November 13-17 Charleston SC-Savannah Ga

November 13-15 Charleston SC. John's autopilot is toast so into Charleston we go for repairs. The docking here at the Ashley Marina is challenging as the river current is quite fierce. Luckily we got a dock that allowed us to bow into the current. The trick was to get turned around and go against the current before the current & wind carry you into another boat. While waiting for John's parts to arrive we tour the city via horse (actually a mule) and carriage. A little excitement on the tour. The mule slipped out of its bridle and got it tangled around its feet which spooked the mule so we were on a runaway carriage for just a bit. A former carriage driver happened to be in the right place and he stepped out and halted the mule team. On Saturday we rented a car from our friends at Enterprise and visited the Boone Plantation. The picture of the home, the slave quarters and an old Oak tree are pictured above. After a good meal at the Charleston Crab House, we toured the Holiday Wonderland of Lights on nearby James Island. It is quite a spectacle. Over 2 million lights on all kinds of displays strung over a 3 mile drive. It certainly has to be one of the largest Holiday displays of its kind. 3 people full time year around work on the project. Many of the displays take several weeks to assemble. 208,000 people visited the Festival last year. John's autopilot is again working but the wind will keep us here until Sunday

November 16 Bass Creek Anchorage On down the ICW we go. Our goal is Lake Worth (North Palm Beach Fl or Fort Lauderdale by Dec 1.) The day is chilly but sunny-- temp in the high 50's. The anchorage is up a Creek which is probably 200' wide. Again a high tide, which results in lots of current flow. Remember the tide goes from low to high twice a day so overnight, even with no wind the boat changes directions due to the current. Very cool at night.

November 17 Herb River Anchorage. Up & away at 7am this morning. A long day on the water. You travel with the current gods. Sometimes they are with you and sometimes they are agan you. The gps indicates 6mph when bucking the current and on a fast ride we get all the way up to 10mph (statute). 66 miles traveled today. Herb River is wide and deep. There are probably 8 sailbotes here plus us two trawlers. Again a sunny but chilly day. Our enclosed flybridge serves as a hothouse so we keep very warm when driving from "up top". No wind tonight. Very quiet on the hook! This anchorage is very near Savannah GA. By the way we installed one of those digital TV converters on the boat for our over the air TV signals and it has significantly increased our TV viewing enjoyment.