31 December - Day #29. Today is dedicated to provisioning, laundry and a Walmart run. Dad drives us all around and we even tour some of Savannah's very scenic areas. Many of the roads are beautifully canopied by live oaks. Wisps of tinsel-like Spanish moss hang from almost every branch. We have cocktails aboard before going out for a New Year's celebratory dinner with Dad and Claire. Safely at the dock in Sail Harbor Marina, Savannah, GA. 0nm today/670nm total. DBH

30 December - Day #28. Tomorrow there's a blue moon so the tidal range is near maximum--8' here in southern SC. This makes the 1.5 mile long Field's Cut, already infamous on the ICW, all the more challenging. Among its charms are rapid tidal flows, very shallow water, and of course, there's no maneuvering room because it's hallway narrow. Naturally we arrive at the gauntlet just before low tide. Several hundred yards into the Cut we see a sailboat aground. He asks us to wake him, i.e. to go by quickly so our wake will give him a few seconds of altitude to try and free himself. We offer to pull him off but he decides to wait for the tide to rise. Definitely a safer decision. What's left of the ebb is pushing us down the Cut so if we do go aground it'll be all that much more dramatic. The Cut's southern exit is by far the shallowest section. At idle, but with the tide pushing us at 5kts, we skim over a bottom which is just a foot under our keel. Safely at the dock in Sail Harbor Marina, Savannah, GA. 46nm today/670nm total. DBH

29 December - Day #27. Some days it's better not to plan--just go and see what happens. We pulled the anchor in Charleston, headed south, and had the current behind us almost the entire trip. Nellie D. acted like a race horse when she was pushed along at 9.6 knots in the N. Edisto River. It was all very relaxing with opportunities for naps and reading when not on watch. We saw only a few other boats along the way, including the "Earth Ball" which is pictured above. The skipper looks like he's one go wake away from swimming. I always wonder how close to cut channel markers. Do they mark deep water or shoals? The picture above gives me pause. As for us, we had no particular destination in mind, but with an average speed of 6.5 knots we were pleasantly surprised to be in Beaufort, SC late in the afternoon. Beaufort is another antebellum town with amazing houses and the biggest live oaks I've ever seen. Anchored off Beaufort, SC. 56nm today/624nm total. BJH

December 28 - Day #26. A cruiser thinks about their dink (dingy) like anyone shoreside thinks about their car--its how you get around. Being stranded by a broken down car is never fun, but it's usually not life threatening. If a dink's engine quits in the wrong place it can be disastrous. While we were in Mexico a fellow cruiser was returning from the beach in Cabo San Lucas to his boat anchored just off shore. When his engine quit he got the oars out. To his horror no amount of effort could overcome the wind and current--he was going out to sea. Luckily, the next day a helicopter found him--12nm offshore. Today, as we dingied back from downtown Charleston, our engine decided to test our mettle in the middle of a mile wide section of the Ashley River. There was a 20kt wind and a strong ebbing current when the engine's RPM dropped off precipitously. Normally an event like this is followed rapidly by the outboard's deafening silence. At this point I'm thinking "No tools and no VHF radio--great." Luckily the Yamaha kept running, albeit at greatly reduced power. The closest refuge was a desolate area of marsh. We headed for it; any port in a storm. Only after getting to within rowing distance did we parallel the marsh and continue heading in Nellie's general direction. After what seemed like an hour we reached a more populated area. Here, just in case, we motored close to the ends of the docks. Nellie never looked so good as we approached. Ok, so realistically our chances of getting swept all the way out of Charleston harbor and into the open Atlantic were slim and none. However, knowing that doesn't keep the adrenalin from flowing when the RPMs drop unexpectedly. The engine's autopsy is inconclusive thus far. Anchored in Wappoo Creek, Charleston, SC. 0nm today, 569 nm to date. DBH

27 December -- Day#25. It's a relaxing 20 mile trip to Charleston through low marshy grass lands. Rivers and inlets weave aross the ICW in every direction. We see countless dolphins who greet us by leaving their feeding grounds to come play off our bow. Charleston Harbor can be a busy place with countless frieghters, naval ships, fishing boats and the like. This Sunday morning the harbor is nice and quiet with only two tour boats transisting from Liberty Square to Fort Sumter and maybe a dozen or so sailboats enjoying a liesurely day on the harbor. This lack of traffic makes it a perfect day for us to go investigating. We first cruise by Fort Sumter where history claims the Civil War started. Then we head southwest to get a close look at the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Interestingly, it's the most visited tourist attraction in Charleston with over 700,000 visitors a year. Across the Cooper River to Liberty Square we see the aquarium and the maritime museum buildings. With old town Charleston to starboard we round the Battery, on the city's west side, and pass the City Marina. Not ones to pass up a free wifi connection we drift for a few minutes while checking email. It's then time to head to our favorite anchorage just beyond the Wappoo Creek Bascsule Bridge. We cap off a great day cruising by walking to a little strip mall where there's a Chinese Resturant. Anchored in Wappoo Creek, Charleston, SC. 24 nm today, 569 nm to date. BJH

26 December - Day #24. We set a new record yesterday--a whole .2nm traveled. The Christmas day gale finally blew itself out at 5pm. While we'd planned to cruise to Georgetown, SC, which is 20 miles away, the late hour coupled with the crew's laziness meant we were lucky to get away from the dock and across the river. The tidal range, or the number of feet the tide goes up and down, has increased from the Chesapeake's one foot to five feet here. Running with the current has a dramatic effect on our speed this morning as we see our normal 6.5kts not drop under 8kts for several hours. It may be hard to believe but this speed change is as dramatic to us as going from 65 to 80 mph in a car. This evening's anchorage is just 20 miles from Charleston and is very close to an ocean inlet. We drop the dink and go exploring. The beach, which is only accessible by boat, is great for shelling. Back aboard, Bill and Heidi, S/V Act III, who are coincidentally in the same anchorage, join us for cocktails. At anchor in Price Creek, SC. 55nm today and 545nm total

Merry Christmas! Nellie D. is decorated in honor of the season (Dave's doing) and today we celebrated Christmas aboard. I always love a holiday where I get presents:-) Last night, it was sure nice to have no anchor watch, in fact we slept quite soundly tied to the dock even while the winds kicked up to 25kts. Since we had shore power I figured it was time to do a few loads of laundry aboard and now the saloon is decorated with four clothes lines full of drying clothes--not quite as festive as Dave's decorations. The rain is falling now and we're hoping it will stop when it's time to cut the dock lines early this afternoon. We're off to the anchorage in Georgetown, SC--just 20 miles to the south. At the Dock, Wacca Wache Marina, Murrells Inlet, SC. 0nm today and 489nm total. BJH