Half Head

When we first got here we learned that Charleston is known as one of the most haunted places in America. Neat! I thought. But I never believed much in "ghost" stories.

I went about my business and got a job at Embassy Suites, which turns out is the old Citadel. First built as an Arsenal in 1830 then later converted into a military college in 1842. It was citadel cadets who fired shots at a Union relief vessel approaching Fort Sumter... starting the Civil War.

Well the hotel is haunted. There are places where some of the employees refuse to go, such as the weird “basement” under the catering staging area on the mezzanine.

I went down there once, and it is creepy as all get out. There is a hole in the wall leading into a completely unfinished area with a sand floor that might as well have a sign above it reading “undiscovered bones located in here, complete with ghost of angry confederate cadet.”

The staff told me how some guests end up switching rooms. Some leave in the middle of the night.

One ghost is called "half head" or "the lost cadet.” He is young, has no head from the eyebrows up, and is often reported as a happy ghost.

One lady woke with an eery feeling that someone was in the room, and she asked if anyone was there. The reply was, as stated by the lady, that his name was George. She then asked "George" what he wanted and he replied that he was looking for his pocket knife which he had lost. As she reached around to -touch -George, she found that his head "was not all there" as she stated later upon having her room changed to another part of the hotel.

The hotel does have an old pocket knife on display. It was excavated from the hotel site along with many other artifacts of Civil War and Colonial origin.

There are people who say they've seen men in full confederate uniforms walking around. These "ghosts" are mistaken for Civil war re-creators.

I haven't seen any ghosts... yet. but I will be keeping my eyes open!

Cool Quotes from Cool Cats

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

What if the spell of a place falls upon a youthful heart, and the bright horizon calls! Many a thing will keep till the world's work is done, and youth is only a memory. When the old enchanter came to my door, laden with dreams, I reached out with both hands. For I knew that he would not be lured with the gold that I might later offer, when age had come upon me. - Richard MacCullaugh

Life is something to be devoured because at any moment it might be snatched away. You just can't trust life. You have to seize it by the throat. You have to pursue your dreams relentlessly, recklessly. It is too much of a gamble to waste time. - John Kretschmer.

Two courses, by the chart, now lay before us: the open sea and an inside passage between successive islands and the mainland. The outside course was much longer, and dirty weather was in prospect. That was, however, was my choice, and being then at the tiller I headed seawards. -Rockwell Kent

Immerse yourself in the minutiae of [sailing] somewhere slowly and deliberately, while secretly hoping you'll never arrive. –Paul lutus.

Not all who wander are lost.

Living In Charleston on a boat

We're settling in. We have a 6 month slip contract. I'm working banquets/bartending at the embassy hotel, and LeeAnn is working at Victoria's secret (oh yeah!).

So we are settled back into a pretty normalish life aside from the fact that we live on a boat. We’re docked right in downtown and we use our bikes for everything from getting groceries to getting to work. On rainy days we pack a change of cloths.

When it comes to bike riding in the rain, once you are fully soaked, it’s really pretty enjoyable. I mean, when is the last time you marveled at the miracle of fresh water falling from the sky. It’s also part of the adventure because it’s not something I would normally do. I suppose I could just spend $5 on a cab if I really didn’t want to do it. And there is the marina shuttle van which LeeAnn sometimes takes.

The marina has laundry machines and showers. We got local bank accounts, and library cards (for cheap yet a surprisingly good DVD selection).  Wifi, electricity, water, and cable are all included in our monthly slip fees of $350/month. From talking to others we are starting to think that we have perhaps the lowest slip fees out of anyone in the marina. The slips are owned, dockominium style, so the owner of the slip sets the rate.

I LOVE living on the water. Coming home to the boat at night after work, taking a long walk down the dock to our boat. Being next to the water, all the boats tied up to the dock. It puts me in such a great state of mind.

I probably won't post much until we start traveling again. We've got a few ideas for the next adventure... U.S. West coast? British Columbia Canada/Alaska? but before anything else we hope to hit the Bahamas and the Caribbean this fall 2008.

So thanks traveling along with us so far. I'll be throwing a few posts out, but for the most part we will see you this fall!

