  However, it seems to be foolish to waste a decent weather window.  We both agree, although rolling in a following wind and sea gets tiring, it beats going to windward.

Lynnea