Trees! We see trees!

Well we must be nearly home. Not far north of McLellanville the swamp started to fill in. This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but those of you who have cruised the intracoastal (mispronounced “inner” coastal by 100% of boaters in my ongoing poll thus far) know that there isn’t a whole lot to see.

BEFORE: 

AFTER:

Sunrise at the marina this morning, just before it poured rain. For some reason I loved this old shrimping boat. ATTENTION ALL BOATERS: this is your stop. The marina is in a very well protected cove, fuel is dirt cheap ($1.60/gallon) but not dirty (because of the turnover thanks to commercial fishing boats) and the people were as kind as you will meet (thanks again Lacey and marina dude). 

We ran Betsy hard up the river at over 20 knots. Fuel pressure looks good. Generator coolant temperature is stable. I guess all of our problems are solved and now it’s just a matter of burning several thousand MORE dollars in fuel. We just passed Georgetown and are currently motoring by Heritage Plantation:

I think a plantation is what we Canadians refer to as a farm. I have never seen such nice farmhouses! And not a tractor in sight. I couldn’t explain it at first, but quickly realized why these farmers have such big boats- they must be underwater farming! It is so damn hot in the south that even the vegetables can’t take the heat on the land!!

My SimRad plots are now navigational nirvana. OK, I did make one wrong turn, but that was Ralph’s fault and we only lost a few minutes.  The screen is still refreshing more slowly than it should, but overall the system is working much better now. Captain Ralph mentioned that he has a bunch of software updates pending. Hmmmmm. That would have been helpful nearly a week ago! I guess I will make that one of tonight’s tasks. 

I hope all is well in your worlds! Here is a shot for the foot fetish freaks among you:

#CruiserLife