The main marina building includes the showers, laundry, and some offices.
View of Marina

Beautiful ... beautiful showers. and yes I was naked when I took this picture.
Free laundry!

Chad and LeeAnn's sailing

Lake Michigan Sailing:

Chaumont, New York to New York City

Bermuda to the Azores:

New York City to Charleston, South Carolina

A Trip Home To Michigan

We left warm and sunny Charleston. Descending down through the clouds into Detroit we were welcomed back to a grey, cloudy, and freezing landscape. Back in Michigan!

We met our teary eyed mothers at the airport. It was weird coming home. It took us 3 months to get to Charleston, and just 3 hours to get home. Everything is pretty much the same, which is nice because we feel at home!

Its been nice to live without tanks for a bit. The first night at home, my Mom turned on the water, full blast, and walked away while it warmed up. I jumped to the sink and turned it off.

"What are you doing?" my mom asked?

I was about to say "We're gonna run out of water if you let it run like that!" then I remembered "hey, there's no tank! we've got all the water we want!"

Third times the charm

So we tried to stop in Wilmington, North Carolina. No luck there. No jobs, No boat slips. We then went for John Island located in Charleston. Not bad, but 10 miles out of town, and not a very nice marina.

We are now at Ashley Marina, right in downtown Charleston. This place is amazing. We're talking prime location, free shuttle bus, free laundry, WiFi, free pump outs, free electric, and perhaps the nicest marina showers I have ever seen. When I say nice showers, I mean magazine worthy, millionaires home style showers. Ceramic tile, large glass doors, drenching shower heads. Showers on a cruising sailboat are a luxury, really nice showers are like hooking up with a super model.

So here we are. We have signed a 6 month contract, which will put us here until May. Maybe longer, because if the super model wanted you to stay.... wouldn't you?

Not to do more Southern bashing... but just some fun facts:
South Carolina was the first state to leave the Union before the Civil War. South Carolina was the last state in the Union to abolish Segregation. All that aside South Carolina was 68 degrees today while my hometown is under a blanket of snow!

Wheres the good in good bye?

Our good friends of what we have taken to calling the “International Cruising Club” (Ray, Irene, Sue, Peter, Roman and Ohla) have caught up with us for the last time. They stopped by to say good bye before they continued south. We had a big ol' jamboree with guitars, singing, and of course beer.

We're going to miss them a lot, but chances are we will see Sue and Peter on their way back North. Ray and Irene have invited us to crew on their boat when they cross the Atlantic. So, although we will probably never all sail together again, all is not lost.

Things I will remember and miss:

***Meeting Ray in the middle of the night, in the middle of a thunderstorm, our boats both run aground after the mooring balls had drug.
Ray: "hi my names Ray... tickle ur ass with a feather?"
Me: "what?"
Ray: "particularly nassty weather"

***My anchor dragging down towards peter's boat during "tropical storm 15" Peter says "looks like I’m anchored in your spot."

*** backpacks shouldered, exploring streets of unfamiliar towns.

*** "Pre-Dinner Drinks," which turns into "All night Drinks," which turns into "maybe we should leave at 9:00 am instead of 7:00 am .... oh lets just stay another day"

***Riding in a car with Roman who is saying "it's a known fact Americans can't drive in snow." As he turns past "wrong way" signs posted on "one way" streets, veers off the shoulder of the road, and in and out of the on coming traffic lane... all this leading me to believe "Canadians can't drive in the sun."

*** being called "the kids" by a bunch of “California Raisins.”

*** Late night comedy hour on the VHF Radio:
Me: c-drifters c-drifters, are you monitering this Channel?"
Ray: "no"
Me. "Thanks for the food, Irene's tatey hash was good"
Ray: "did you just say Irene's tasty ass was good? Steady on, tiger!"

*** Ray (after the cat falls in the water) "looks like you've got a wet pussy on your hands"

*** Ray on the VHF: "Okie Dokie"

*** Peter Burns on the VHF: "Carnation Carnation" (deviated from our name "cambryation")

*** Peter Burns on cooking "you take a stick of butter"



I could go on and on about the good times and the inside jokes that have accumulated over the last couple hundred miles. So I suppose I will just stop now. It is to say the least, that I have had a very good time, and will miss our new friends very much. But goodbyes are apart of sailing. LeeAnn and Irene cried, and so did a nice lady we had just met named Cindy.

