Cleaning up after the storm

For the past 10 days we have been cleaning up, doing repairs and sewing. An unexpected cold front came through the Gulf Stream during our passage to Charleston. The wind and waves were quite high. One wave broke through the cockpit damaging the dodger windows and sweeping away two canvas panels. At the end of the storm we realized that all the boat hooks were gone, the shackle on the stay sail was broken and one blade of the wind generator was damaged, among other things.

We stayed at the Cooper River Marina for a week because it is less expensive than the marinas near downtown. It is in the commercial shipping area of Charleston. As Fran's mother said after she visited "It's in the middle of no where". It was strangely peaceful with marshes surrounding the marina. Container ships passed very close to us and the huge processing plants were nearby. The bus stop was two miles away so we did not even attempt to leave the marina. Which was a a good thing because we had so much work to do. Larry, a contractor in the next boat, befriended us and took Al to West Marine several times. Larry came over to visit a few times and we fixed him dinner one night. We are continually amazed by the nice people we meet.

Yesterday we left the marina and passed under the bridge in Charleston that looks like the Sunshine Skyway. We are now anchored across from downtown Charleston. We feel like boaters again making our own power, conserving water and swinging on the anchor. We'll probably be here a week and then move to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.