We're OFF!

And it has begun!  Anticipating a November 5th exit, our November 10th departure is really not much of a disappointment.  We enjoyed our last week in Charleston and tied up lose ends with business, friends and family to finally find that the "lists" were accomplished and we really were ready to go.

It's always the hardest to say goodbye.  We have had a lot of great visitors in the past week or so and especially enjoyed time with our boys.  I guess there's something about taking off for a while that makes time together just feel that much more special.   Thanks to Lois/Kim, Pat/Joel, Sharon/Charlie, Chris/Alice, Paul/Joan, David/Gretchen, Rob B, Donna C, Susie/Gene, Cindy W, James/Gloria, Dick/Karen, Norie and others who made special appearances!

We really had our sights on setting sail Wednesday with our new friends Steve and Rachel Marcotte coming alongside with their Cabo Rico 38' to our first destination of St. Augustine.  Well, that plan was obviously not meant to be.  First off, I managed to get completely sick (really sure it was some form of food poisoning!) on Tuesday night.  Best bet it was some tofu in the Vietnamese Vegetable Soup I ate for lunch while provisioning - won't be doing that again!

So while Rob settled in to the gift of another day before departure, I flogged around from the sofa to the bed hoping to find someplace where the nausea would give me a break.  Wednesday now GONE!  Thursday comes and Rachel now finds that she and Steve cannot come alongside due to restrictions with her job - lots of sad faces followed that news.  And I'm still feeling punky at this point so being offshore is not an option for me.  Thursday GONE!

One would think we'd be bored by now!  Okay, not quite!  Preparations continued through the THIRD day with a new engine project Rob tackled and then into the night when the bicycles, lawnmower, motorcycle, car and other "normal life" belongings were put in place for our absence.  We managed to get home after 11 last night feeling that we were now really ready to GO!

We looked at tides and currents and times and such and realized that we were better off not trying to get offshore on our first shot today so we went ahead and planned on a casual departure getting off the dock at slack tide at 11am to avoid any trouble with getting caught unexpectedly in the current.  SO SMART we can be!

At 6am this morning, we woke to a CRUNCH.  The folks in the large, fancy cabin cruiser across the dock from us didn't understand the current in our marina so well.  They tried to leave with an outgoing tide and had ground their boat to a complete halt with the neighbors anchor carefully crunched through their windows and the side of their boat!  WOW - drama to start the day!!!

That provided everyone in the area enough entertainment to while away the couple of hours (along with our celebrating Rachel's birthday - Happy Birthday, Rachel!) before we planned our exit from the dock and we did so without a hitch . . . YEAH!  We fueled up and left the dock just after noon for the 12:30 Wappoo Cut bridge opening.

We had the most perfect time motoring the intercoastal on a beautiful day with gentle breezes, bright sunshine and sparkling water - all the while making steady progress to the North Edisto Inlet where we have anchored for the night waiting for an early rise and offshore leg to St. Augustine.  We were welcomed to our anchorage by a family of dolphins who played in our bow wake on our approach and a most amazing sunset to finish off the day.

It's 9pm and past the sailors' bedtime now.  Cozy and gently rocking, we ate a warm dinner in our quiet surroundings and then took the blanket on the foredeck to enjoy the star-show.  Yes, goodbyes certainly are hard, but there's just something about this lifestyle . . .