We decided to spend the day in Southport as the wind was strong from the South and there was an opportunity to sail to Charleston tomorrow. While we are not thrilled about a 24 hour journey, there is not really enough good weather to stop somewhere and then continue outside the next day. Luckily, there are places to stop if we are tired or decide we do not want to do the whole trip. There are two inlets where we could go in and transfer to the waterway if needed.
We started the day with about a 2 mile walk to the Wildlife Grill, a diner type restaurant. We had a delicious breakfast there. The pancakes were gigantic and one came back to the boat with us for a future date.
The cafe was attached to the bait and tackle and we got some lures for fishing in some SC marshes. They had an interesting shrimp lure that I had never seen before but looked really tasty. When I added it to David’s pile, the owner said, ”If I had to choose just one lure in this store, that would be it.”
I learned that the one I chose is the color of a molting shrimp. They make some other colors for different shrimp stages.
By the time we shopped the nearby dollar general and walked back to the boat, we felt pretty good and ready to get to work on the boat. David fixed the water pump. We ordered some supplies to be delivered to Charleston and, made and confirmed a dock reservation in Charleston.
Meanwhile, little Dawson went for his walk. He is so cute on the metal ramp.
We cleaned the boat, swept and washed floors, cleaned the cockpit, washed the cabin top and decks and cleaned the isinglass. Josie looked good. There is some surface rust starting on our front cleats that I did not polish yet but noted for the next time.
We decided to use our guest pass to attend a little happy hour at the local yacht club. We were the first to arrive other than our volunteer hosts who were originally from Wisconsin. They moved to Southport for the winter and were going to bring their boat here but enjoyed the great lake sailing so much, they are planning to do it again next summer. Then they might bring their boat around.
The place gradually filled up and we met some other boaters and past boaters. One of them was a woman named Patsy Conrad who had sailed extensively along the coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Later, after a hip fracture recovery, she and her husband moved to a 44 Nordic tug. The Nordic Tug is one of our favorite motor cruisers. She was a feisty wealth of knowledge about spots to go and anchorages on our journey south.
She had overcome the hip fracture and shortly after they bought the tug, her husband was diagnosed with cancer. He was predicted to live about two years with treatment. They stayed on the boat and traveled the east coast. When it was time for his treatments, he was able to get them coordinated at a cancer center near them. She had been a nurse so took care of flushing hep locks and ports. He lived for four more years on the boat and they loved their travels and fellow boaters. It was nice to make a new friend.
We stopped on our way back to get some chicken wings for tomorrow night’s passage. Early to bed.