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; 

they make the latitudes and longitudes.”

.......

Arriving in Charleston, SC. Our home for the next year.

We arrived in Charleston, South Carolina at St. James Yacht Harbor. The marina was recently bought by a company in Maryland. I asked the first people I met how they liked the marina.  The primary complaint from one of the men was that the new marina owners made him take down the confederate flag from his boat.

The two men went on to complain about how it is unAmerican that the federal government made the South Carolina state capitol building take the confederate flag down. I see their point, America is supposed to be a free country... He said it was "heritage." I would have liked to say "heritage belongs in a museum, not on a capitol building" but I'm not that witty, and I didn't want to make a bad impression. I did however point out to him that the confederate flag is unAmerican based on the fact that is was used by the south upon their succession from the United States.

The men went on to explain that many black people took up arms to defend the plantations they worked on ... I'm thinking to myself "is it possible you are so ignorant?"

During my short time in the South so far, I've heard many people refer to "Yankees." It's strange, and a bit awkward. I keep asking myself "the civil war is over right?" South Carolina was the last state to abolish segregation in 1968. It is also apart of the bible belt.

LeeAnn has just finished reading a few books about racism, and I'm finishing up a book called "The God Delusion." To say the least I think we are going to have an eye opening winter. We're not in Michigan anymore.

Sushi checking out some shrimp. We paid 4 bucks for this pound of shrimp. We got well over a pound a few days later for free.

shrimp boats.

Fog creeping out from the swampy trees. This is alligator country.

Traveling down the ICW on a really calm day.

Just a quick post. We have to leave early tomorrow. We made it to Southport today. it's a really nice place. very pretty. Huge trees. lots of homes built in the 1870's. They've recorded a few movies here, including that one called Cape Fear with Robert Deniro.

LeeAnn in a big tree.

Looking over the Southport Harbor. Palm tree to the left!! HAHA jack frost!

Greedy pelicans waiting for a hand out.

Movin' Out!!

We thought we were going to Wilmington. I guess not.

We looked and looked. Called every marina within 20 miles. They either had no space, were really expensive, or said "we don't like yer kind 'round here!” And by that I mean that said they don’t allow live aboards.

Another problem with Wilmington is that it is really spread out making it really difficult to get around. We would have to buy a car. And last but not least... the main reason we were going to Wilmington was so LeeAnn could work at Petco because she already had a job lined up. They have no work for her though, so we have no reason to stay.

We are currently at Pleasure Island. They said there was a slip available and I was excited because it would be awesome to say “I lived on Pleasure Island."

When we pulled into the marina, Matt, our contact walked up and said "they're might be a little problem.."

He brought me over to a stern faced man who was standing at a large pile of squirming shrimp, ripping their heads off one by one, then tossing them into the water to be gobbled up by a swarm a fish.

"The committee is voting on whether we will allow a live aboard here. We already have two "no's" it only takes three" He said.

The shrimps head made a sucking noise as he decapitated it with his bare thumb.
"ok" I said, "How did you vote?” to which he replied "I can't tell you”

"Plop," goes another shrimp's head in the water. I looked around. It was low tide. The shore was reedy, there was a muddy landscape of a million dead oysters. The sun was baking a few jelly fish that had been trapped on the oyster beach by the receding tide, fish skeletons were littered about, and a there was growing pile of severed shrimp heads.

"No worries Fellas,” I said, “we were thinking of heading to Charleston anyway."

He said he would call the other committee members anyway. I asked him where is accent was from...
"New Jersey" He said.

Sonofabitch, Jersey strikes again!


If you click on the picture you can see it better, The tide is already up a foot, but you can still see all the land is covered by large dead oysters.

If you click on the picture you can see it better, The tide is already up a foot, but you can still see all the land is covered by large dead oysters.

Calling marinas with no luck.

Lazy cat never lifts a finger.