22. To Savannah, Georgia

We left Beaufort mid morning and followed the river to Port Royal Sound. We were very careful to leave so that we would be going through the low shoaling areas on a rising tide as we were warned that there was little money for dredging the ICW in South Carolina and Georgia. It was a beautiful sunny day with a fair wind and we even had our main sail out. We passed shrimp boats out in the sound and even wondered if maybe we could have shrimp for dinner when we stopped for the night.

Suddenly Roman yelled “We have no rudder. The steering’s gone!” I took over the wheel while Roman climbed down under the cockpit to check the rudder quadrant. I put out an alert over the VHF that we had lost the steering of the boat and could not control where we were going. I also called Tow Boat US for assistance.

Meanwhile Roman found out that bracket that holds the hydraulic cylinder was broken from the strut to which it was connected. The bolts were sheered off completely. Roman went up and took down the sails while I diligently watched the shrimp boats. Roman, being the creative genius that he is, went below and managed to secure the bracket temporarily with a C-clamp and vice grips. We regained enough steering to slowly veer away from the shrimp boats that had pulled in their nets when hearing that we had no steering control. We had to be very gentle with the rudder steering so that clamps would not come off.

The shrimpers had let their nets go into the shipping channel and Roman figures that we passed over a shrimp net even though we were far away from the shrimp boats. He thinks that the shrimp net caught the rudder and pulled it. Since we were sailing he originally thought that it was just a gust of wind and countered the steering. At that time the steering went and thus broke the bracket. We later found out that the nets can be half a mile or longer.

We were very lucky that the dispatcher, Dana, who responded to our call for assistance from Tow Boat US, was very knowledgeable about the area and what marinas were equipped to handle the fact that we would need a portable welder to repair our problem. The only place that could service us would be Savannah Georgia.
He called a towboat out of Beaufort that took us midway and then we were transferred to a towboat out of Savannah and taken to Hogan’s Marina on Turner Creek, Wilmington Island which is a suburb of Savannah Georgia.


Here we are being towed to Savannah. We were towed for over 6 hours! Shoaling continues to be a challenge even with experienced operators like Towboat US. While being towed, we hit a shoal at about 7 knots and I was thrown right across the boat. It took a couple of weeks for those bruises to heal. At Thunderbolt, Georgia we passed the annual town parade of boats all decked out in Christmas lights. It was quite the sight!

It was about 8:30 Saturday evening when we finally arrived at Hogan’s Marina and it was a challenge docking the boat in the dark. I shone a flashlight on the decks while the towboat operator, Frank, tried to guide us in. A fter three tries, we did it! We made to the fuel dock where we stayed for the remainder of our visit. Our keel was too deep for the water around the docks.

Two other boaters came to help us dock. They were fixing up their boats to travel south as we were. We spent many interesting hours chatting and laughing with our new friends Steve and Steven. Here we are enjoying a glass of wine after dinner. Steve is from Alaska and bought his boat sight unseen from the internet. He flew down, picked it up and sailed it to Hogan’s Marina to check it out before he sails to the Bahamas and beyond. Steve is a Czech from Montreal who has spent years sailing to Honduras, San Salvador, Panama, all parts of Mexico and even lived for five years in Costa Rica. He has been preparing his boat at Hogan’s Marina last January through April and this year for the past two months and is planning to sail south in January.

Hogan’s Marina is a no frills place with washrooms and the one shower only open 8 to 5 and has no internet. It is primarily a fishing marina with motorboats stored on a three tier rack building. Boat owners phone one hour before they want their boat and a crane gets their boat and puts it in the water. When they finish using the boat, it is again stored out of the way on one of the tiers. It is a very efficient system as the laws prohibit the building of more docks on Turner Creek. The marina is always full and there is a waiting list even with the price of gas that it is. The people at the marina were wonderful. Bubba, the manager, arranged for a second welder when the first one, who came to look at the problem, could not help us.

Roman made a pattern for the new brackets; the second welder had a portable welder and between them, they fixed the problem. Jody, who worked in the office, drove me to the library so that I could access the computer. The marina provides areas for the fisherman to clean their fish and on the weekend there were many fishermen cleaning their fish. One of the fishermen gave me some red bass fillets and they tasted absolutely scrumptious. The fish literally melted in our mouths.

Steven let me tag along with him to Wal-Mart, Target, West Marina, Outdoor World (what a place) and Publix. We did all that in one afternoon. Coming out of Walmart on the outskirts of Savannah, Steven and I witnessed a spectacular sky. Luckily I had my camera.

The next day Roman and I went into Savannah where we took a bus tour around the city.


Savannah is the most charming city that we have visited so far and one of the largest. It took us over an hour to go into downtown by bus from Wilmington Island. Savannah has never had a hurricane and all the buildings are beautifully preserved. Generally homes were built in the colonial style of architecture and most are painted white with soft pastels intermingled.

Balconies and verandas wrap right around the buildings. As in Charleston and Beaufort, homes have the first floor up a flight of stairs. At the time, people thought that the higher up you were, the cooler it would be. So slaves and servants lived in the coolest part of the home on the lower level. Properties were taxed on the number of doors and the number of closets that a building had. Thus to keep taxes down, homes had large narrow windows through which a person could step outside onto the balcony instead of doors. Few rooms had closets and large wooden wardrobes were the fashion.

