Voyage of the Talmid – Charleston

 

 

 

 

May 31 21:42 Southport Marina getting ready for sailing. Provisioning complete. Waiting for daylight
Jun 1 10:04 Light rain falling upon departure. Clearing the shipping lane the rain has ended. Fair winds at the moment. We are sailing!
13:12 Into full sunshine and out of the wind. Was 8-10 now 5. Enough for steerage but meager. Still, it is very pleasant out here. Spencer cooked up quesadilla.
14:18 Finally, a decent dolphin sighting. 3 adults and one youngster on our bow. Friendly. Have video.
19:37 Calm Sea with negligible swell so Talmid is cruising easy. Expecting to run the diesel at moderate speed to keep the pace. We’d like to arrive mid-day. Thurs.
22:49 Stars are out. Lightning distant from isolated storm near shoreline.
Jun 2 09:23 Land Ho! Starboard Bow. Great conditions for the approach to Charleston.
14:05 Arrived. Charleston Harbor Marina
Jun 4 07:25 Departure planned as the tidal flow begins to slack. Tricky current in the Marina otherwise.
08:50 Full Sail in Charleston Harbor. We are outbound.
10:59 Downwind sailing on the outside. Headsail giving us a 1-2 knot boost winged out from the mainsail on a whisker pole.
12:46 Beyond Cell Tower range now so no phone or data service until we close on land tomorrow.
19:39 Well into our return trip we’ve lost sight of land but we can see towering Cumulus where we know the shoreline to be.
21:29 The forecast was for 15 kts about now but that doesn’t appear to be happening. For precaution we furled the big headsail to reduce just in case
Jun 5 01:28 Land Ho!
06:12 That was a fast passage. We have returned safe and sound.