After taking Beecha for a walk up a real long dock at Port Royal Landing we departed at 0745. Fairly routine departure other than I left Susan on the dock... Whoops! Thought she yelled she was on board the boat... but it was I'm not on board get the boat closer to dock. The current is really strong here and was pushing SAILS away from the dock. Got the boat back to the dock and Susan aboard and we were off.

I brought SAILS up to RPM but quickly dropped it back to idle... we had a bad vibration on the starboard engine. /when we left Kilkenny yesterday leaving the dock we had hit a large clump of reed grass in the water... and it made some noise as the starboard prop chewed it up... maybe there was something still on the starboard running gear that the reversing to get back to dock had sucked up and was now fouled on the prop. We decided to continue on one engine about a mile or so ahead and either anchor or dock on the Beaufort Town Docks so I could dive and check the starboard prop.

As we approached we had an IDEA! We called the Downtown Marina of Beaufort and asked if we could use one of their mooring balls for a few minutes to dive and check our running gear... NO PROBLEM! Awesome... we found a free mooring ball and secured SAILS to it... very swift current here so much easier to use a mooring ball than anchor or dock again.

Pulled out the hookah and dive gear and I was in the water within 15 minutes of stopping. I found about 8 feet of 1/4" line wrapped around the starboard prop. I cut it free with a knife... checked the prop and no damage... COOL! 30 minute stop and we were back underway at 0845 with no vibration!

We had planned to anchor at St. John's Island just before Charleston but when we arrived the winds were out of the WSW and this anchorage has zero protection for that direction winds and they were blowing over 20 knots. Although the winds were predicted to die off we opted to continue on for a better protected area.

We continued past Charleston and anchored at 1955 in Price Creek just north of Charleston. Still not a lot of wind protection but the winds had died down as forecast. Our position in Price Creek N32°54.142', W079°40.304'. We traveled today for 9 hours and 45 minutes covering 65.77 nautical miles averaging 6.75 knots.

We received some sad news today that a very dear friend Don Gillette had passed away. Susan knowing him since she was a very small girl. He lived on his boat in Fishermen's Village for many years and at Legacy Marina in Fort Myers. He would take his 36' Monk Trawler from Florida to Connecticut each spring and fall but a few years ago he had to sell his boat due to his health and he remained at his home in Guildford, CT with his wife. He loved reading this blog and making the trip vicariously through our blog and photos. I dedicate todays blog to Don may he rest in peace. He will be truly missed.