Hilton Head Island: home

I was going to paraphrase that to “Home is the sailor, home from the sound.” and thought to check to see who wrote it.  I had forgotten that it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s self written and chosen epitaph which I have read at his grave overlooking Apia, Samoa.

In any event I am in the condo, showered, sipping iced tea with ice in it, and enjoying air conditioning.

A fine day.  The front that caused the serious storms the past two afternoons has moved on.  I woke at 6 to find a light north wind which by 8 had turned east.  Though I was a little early for the change of currents at the mouth of Skull Creek, I needed to sail two miles west to get there and this wind was too good to waste, so I raised anchor, which again came up clean in 40’ of water, and sailed slowly over under jib alone.  I get tidal information from an app called AyeTides.  From it I have learned but do not understand that the current changes at the mouth of Skull Creek two hours before the tide does.  This morning the current changed at 10 and started flowing back into the creek while low tide wasn’t until noon.

The wind died almost completely, so I turned on the Evo about a half mile off the entrance.  I kept the jib up and it helped some from time to time.

Of the Evo I took the battery below to charge last night.  All was well until about 3 a.m. when I woke and glanced at the battery.  No lights were showing.  When charging a red light glows that turns blue when the battery is fully changed.  Also no light was on the charger itself.  When plugged in a red light is on.  I think it is broken.  Already.  Sigh.

I did not know the state of the battery until I took it out and attached it to the shaft in the morning, which I am getting good at.  Fortunately it read 95% charged.

I ran the Evo slowly, keeping our speed to around 2 knots.  Sometimes with a bit of wind it was 2.5 or 3.  I became dizzy with speed.  We reached the slip with the battery still at 86% which is quite pleasing.  However that the charger has already died is not.

These few days were not a bust.  I don’t know quite what they were.  I had some good sailing.  I enjoyed living on GANNET.  All equipment and systems functioned as they should, except the battery charger.  I obtained hydrocharging, though of limited use.   I no longer know what I want to do or even worse what I ought to do, if anything.

I will ponder that or not in a couple of hours over a martini.  Or I might just forget it all and watch the next episode of Peaky Blinders.

L’Chaim.