Day 105: Charleston, SC – 26/10/12

Despite entreaties to stay longer, Rosemary and Bill are back on the road by 9.30 am.

We spend the day fiddling around on the boat and with Sandy getting ever closer, keep a sharp lookout on the marine forecasts almost every hour.

In the afternoon, while I make a spicy seafood soup to take down to Liz and Gordon, Mike gets the hurricane lines out and although no one else seems to be making any special preparations, he ties Jeannius even tighter to the floating dock.  With lines going to the dock from practically every cleat on the boat, the dock is more likely to leave the marina before Jeannius can get loose from the dock!

Photos:  Trussed up like a Christmas turkey, Jeannius is tied to the dock

By late afternoon, the wind is picking up and ominous looking clouds start to arrive over the marina.  Although rain is forecast for tonight and the clouds look fully loaded, nothing happens.  Before the cockpit cushions get soaked or are blown away we take them all in and store them in one of the cabins.  Just before the birds arrive, Mike goes out into the cockpit armed with the fog horn.  As they start to fly over some hover over Jeannius ready to settle themselves down for a poo but Mike lets rip with a blast on the fog horn and discovers that they don’t like it one little bit – they bugger off.  He stays at it for a while and keeps the majority of them away while a beautiful sunset develops behind him.

Photo:  Bird scaring at sunset

We gather our waterproofs and head down to see Liz and Gordon on Cattitude.  Their cockpit is very sheltered and although it is windy it is warm enough to eat outside.  With good company, spicy seafood soup, tatties (Liz is Scottish) and meat another pleasant evening passes.  We can hear the wind howling through the rigging and the manic whipping noise of the flags on the boat opposite.  Oh, it’s definitely coming.  We get back to Jeannius before it all starts though and are tucked up in bed before the first rain starts.  There will be a lot more before Sandy has finished with South Carolina.  We’ve done all we can do.  Now we just wait.

Position:  32 deg 46 min N, 79 deg 57 min W

Distance so far:  3276 miles