Goodbye Charleston

Finally we tore ourselves away from Charleston.  We did our utmost to stimulate the economy there including the purchase of a new mainsail.  We told the sail maker that we did not want to hear that the reason our inmast roller furling mainsail was getting stuck in the mast was because it was blown or stretched out.  He ignored our instructions and told us that because it was stretched out into 3 dimensions it was not going to roll up into a 2 dimensional space.  That's techno-speak for "you are screwed."  Four weeks from now we are to give him instructions as to where to ship the sail.  Meanwhile we will be very careful with furling and unfurling our old mainsail.  It will be a pleasure to have a mainsail that furls and unfurls effortlessly.

Hard to believe this guy could fit through the narrow
passages of the ICW that we went through today.

During our 5 hours of motoring we did not encounter any other sailboats.  We did encounter one large tug and barge that left us little room in the channel.

Despite the many cautions we read in the Waterway Guide about shoaling and/or rocks on the sides of the channel we had no serious problems.  Without the GPS to guide us it would be hard to pick our way through all the different connecting cuts, creeks, and rivers that make up the ICW.

We ended our day anchoring in the South Edisto River.  It's pretty here - marsh on one side - trees on the other.  It is perfectly still and quiet this evening - no wind - no waves - and just a little bit of current to hold us in position behind our anchor.  Tomorrow
we head for Beaufort, SC.

Another day ends, anchored on the ICW on the South Edisto River in South Carolina.
(And as short as our day is the sun sets here 52 minutes later than in Glen Cove, NY.)