Charleston is filled with so much history and architecture. They’ve done a wonderful job of preserving the charm of the neighborhoods and it’s such a walkable town.

So Renee’, ever the explorer, found out that they were having a Van Gough exhibit while we were in town. Now, it wasn’t what you would expect with actual paintings but more of an immersive experience that you actually walked thru and experienced. It was definitely a first for us and actually very interesting to be a part of!

As you walk thru the exhibit, the images you see are constantly changing, from floor to ceiling, with various Van Gough works. It made you feel like you were an actual part of the exhibit which was awesome! If you happen to come across one of these exhibits, I would highly recommend a visit!

After nearly 2 weeks in Charleston, it was time to continue moving North. We had such a great time exploring the town and met some great new boating friends in the process. It’s never easy moving on when you’ve enjoyed your stay but it’s part of the cruising lifestyle. Next stop – Norfolk!

After a day catching up on some sleep and getting the boat in order, we booked the first water shuttle out to Fort Sumter the following morning. Little did we know that the first group that goes out to the Fort each day gets to help raise the U.S. Flag over the Fort just like they have for the last 150 years!

What a treat to stand on that sacred ground and take in the sights and imagine the sounds that have filled this space over the decades and centuries.

One of the great parts of cruising, is all of the awesome cruisers that you meet. When we arrived in Charleston, we walked past a 68 Nordhavn that happened to belong to a couple that we had been following on Instagram but had never met. Paul & Renee’ had sold their home and moved aboard “Puffin’ Quest” about a year earlier and were now in Charleston.

Leslie stopped by one morning and introduced herself and a new friendship began! After introductions we made plans to head over to the USS Yorktown for a tour of the aircraft carrier. I could have spent days exploring all of the nooks & crannies of this amazing piece of history that had a huge impact in the Pacific during WW II. When I found out that you could spend the night aboard, I was ready to pack a bag and give it a go!

Specs on the USS Yorktown.

We left Ft. Lauderdale at sunrise with near perfect conditions! Seas were less than 1′ with a 10-12 second period making for a nice, smooth ride. So much so that I even put some lines out to see what was biting! After setting the lines out, I stepped back inside for just 5 minutes and when I came back, I noticed that one of the rods was sitting sideways. I thought, that’s strange and as I got closer, I saw that ALL of the line on the reel was gone!! In that short time frame, something hit the lure, spooled out 1000 yards of line and left me with an empty reel! I was left with having to add new line on the reel and the knowledge to never leave the lines in the future…

The sunrises and sunsets while underway are just magnificent and never get old! It’s probably my two favorite times of the day when underway. You’re out in the middle of the ocean, no sight of land, the engines are just quietly purring along and you’re left to just soak in the truly amazing sky. You’ll find a pattern in our posts with lots of shots of the sunrises and sunsets because we just can’t get enough of them!

As the day slowly drifted into night time, the sunset was just spectacular. We hoped that the night shift would be as uneventful as the previous 12 hours but mother nature had other ideas for us…

It was just before midnight and I was on watch. Leslie was sound asleep behind me on the settee and I was watching the radar as this pink blob appeared to our West and slowly moved closer to our position. I watched the wind gauge as well as it slowly increased from less than 10 kts of wind to 20 kts, then 30 kts with gusts to nearly 40 kts across our bow! As the pink blob on the radar approached, rain started falling and then the rain starting blowing sideways. If I turned on one of the search lights, the rain was blowing horizontal and the waves picked up considerably!

The storm, that wasn’t in the forecast, lasted a couple of hours before moving east of our position. The seas flattened out and the winds calmed down and by morning, we were welcomed with an amazing sunrise with high, wispy clouds and the sun trying to break thru to welcome a new day.

Later that afternoon, we appoached the inlet to Charleston Harbor and were welcomed to the same sights that many before us have seen, some all the way back to the civil war!

Overall, the trip went very well. We picked up a very nice “push” from the Gulf Stream allowing us to arrive quicker than we had planned. Total trip time was 37 hours, 41 minutes. Distance covered = 414 nautical miles; Average speed for the trip was 10.99 kts. For those wondering, multiply knots by 1.15 to convert to statute miles.