We fill up with fuel and by 10.15 am we are hovering in the channel waiting for the bascule bridge to open. It opens every half an hour if there are boats waiting and Mike calls him just to make sure he knows we are there.
Hovering in the channel is difficult as it is choc-a-bloc with small fishing boats all with lines in the water. There are strange currents here and the fish must like it, not that I see anyone catch anything. I am worried that we will get one of their lines caught around our propeller but at 10.30 am and right on time, the traffic on the bridge stops, the bells start to ring, the bridge opens and we are called forward.
Photo: Going though the opening bridge at Beaufort
We have booked a night in the Beaufort Docks – anything has to be better than where we were last night. Silver Moon goes in first but in the short distance we have gone this morning, something has gone wrong with his reverse gear and the current makes it near on impossible to get into his slip. He comes out again and leaves us to go in. Even with everything working it’s hard to get in against the current. Mike heads straight towards people standing watching on the dock getting about 5 foot away from them before he puts Jeannius into reverse and inches his way back into the slip. I’m sure the audience think he is going to crash straight into them but of course he doesn’t. There are three dock staff to take our lines and they help pull us into position and tie up.
Silver Moon then comes in again and with the help of the staff who pull her forward, they manage to get her tied up next to us. Poor Bob will have to get that fixed before he can leave as he now has to reverse out.
Although this marina is only $20 more a night, it is SO much better. They even have courtesy cars which we can use to go and do our shopping so Maggie and I take full advantage of this.
We find the car, and boy oh boy, is it a car or what? An ancient Buick station wagon awaits us in the car park. At first we can’t get the passenger door open, just the window and I think I am going to have to get in ‘Dukes of Hazard’ style – holding on to the roof and swinging in like a monkey. Thankfully Maggie finally gets the door open for which my back is very grateful!
Photos: Our Buick Station Wagon
With the help of Maggie’s phone to tell us where to go, we manage to get to the Piggly Wiggly supermarket (I can’t believe the name – apparently a chain) although the car emits some strange noises which rather sound like death rattles. As I take photos of our rather interesting courtesy car I hear a Southern drawl ask if I think someone is going to steal it. I look around but can’t see anyone although when I start to walk away I spot a guy lying down in the driver’s seat of the car parked next to us. He must have thought I was mad. No one would be desperate to steal this thing.
There are all sorts of weird and wonderful things in the Piggly Wiggly (and they play great rock music over the tannoy) as well as things that I am familiar with. The take away food section smells strongly of fried fat but we are in the south now so I suppose it is to be expected. There are some strange coils of stuff that look like fat in the meat section and while I am trying to figure out what these pin wheel looking things actually are, I am joined by a man with few teeth who explains that it is coils of fat that are used to flavour stuff. Mmmm. Very appetising. I think I’ll stick to butter and olive oil thank you.
I get a bit of shopping and Maggie gets a lot as Silver Moon will be going offshore for about 10 days and will have another member of crew for the trip. In fact she has so much that the supermarket manager loads up a second trolley for her and gets someone to bring it out to the car. The boot of the thing is like a small lounge but getting in to it proves another problem. The glass lift up hatch opens but the door bit doesn’t at first although Maggie figures it out. I would have been there lobbing the shopping in over the door bit if it had been left to me!
Photo: We manage to get the boot 2-part door open …
Photo: … and stuff it full
Photo: Returning the three trolleys
Back at the marina Bob has got hold of a couple of the large rubber trolleys and is waiting in the car park for us. Unloading the car and packing up the groceries to take to the boat, I stub my toe on the hard metal corner and hop around for a while saying the f word rather loudly. When I look down the corner of my big toe nail has gone and blood is oozing out from around it. I don’t think the nail has lifted but am too afraid to look closely.
Back on the boat I examine the damage more closely, give it a wash and put a plaster on to help hold the nail down just in case. I don’t think it will lift but … ugh!
Mike and I go for a walk around the town centre in the afternoon – all four blocks of it. It’s very quiet as most tourist places are in the off season but quite pretty. It almost has a 30s feel to it with some of the architecture.
Photos: The rather quiet town centre
Photos: Down at the docks
In the evening we go out for dinner with Maggie, Bob and their crew member and friend, Nate, who has just flown in from Portland. The place we end up in is rather old and has parts of old murals on the walls and turn of the century artefacts. The meal is good and I eat some southern collard greens (some form of cabbage).
Photo: Bob,Nate and Maggie
Photo: I wonder who the Gibson Girl in the mural was?
Photo: I don’t think our dinner was cooked on this range stuck in the middle of the restaurant
There is discussion over tomorrow. Originally we were all going to be leaving, us for Charleston and Silver Moon for the BVIs. However, a weather system forming in the Caribbean makes it look unpleasant for Silver Moon’s route and if they stay, we might stay as there is no urgent rush for us to leave. As usual, we will have to wait to see what happens to the weather over night before any decisions are made.
As we leave we notice pictures on the wall of the terrible snow storms that hit the town about 30 years ago. It’s difficult to believe that the main street we walked along was covered in drifts about 15 feet deep – I would have thought we were far too south for that, although the fact that the pictures are so prominent shows what freak conditions they were.
Position: 34 deg 43 min N, 76 deg 40 min W
Distance so far: 3050 miles
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