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Monday, August 17,
2009
AM
Pre-dawn departure from
Charleston, SC. We are ALL rested and ready to go. Our
destination at this moment is to reach Georgetown, SC by
early afternoon. This is approx 70 miles away, and by then
we shall need some more go-go juice for ‘the girl,’….and for
us, maybe a snack or two!
The morning part of this
day has taken us further and further from homes and
populations and closer to nature with occasional pair of
dolphins surfacing near our boat, just to say hello and
cheer us on. We have spotted eagles in their nests and even
a mother duck with her brood of five ducklings paddlin’
alongside of us and keeping up!
Photo 310: Dolphin Near Boat
Eagle on Marker
The only noise heard as
we paddled along and put miles behind us was the hum of the
engines and from soft music that came from our tape deck on
the flying bridge. Such serenity!
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Morning Marker - Green on Corner
PM
Seventy-miles traveled
after nearly seven hours. A bit of interesting history
learned during our short stop for gas about the Georgetown
area. King George of England declared Georgetown (can you
guess how it got its name?) a Colonial Port of Entry, and it
remains one of the oldest US ports in continuous operation.
African-Americans have played a large part in the area’s
history. Georgetown is home to the first black school
(1866), the Georgetown Colored Academy (later renamed the
Howard School), and church (1865), Bethesda Baptist Church,
in the county.
Another bit of history
that I found interesting was that this area was once known
as Carolina Gold. To think that the success of this Southern
community, the third-oldest in SC, all centered around a
tiny, white grain. The low-flats were perfect for growing
rice and the middle of the 19th century
Georgetown led the world in exporting rice. Nearly half of
all rice consumed in this country was the ‘Carolina Gold’
variety grown in this area! Move over Rice-A-Roni!
Even before seeing the
shores of Georgetown, one captured a ‘whiff’ of the town. I
immediately recognized the aroma from my childhood days and
my father’s business that occasionally had the family
traveling to visit paper mills. Smoke stacks seen from afar
were yet another signal that we were nearing Georgetown.
Today, Georgetown is home to International Paper’s pulp
facility. That certain aroma that surrounds the town on
low-wind days is the smell of industry and jobs to this
town. It is a sweet smell to these folks! Local folk whom
we met at the fuel station indicated that a $10 million
dollar project is now underway by International Paper to
clean up its act to reduce air pollution, and thus the aroma
that touches this quaint, sleepy community.
Paper Factory
A final point of interest
and a history maker for ‘Now We’re Ready’ was the first
official docking by Michael of this 68-ft baby along the
fuel station at this marina. Imagine trying to manage a
vessel this size all the while be mindful of current, wind,
and any other vessels that might be docked along the same
length of the pier to where you are trying to ‘park’.
Captain Rob has been a
TERRIFIC coach and remained close by as Michael took his
baby in for its ‘feeding’. Michael did a FANTASTIC job and
took her in and brought her out without a hitch! He went up
another notch in MY log….and a performance bonus is sure to
be bestowed upon him by the Admiral (dot, dot, dot –
hint: if you have watched the movie Mama Mia, then you will
understand the Admiral’s code ‘and dot, dot, dot’…wink).
Docking Instructions
As the sun set, we looked
for our night’s lodging and found one near Myrtle Beach, SC
– Marina at Grande Dunes. Just over the dunes and a dash
over a 4 lane highway…we even found a grocery store to
replenish our supplies. Food in the shelves and now in our
bellies..another fine day paddlin’ and 113 miles closer to
DC.
Total distance: 113
miles Total time: 12 hours
And from earlier in the
day:
From: Canright,
Shelley
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 7:12 AM
Subject: Back on the water
Just quick note to
update all that we are all rested and now back at the wheel
and coming north up SC shores.
Yippee-Ki-Yea (which
just happens to be name of boat from the marina where we
spent Sunday)!
From: Detroye, Diane
D.
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 8:34 AM
Subject: RE: Back on the water
So what was the problem
with the motor? Curious minds want to know.
Maybe the specter of
John McCain will keep your boat in line for awhile.
Looks like you may make
it to NC border by this evening?
From: Anderson, Bill
To: Detroye, Diane D.
Sent: Mon Aug 17 07:35:33 2009
Subject: RE: Back on the water
Diane, you gotta keep
up:
http://paintrock.net/boat/docs/august_16,_2009.htm
Bill
From: Canright,
Shelley
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: Back on the water
You tell em', First
Mate!
Just finished my time
at the wheel and thus doing quick checkin' on the
Blackberry. Heading back up to he flying bridge.
All is well.
From: Currier,
Patricia A.
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Back on the water
But Shelley never said
what was wrong with the engine. Just that it wasn't a
plastic bag!!
From: Anderson, Bill
To: Canright, Shelley
Sent: Mon Aug 17 08:32:08 2009
Subject: RE: Back on the water
I had to apologize to
Diane. I hit the send button before I realized she wasn't
asking what happened yesterday -- she already knew that.
She was asking what exactly had caused the engine to run
hot. And I'd like to know too ...
Hey Admiral: So what
was the problem with the motor? Curious minds want to know
From: Canright, Shelley
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: Back on the water
Okay, here is the rest
of the story...
The thermostat on the
starboard engine got stuck and thus held hot water in the
motor. Not a good thing as this then caused the engine to
overheat.
Thus, we had to find a
parts store opened on Sunday. It just so happened that
Charleston has one auto parts store open on a 24/7 basis.
Thus, a part was obtained and installed by 5pm.
We discussed heading
out at that point and paddlin' for a few hours, but after
further discussion we decided to stay put for the night. Had
we left, we may have traveled approx 30-miles, but that
would have put us between civilizations and we did not want
to chance night paddlin'.
I treated the boyz to
dinner at the local 'Reel Bar' and we settled down early for
good night's sleep and dreaming of North Carolina!
FIRST MATE'S NOTE:
Let us all sympathize with Shelley and Mike for the terrible
deprivations they're suffering as evidenced by these pics I
found on the web:
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