Hi everyone:
Well, we finally left the Charleston City Boatyard and arrived at our transient slip at the Cooper River Marina Friday afternoon. Greg got the parts for the generator and engine he was waiting on, the Dutch Dreamer is fully operational and life is good. Dylan, Greg and David (previous boat owner) motored the boat here, while Brett and I drove the truck around.
To get to this Marina, you have to drive through a naval base. It is interesting to see the various training areas: a parking lot with pylons, boats set in gazebo type building with bleachers, and the hurdle/climbing area like you’d see in a movie. Armed guards guide you in, so we feel very secure tucked into this corner of the world.
The Marina is immaculate, with concrete docks and walkways. The main building consists of a store, office, washrooms with showers and a beautiful lounge with 2 washers and dryers, TV, fax machine and wireless internet. Unfortunately we can’t get wireless from the boat, so I am going to type my emails in the comfort of our boat in Microsoft Word, then copy and paste them into an email and send them later. The staff here are very helpful, and attentive to our every need. The Marina is also equipped to pump out, so we got our holding tanks pumped out yesterday. We have paid for our slip until the end of November, so have time to do some much needed work and clean up on the decks and outside of the boat. Inside we are slowly getting things put away. David had an abundance of spare parts and supplies, which is great, but the downside is that storage space is at a premium. Greg and I are constantly fighting over drawers and cubby holes (good naturedly of course) and when his back is turned, I take great pleasure in “taking over a space”.
The weather has been beautiful, mid sixties and sunny. We are all getting a bit of colour. Yesterday we saw two dolphins right beside the boat, it was amazing! And we finally had a fresh seafood feast, we went down to the wharf and bought two pounds of jumbo shrimp and cooked them up for supper, it was yummy. Coming back here, we got a bit turned around and ended up in the “Harlem” of Charleston. The streets got very narrow, and we suddenly felt very out of place. I looked over at Greg, and despite the fact that it was hotter than Hades in the truck (air conditioning doesn’t work), slowly rolled up my window and pressed the door lock button. It was “interesting” to say the least, and after a few more twists and turns, we managed to find our way back to the real world. Greg got a kick out of this of course, and laughed at me the whole time. (His window was rolled down of course).
Last night, Greg and Dylan set out a crab trap just off the dock in a spot where one of the staff suggested we might catch a few crab. We also picked up a throw net, which we will set out today. Apparently people catch shrimp and trout with them around here.
We are thinking that when we leave here, we will take the intracoastal waterway down to Florida. Many people here have suggested it, and it is supposed to be beautiful, lots and lots to see. This would give us time to get used to running and handling our boat before heading out into the open ocean. Soon we are going to line up someone from the sailing school here, to train us to sail on our boat. David has already shown us quite a bit, and Dylan is very keen and quick to learn. We have set up the hierarchy on the boat: Captain Greg of course, Dylan: First Mate, Brett: Navigations Officer and myself, last but not least: Galley Wench and Communications Officer. We are quite the crew!
I will sign off now, and will update you in a few days. Keep those emails coming, love to hear from you! We miss you and love you all!
The Dutch Dreamers
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