End of Day 4 - Great Guana Cay Bahamas to Charleston USA

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage. They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSBradio, using the SailMail system. We sent the messages daily to Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

1800 (AST, GMT-4) 26 Apr 2019

Dear All,

Approaches to Charleston.  The bright white light is one of the leading marks; some of the brightest we have ever seen

Well our attempt at going slowly so as to arrive at the entrance to Charleston on the flood tide failed.  The wind got up to the 14-20 knot bracket from around 2am and so BV just romped along.  I furled away the genoa and we sailed all but the last couple of hours just under mainsail but the miles still clicked down too quickly and we were at the narrow entrance to Charleston at maximum ebb tide.  We had over 3 knots of tide against us but, at that stage, we unfurled half the genoa and, with a 20knot wind blowing, the adverse current was not an issue.  Being very early, however, looked like it might be.  We were almost at the marina just as the office opened at 7am and so Nicky gave them a call.

Top right:  Arthur Ravenal Bridge over the Cooper River.  Bottom: Fort Sumter where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired

Top: Charleston houses out to our left on James Island.  Bottom: The city of Charleston out to our right with the cruise ship we had followed in already on the cruise ship dock

A ‘welcome to Charleston’ flypast by Pelicans and a swim past by dolphins

They did acknowledge that we had a reservation (tick) but the current incumbent had until midday to vacate it (cross).  So, we made our way to a nearby anchorage and had just set the anchor when the marina called us up and told us that they had done some juggling and that we now had a berth available.

BV in the Ashley River anchorage along with several others.
It has a great view over the harbour of Charleston city

Some of the smaller Charleston mansions on our right
as we made our way towards the marina

That was good news because the wind was due to get even stronger later in the day which might make mooring difficult. We raised the anchor, spent a while cleaning off the mud and then carefully worked our way up the inside of the 'Mega Dock'.  With the wind blowing us off, it was a relief to get 2 lines secured after which we shuffled BV backwards and forwards to bring her alongside properly without any risk of embarrassment.  We were all tied up and the engine switched off at 0820hrs.  In hindsight I think that we did very well because a yacht that arrived after us took 3 attempts to get lines ashore and she was equipped with a powerful bowthruster.

And, of course, being on the downwind side of the 'Mega Dock' life is much more comfortable.  On the other side, now that the wind has gone back up to 20kts+, the boats have crushed fenders and the tide whistling past. Nicky's early reservation call has paid dividends.

BV moored up on the ‘Mega Dock’ with yellow Q-flag flying whilst we waited for the CBP officers to visit for their inspection and paperwork check

Having checked in with the marina office, our next priority was a phone call to Customs and Border Protection to let them know that we had arrived.  On the basis of their response to that call, we were confined to BV until they could send some officers down to inspect the boat and complete the paperwork but only once they had finished dealing with the cruise ship that had arrived just before us.  Fortunately, the cruise ship passengers were mostly American citizens so they were able to process the paperwork there quickly and we only had to wait an hour for our turn.

The 2 CBP officers were very pleasant and polite and dealt with the paperwork and boat inspection quickly and with the minimum of hassle so we now have the right stamps in our passports and permission to stay in the USA.

All in all, a top result and we are safely in Charleston before the next weather front messes things up.  The next priority is to buy a USA SIM card to facilitate communications and to do something about our meagre wine stocks (run down in case CBP objected to a full wine cellar and because of the crazy price of wine in the Bahamas) so that we can celebrate our return to the USA.  Officialdom and bureaucracy has all been completed today and so the touristy fun stuff can start immediately!

Love

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:
Position at midday 26 April: Charleston USA
Position at 2359 26 April: N/A
Midday to midday distance: N/A
Midnight to Midnight distance: N/A
Total miles covered:  412 nautical miles
Approximate distance to go: Zero nautical miles – Hurrah!

End of Day 4 - Great Guana Cay Bahamas to Charleston USA