Moss-laden old oak trees line most of Savannah's streets..

Savannah was the last city established by Britain in America. The city’s two mile square historic district is the largest urban National Historic Landmark with more that 1000 architecturally or historically significant structures restored and in use. Its city plan is distinguished by the fact that was a planned community and is built around a repeated pattern of multiple squares and streets that line these squares. Each of the 21 Historic Squares is named for a historical figure or event.

One, for example, is dedicated to the Haitians who came to fight in the War of Independence from Britain. All statues face the direction from which the enemy came. For example, the ones honouring the Spanish-American War heroes face the south. Each square is picturesque and beautifully maintained. These squares are often rented out to individuals for such private functions as family gatherings or weddings. The price is only $50.00 which includes a policeman for 4 hours to control crowds. Quite a bargain!

One of the interesting sights was the police barracks with the old police cars in front. We managed to get a picture from the tour bus.

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is very reminiscent of churches we have seen in Europe was awesome. It was built about the same time as oldest black church in the United States which is also located in Savannah. What a contrast!

Cotton was king here for a long time and the waterfront,which reminded us of old Quebec City, is lined with a cobblestone street and picturesque buildings. The backs of these buildings were built with overhead factor walks named for the cotton "factor" who would walk along the second story platforms and inspect the bales of cotton stored below.

Several blocks of the older part of the city are closed to vehicular traffic and one afternoon we wandered in and out of the quaint shops.

Roman found time to make new friends. This one reminded me of someone. UMMMM, let me think, Oh yes, I do believe that is Marilyn all dressed up for Christmas.

Here I am coming out of Thomas Kincaid store. I have always loved his paintings. The lighting is awesome and it seems that the paintings are alive!

Goodby Savannah!

21. Beaufort, South Carolina

There is a Beaufort in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. The one in the north is pronounced Bo-ferd while the one in South Carolina is Bee-you-fert. These pictures are from South Carolina.

Beaufort, South Carolina is a historic place with majestic old homes with large verandas, lush gardens and tall moss-laden oak trees.

Many of the town’s stately homes are visible from the green banks that edge the town side of the Beaufort River where we anchored.

Most of the historic homes have been restored to their former glory and bear names such as Tidewater or Marshland. Plantation owners built these second homes in Beaufort to catch the breezes off the river. During the hot summer months they would escape the heat in the country and stay in these summer homes enjoying the relative cooler temperatures.

As in Charleston the first floor is up a flight of stairs. Servants lived on the ground level.

The mornings are crisp and clear and then it warms up later in the day. We spent a couple of days wandering along the main street, the waterfront band shell and the walkway which runs along the river.


The internet café was right on the water and here we are trying to communicate with our loved ones. We miss our family and especially our grandson, Tyler. We are thinking about going home for Christmas.






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The most photographed home in the United States is in Beaufort and is called “The Castle”. Privately owned, it occupies one entire town block and is surrounded by azaleas, camellias and even a couple of olive trees. It is currently for sale for 6.1 million dollars. Roman and I seriously considered buying it (ha, ha) and decided that is was just a little too big for us as we are trying to downsize!

Given the wonderful panorama that is Beaufort, it is no wonder that several movies have been filmed here like the “Prince of Tides” etc.












One of the perks from the city of Beaufort for Christmas was free parking for two hours. Each parking meter was covered as shown in the picture.









While walking along the waterfront this was a common sight. We had never seen these strollers before. These are specially made for dogs (and we even saw a cat in one) who get tired on their walk. I wonder if they come in my size?








Sunsets overlooking beautiful Beaufort River

20. Charleston, South Carolina

Just before Charleston we anchored in Dewees Creek which is wide and deep with a swift current. It is very flat and open and meanders its way through grasses growing out of the water on both sides of the creek. This area is called the lowlands of South Carolina.

The lowlands have a beauty all their own. It was difficult to put down an anchor in the strong current but we’re pros at this now and have the technique down pat. There was another small sailboat that came into to anchor in the same area where we were. He dropped his anchor twice and still it dragged and the boat was pulled by the current toward us.

Roman had to sound his horn to bring it to the sailor’s attention. He was alone in the boat and found it difficult with the current to drop the anchor and then run back to the tiller to steer. On the third try, the anchor seemed to hold.

It was relatively calm at sunset before the winds picked up to over 25mph. And all night we were tossed about between the current and the wind. Roman was up several times at night to check our anchor. The next day it turned much colder and on went layers of clothing. The forecast was 25 knot winds with gusts up to 35 knots. It seemed much worse as we did not have any wind breaks at all and were wide open. The winds did not seem to bother the dolphins which swam and dived round our boat. We stayed put especially after I talked to the Charleston Maritime Centre where we were headed. The dock master told us their boats were being tossed around and suggested that the bridge just before Charleston might not open in these winds and that we were much better off where we were rather than trying to make it into Charleston.

