South'n Hospitality!

Regretfully, we left Coconut Grove Wednesday as anticipated and headed to St Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied town in the US. We left with a forecast for a south wind but once again it was north to start with. This made the sea very lumpy as it was blowing against the direction of the gulf stream and created very short steep waves. Then it died completely and we had to motor the rest of the way. We negotiated the complex entry to the inlet and anchored in a small creek called Salt Run which was very picturesque and peaceful.

It was a reasonable walk into town so we did it early in the morning before it got too hot. The town itself is pretty but everything is the oldest this and that but none of it is that old! We did have a tour around Flaglar college which used to be a hotel for the super rich in the 19th century but is now a school. It had some amazing architecture and artwork and lots of original Tiffany lights and windows.

Our next stop was Savannah in Georgia. The entrance to the river was across shallows and the buoys were so far apart that we managed to miss one out! Fortunately we didn't run aground. We then had a 12 mile trip up the river past some lovely houses and countryside to a place called Thunderbolt. We had arranged to stay at a service yard as we needed the generator and engine throttle looked at. Both were fixed very quickly and then we spent 2 days sightseeing. Savannah is a lovely city built around lots of squares. The streets are tree lined which cools things down a bit and the water front has all been re-developed. We toured around a few houses but were disappointed against the standard of properties we see in the UK. We understand now why the Americans love coming to see our stately homes.

We did visit the art gallery which was interesting and we had lunch at an iconic southern restaurant called Mrs Wilkes. We had to queue for an hour to get in which shows how popular it is. The food was lovely traditional southern fare and you sit at large tables with a mixture of people. Real family dinning, southern style!!

While in the yard we met a couple called Jill and Tony who keep their boat there. They are British but have lived in the US for years. Both worked on boats for years and Tony used to skipper superyachts over 100ft long. We went to their house for a meal and Jill took us shopping and let us use her washing machine to do our washing (so grateful!) We saw them a few times and said good bye Sunday evening ready to leave Monday morning.

In the morning we left the dock in reverse against a 3 knot current and headed into the centre of the river where we turned to face the current. At this point we lost all power and were going backwards very quickly towards a number of expensive boats moored at the yard and a very big concrete road bridge. We managed to get power back just in time and got back to the dock without hitting anything. The problem turned out to be a fishing net or rope around the prop. Unfortunately, it had damaged the blades on the prop so we had to get the boat lifted to get it fixed. We still had the old fixed prop on the boat as a spare so this was put on and we were re-launched. The damaged prop has been sent back to the manufacturers to see if it can be repaired. While we were out of the water Jill and Tony very kindly let us stay at their house. Mike discovered they have a love of malt whiskey so was in good company! They also like nice wine so we were both in our element!

We reluctantly left Savannah (again!) on Thursday morning. The staff at the yard and all the people we met were so lovely that we were sad to leave and will have to go back on our way south to see them again.

We actually got to sail to Charleston, our first proper sail in the US. We motored down the Savannah river doing 8 knots with the current. At the entrance there were lots of fishing boats being followed by hundreds of birds and lots of dolphins. We then had 15 knots of wind from the south which is the first time the forecast has been correct! We intended to make our way slowly to Charleston arriving in the morning but with the wind and current we arrived at 2am and so anchored at the entrance to the harbour. After a sleep, we motored up to the town and were met by Emmett. Emmett is an old friend of Tony and Jill and they contacted him for us to say we would be arriving. He has very kindly let us use his mooring ball. He has also taken us shopping and we have been to his house where we met his wife Mecca and used their washing machine (again, so grateful!!). They are both very helpful and are ensuring we enjoy our time in Charleston. Especially nice has been visits to the yacht club which Emmett introduced us too and all the lovely people there.

We have had a day sightseeing around old Charleston which is pretty and very 'old American' plus had a lovely lunch – one of the best meals out that we have had in a long time. We also went on a tour around the Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier. Amazing to see how things were done then although by modern standards she is small! Emmett took us out to watch the yacht club races which gave us an opportunity to see the town from the water and yesterday Mecca cooked us a southern speciality of shrimp and scallops. Yum!!

Our plan now is to leave tomorrow, 4th July, and head directly to Cape Cod, which will be a six day sail and our longest yet.