Rockville to Beaufort

January 14, 2017 - January 27, 2017

We had expected to have the re-powering of the boat completed by January 18, 2017, but several delays prevented that from happening.

1. The engine shaft seal leaked when the boat was underway.  This was corrected by changing the forward flexible motor mounts to slightly stiffer motor mounts.  
2. Anthony Back (the owner of Marine Propulsions) noticed that the boat was under propped for the new engine (all that means is that the propeller was too small).  This was corrected by ordering a new propeller and doing a short haul to switch the propeller.  
3. When the propeller was being switched the bushing (I don't have any idea what that is) was too small.  This was corrected by ordering a new bushing and doing another short haul.
4. Our battery charger was not working.  This was corrected by buying and installing a new battery charger.

All of these corrections took time which delayed our departure until January 27, 2017.

On top of all of this, my "surrogate mother" (actually my ex-mother-in-law and very dear friend) became ill with pneumonia complicated by her existing condition of congestive heart failure.  On January 20, 2017 I rented a car and drove to Sarasota, Florida to be with her in the hospital.  I stayed with her until I was sure her condition was improving and she would be moved to a rehabilitation facility soon.  

When I returned to Folly Beach on January 24, 2017 I had to help with packing up all of the items we had brought to the apartment for our 6 week stay and transport them to the boat.  It was a busy day with the bright spots being lunch at Black Magic Cafe and dinner at St. James Gate Irish Pub. 

The next day we packed up the rest of our belongings and the cats and moved onto the boat.  

Finally, on January 27th we got up early and headed south.  Since it is late January and the temperature was expected to be in the low 60's with 15 mph winds out of the west we bundled up. I mean gloves, hats, scarves, down vests, warm socks, the whole nine yards.

Bob at the helm.

Lizzy is a big help while we are
under way as you can see!

We made it to Beaufort, SC by 4:00 and got a slip at the Downtown Marina.  It was a long, but wonderful day getting back on the water.  I think I smiled for at least the first two hours of the trip.  I'm thrilled to be back on our journey.

Thanks for reading my blog.