Warmward Ho!

At Sea
33 50.29 N 078 02.47 W

We're trying something new. The wind for the next two days will be very light. Probably too little to sail. The waves are also very small. In those circumstances, why motor down the ICW? Why not motor on the outside?

We travel on a straight line. No zigs or zags. No tidal currents to impede us. No shallow spots or shoals. No wakes from passing boats. We make progress 24 hours per day instead of 8/10 hours on the ICW. In rough numbers, we make as much progress south in 24 hours on the outside as we would make in 1 week on the ICW. Why not indeed?

What are the down sides? The weather could turn bad. (The chances are slim.) We normally hate motoring at sea because the boat rocks and rolls too much in the swells without the sail to stabilize us. (There are almost no swells today and tomorrow.)

So that's what we're doing. We just departed from Cape Fear. We'll motor to North Edisto River, with bail-out alternatives at Little River Inlet and at Charleston. In North Edisto, we'll anchor and sit out forecasted adverse weather on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the winds should become favorable once again, and we'll go to sea again.

More news. I just made our AIS work for the first time. Horray! What the heck is that? I'll explain more in a few days.