Day 5 - November 23rd, 2011

The Intracoastal Waterway is not for wimps!!  We were well tied in a slip at Edisto Beach Marina for a thunderstorm that rolled in late.  Lines held but we did get a little leak from the hatch over our bed.  It made for a rough night for Melissa.  When I got up to check lines in the middle of the night I heard a mammal very close to the boat venting through a blow hole.  It was such a deep resonating sound my first thought it must be a whale but reason tells me it was a dolphin.  I scrambled for my search light but of course it was off in the distance by then.

Very strong current as we left in the morning but we did not want to get stuck in Edisto. I was all bundled up in my new foul weather gear since it was still raining.  The water proof socks that Rachael gave me last Christmas came in very handy to keep my toes warm and toasty (thanks Rae, you always pick out the perfect gifts!!).  Missy really did a great job with the lines so I could get the boat out of the slip.  A Captain is no better than his/her crew and my wife is really taking on all of these new tasks with a passion.

The slowly turned nicer as we traveled the ICW toward Hilton Head Island.  After a slow wake free run though Beaufort we started to get into more open water.  The wind had been blowing all day but was not a problem in the narrow channels.  Well wind does it's thing in a big body of water and all of a sudden our leisurely voyage turned into the "Perfect Storm", at least according to Melissa.  We were rocking and rolling a bit but Missy was not prepared for it and she needed to go below where the effects are not as dramatic.

After 90 minutes of getting pounded around we made back into a channel and all was perfect again.  When we got to the Marina, the dock master had me pull up to the fuel dock in the channel.  With the wind and the tidal current it was another major production to get the boat docked without A) grounding, B) smashing the dock, or C) getting my crew hurt.  Very stressful.  After the third attempt we managed to get a stern line to the dock hand just as one of my motors stalled!  Whew, lucky break.

Then it was back to bliss again with a peaceful sunset and a very nice dinner at the Marina restaurant.  We are going to take a day off and relax on Thanksgiving while we explore Hilton Head Island. 

We really miss the kids and our friends but this really is an adventure of a lifetime and we are having a blast despite the moments of high drama.  Best wishes to all on Thanksgiving.