This seemed a good day to bake. I checked out what ingredients I had and made date squares which turned out to be really fantastic. I made stuffed mushrooms, baked chicken breasts with herbs and a tomato and red onion salad. Just because you live on a boat does not mean that you do not eat well.

When we first entered Charleston Harbour we saw a mast sticking out of the water. It looks like one sailboat did not make it any further south. Look closely and you can see it to the left of the line of boats. We originally had planned to anchor near the sunken boat but we soon changed our mind when we realized that we had no idea just as there were no markings to indicate where the hull of the boat was located under the water. We then anchored not far from Charleston Yacht Club. The members are very active in the club which organizes many social gatherings. When we were there a committee was putting up Christmas decorations and invited us to have a spot of eggnog or a drink with them. They were very helpful in giving us directions and one member even drove us to a K-Mart. We took the bus back.

The tides are high in the area. Here you can see what the docks around the Yacht Club look like at low tide.



Charleston, South Carolina, is a sea of pastel houses with brick walled gardens with lacy iron gates and only the church steeples reach out to the sky. There are no skyscrapers at all. A city ordinance restricts the height of any building over eight stories. There are a few exceptions but they are very rare. An architectural review board even approves the colour with which you may paint your home. There is an approved palette from which you choose several colours and then one of the colours is accepted by the board.

Other city law states that anything over 75 years old must be maintained in the condition that it was at the time and that no changes can be made. The Catholic Church does not have a steeple as it did not yet have one when that law came into affect and now it cannot be added. Hurricane Hugo did extensive damage and one bank was destroyed except for the old wooden door. The new building that went up had to incorporate the door as it was over 75 years old.

This is an older structure that is being propped up while the new one will be built around it.

The Charleston Maritime Centre where we stayed for several nights was right in downtown Charleston and we could walk to the historic district, an immense supermarket and a scrumptious bakery that was only “a football field away” as we were told. Our boat is the second from the end of the dock extending from the right side of the picture.

We walked to the Slave Market which was not a place where slaves were sold as we initially thought (we saw that later) but a place where slaves came to barter and trade their wares after the Civil War. It was built on a tidal creek which was filled in. Charleston is on a peninsula and much of it is built on reclaimed and filled in land which is very prone to flooding. All homes are built such that the first floor is up a few steps and the ground level has openings on the sides so that water can flow through under the house. Needless to say there are no basements.

Here George Washington is smiling down upon us as we stop in George Washington park.

Charleston is a city steeped in history. I enjoy reading historical novels and it was very interesting to see the jail as well as the hanging tree which are featured in so many novels. The first shot of the Civil War was fired by South Carolina at Fort Sumter which was held by Union forces. South Carolina was also the first state to secede from the union and join the Confederates.

Here is a submarine that was actually used during the American Civil War.

We went on a carriage tour of the city and the waterfront. The guide told of much of the history and some of the folklore of the city. We heard about the pirate, Blackbeard, who stood 6ft. 4in. tall in a time where most men were less than 5½ft. He had an enormous black beard which he used to set afire to psych out his enemies before he boarded a ship. It is said that it took 10 men to kill him with knives. Beaureguard, the Gentleman Pirate, was hung with 40 other pirates on the waterfront, the Battery, and left to hang until they became skeletons to serve as warning to other pirates.

Alex and Christopher, this pirate was in front of the market where we got your pirate"change colour in the sun" T-shirts.

One of the homes that we saw on our tour belonged to the owner of the Piggly Wiggly Grocery stores. On his front lawn he has two statues of pigs which he dresses appropriately for the season. When we went by, the pigs were dressed up for Christmas with hats, coats and scarves. The pictures that I took from the carriage did not capture this wonder and we never had time to go back there. As soon as the American Thanksgiving was over in late November, out came the Christmas decorations everywhere.

The best tour we took in Charleston was the after dark Ghosts and Graveyards Tour where we heard stories of people being buried alive and of ghosts who still roam about the city. We actually saw what looked to be a ghost like figure on one of the church steeples. It was the way the lighting cast a shadow at a certain time of night. Ask us when we get home to tell you some of them, particularly about the first female serial killer story.

The third oldest church in Charleston is the Congregational Church which is an old round brick building with a graveyard attached. People were buried in crypts or mausoleums, in raised coffins so that bodies would not come up during flooding and in regular graves. It was the custom to bury several members of one family in one grave or raised coffin. Apparently one body was buried and covered with lye so that it would disintegrate quickly. When it came time to bury the next one, the first body would be covered with a shroud and the process repeated. The saddest tombstone we saw was one with several children dying close together indicating the year, the month and even the days the children lived. So many children died young!
At the Charleston Maritime Centre we met a very interesting couple, Don and Judy, from California. We found out that we had a lot in common, children and grandchildren and the time passed too quickly with them. We shall be sure to keep in touch.

We went out for dinner at AW Shucks Seafood Restaurant which had very interesting pictures on all the walls. The food was very good but the portions, as all portions in the United States seem to be, were huge. We could barely finish half of our dinner. We noticed that the lunch portions are what we would eat for dinner and the American dinner portions are twice that!