Beaufort, SC to Charleston, SC

We were off the dock this morning at 7:30, a bit later than we had planned, and turned onto the Beaufort River heading north. This would be our first trip with the boat and all of the new equipment we have installed. The first few days, especially on an untested boat, always make us a bit anxious. The weather was absolutely perfect with temps in the low 80's and a moderate breeze. We cleared the Beaufort River and turned into the Coosaw. This can be a bumpy ride in the wrong weather but today it was wonderful. The Ashepoo/Coosaw Cutoff has been dredged so this once problem area has plenty of water. We found 9 to 14 feet in the lower cutoff and 16 feet or more in the upper section and we transited this right at low tide. The currents were with us and against us off and on all day. When it was with us we would make 8 knots or better and when against us, it slowed us down to 5 knots. Even the dreaded White Point area presented no problems when we followed the magenta line.

It is our practice to do checks in the engine room every few hours. We look for leaks in the water, fuel, and oil systems and give the entire compartment a good looking over. Each check is noted in our log book. We also try to log our position every couple of hours, even though we are on the Intracoastal Waterway. The log is great for future reference and helps us keep track of exactly where we are. The day was very uneventful, our favorite kind of day. The new equipment worked as advertised.



 The Chartplotter is a fantastic tool and makes the navigation process much easier. The 12 volt side of our refrigeration would not keep the fridge cold enough so we powered up the new inverter, ran the fridge all day from it and it worked perfectly. The surprising note was that with the inverter running and running the fridge, not only did the fridge run colder but only at about 3 amps more than just the fridge alone on 12 volt, at least according to our new battery monitor system.



At 4:30 PM we were anchoring in the Stono River, just south of Elliot's Cut and south of Charleston Harbor. Our new anchor and windlass did its job and set the first time. Once the anchor was down and the engine shut down, we settled in for the evening. Our first chore was to set up and test our new Honda 2000 portable generator. It is set up on the aft deck with the power cord connected to the shore power outlet for the boat.




We fired up our Iota battery chargers, the fridge, all of the outlets on the boat for fans, and the entertainment system. Since the engine has been heating up the water in the hot water heater, we had no need to turn that on. Either the Honda or the new inverter will power whatever we need. Neither will power our air conditioner, but with the boat all opened up and a couple of fans, it is quite pleasant. Our WiFi set, posted here on the site, is working great and allowing us to make this posting.


We hope for a quiet evening. We plan to get underway around 7:00 AM to try and make a few more miles than today. But we can declare this first day a success and we will see what tomorrow will bring.