Beaufort - Mooring Ball

Friday October 3, 2014
32 25 801 N
80 40 584 W

The diesel mechanic turned up right on time at about 9:30 AM. Nice old guy. He load tested the starting battery and immediately concluded that it was the problem. The voltage was OK, but it failed under load. We removed the battery, loaded it into his truck, and he was back in about 15 minutes with the replacement. By 10:30 AM the new battery was in place and he was gone. It was that simple. I was pleased with the service but somewhat bummed about the old battery - it was only 18 months old but was only guaranteed for 12 months!

The DeFevers, Tide Hiker in the middle

So we disconnected from the dock and headed across the river to the City Marina where we took a mooring ball. This weekend is "Shrimp Festival" in Beaufort and we planned to dinghy into town to partake in the festivities. But the weather did not co-operate so we spent a pleasant afternoon on the boat in the rain. Tomorrow is another day.

Saturday October 4, 2014

Beaufort, SC is an attractive and historical town. The area has a long history of being contested by the Indians, the Spanish, the French, the British as well as being involved in the war of Independence and the Civil war. It is located about 15 miles inland up the Beaufort River from the Atlantic that made it a natural port. In the 1700's and the 1800's the slave based rice and cotton industries made plenty of fortunes and this is still evidenced by the bounty of mansions still standing.

View of the marina and the "Shrimp Festival" on shore

The weather Saturday morning was bright and clear so we launched the dink and headed to town. The dink motor is starting OK, but does not want to idle, and needs a good run would help "clear its throat". We made it to the dinghy dock OK.

There was a good crowd at the fair on the waterfront and the adjacent Main Street was bustling with a real holiday atmosphere. Deidre has a bunch of Xmas presents to buy so treated all the stalls as a buying opportunity. There was lots of "Carnival food" available but we opted for an outside restaurant on Main Street for lunch. Shrimp of course. We bought a newspaper and headed back to Tide Hiker.

Sunday October 5, 2014

Another perfect morning. We headed into shore for breakfast, and a Sunday paper, my favorite reading & eating activity. (Although the news on the front page did not help much.) After breakfast we headed off for a walking tour around the shaded streets. Many of the streets are lined with very old and huge Live Oaks which in turn are draped with Spanish Moss. Really very delightful.

So many houses ...

At the dinghy dock

Live Oak overhanging the street