April 14-15, 2012... To Sea Again

We departed Cumberland Island on the falling tide to take advantage of the current in the Cumberland Sound and St. Marys River. What we hadn't figured on was the east wind turning that 'wind against tide' into a washing machine outside the inlet. So we and a flotilla of cruising boats all bounced our way out to sea. Once we turned to the northeast things settled down a bit and we began our journey to Charleston.  Most of the journey was fair, some sailing, some motorsailing, winds really not all that great.

 Overnight things got a little tense. John was on watch, Patti sleeping. Change in sail trim awakened Patti -- found John on deck trying to avoid a trio of cargo ships moving nearby. Eventually we figured out that two were bound for Savannah and one was leaving the shipping channel. We were at least 20 miles east of Savannah at the time and had no clue that we were in an area where all these ships would converge. More than a little unnerving to have to deal with this in the middle of the night. To make things worse, one of the ships nearby did not hear our call, or did not recognize that we were hailing. So, our lesson learned is that we need AIS if we plan to sail in or near shipping channels.

With morning, all seemed benign. The wind dropped to zero, and we motored into Charleston harbor. Fort Sumter, the churches of Charleston on the skyline, and the Ravenel bridge were welcome sights. Up the Ashley River we anchored opposite the municipal marina.

Charleston: +32° 46' 32.64", -79° 57' 11.22"