Private Tour by Water, Anytime

Miss Betty's bow, she's a tall girl

   As the countdown to the voyage continues, I'm kind of bummed about leaving this beautiful city. So today while we were making progress with the heady task of preparing the boat for our departure, we decided to take a break & tour Charleston one last time, by boat of course! We hopped on the skiff & away we went.

Charleston Harbor, near Battery Park, viewed from water. It was
such a sunny day, all the pics came out uber blue.

   We headed towards downtown Charleston, & continued out of the harbor to old Fort Sumter, still steadfastly keeping its silent vigil. We intended to go over to the dock & visit the historic tourist site... but, then we got distracted by several shrimp boats past the fort, out shrimping. So we went to check those out instead.  Although we own a shrimp boat, we have never shrimped on it...unless you count the few and far between shrimp that we catch in our cast net (we've caught about enough for a shrimp cocktail, so far). So no, not really the same thing. It's still so new to me, seeing a shrimp boat with her outriggers down, the nets out, and the birds flying in a frenzy for some easy pickings.  Also, knowing below those nets lurk big predator fish, just shivers me timbers!  We promptly changed course to get a closer look & braved the rather large waves, some were about 4 feet.  After getting tossed around like a coin in a washing machine, my back probably won't be thanking me later tonight, but oh well... I loved it!

Shrimpin'

   We spent a few hours on the little boat, soaking up the rays, enjoying the sea spray, laughing & chatting about our upcoming journey. It's going to be hard leaving the South Carolina Lowcountry, but that's part of the beauty & the reason why we chose to live on a sea going boat... we can always come back, whenever we are so inclined!

A man & his dog. We always find these obscure, empty beaches!

Fearless Cap'n Luci

Betty's Face Lift, Our Boat's Retirement

Check out these outriggers. They stood 63' tall.
So glad they are gone!

   We bought Miss Betty early March 2011 in Topsail Island, NC.  She was still in use as a shrimp boat, or would be again at the return of the season. We say that she is living the retired life now; the refit is like her face lift & botox. 

Funny sign outside of the fish house. Great place, wonderful people!

   We found her docked at the Surf City fish house. We stayed at the fish house for about a month after we made the purchase & we were lucky enough to get to know some of our favorite souls we've ever encountered. We had a blast with them all!   Our boat, while new to us, was a staple at the Surf City Crab Fresh Seafood Market, so many of the locals would wind up cracking a few cold beers on the back of the boat with us at the end of their shifts. Local, fresh fish was brought up to the dock everyday, and boy were we happy to partake with the "fish house boys" when delving into the goods; quality seafood with a side of fun.

Cheers on St. Patty's day!

There's some magic happening right here with a Fry Daddy & some fresh seafood. Just another day in Paradise.

  

All the fun we had notwithstanding, we immediately set to work getting the rigging and other shrimpy accouterments off her aft deck, which promptly became my dance floor. Yes, that's right. I twirled, I cart-wheeled, & I sashayed across the now immense and uncluttered space, completely enthralled by the transformation. I even got my darling to put on his boogie shoes & take me for a spin around the dance deck... & we have yet to take those dancing shoes off! Countless nights have turned into an impromptu dance party. We plan to build a bar back there & of course get a hot tub for those cooler summer nights.  As it is, all we have are a couple of fold out camping chairs & a grill to accompany the gorgeous view, and that is plenty for now.  Can't complain.

I do not envy this man's job. He crawled out there
like a spider monkey & proceeded to yield that
fiery torch to remove each outrigger, one by one. It was one hell of a process!

There goes one outrigger.

Miss Betty minus the giant outriggers. Next stop, Wilmington NC to get the steel A-frame removed. 3/2011

Liveaboard, work aboard & fun aboard

Lightkeepers Marina, Little River, SC. One of our first ports.

We decided to just go for it! The ever elusive "it" that so many are searching for... whatever It is that will make you happy. For us, our "it" is like indoor, on the water camping.

In 7 days we are setting sail for the Keys aboard our 68' converted shrimp boat.  She is a beast with a 24' beam. And, by God we love her! We are leaving from Charleston, SC, which has become thus far, my favorite place I've ever lived. But we did not buy this boat to settle down at the first locale we fit into or fell in love with. No, no, no. We bought her so we could explore upon the great blue, meet a lot of salty people & eat our own fresh catch of the day!

The boat, Miss Betty, is our home, our sanctuary, & a complete wreck as a construction zone.  Originally a commercial fishing vessel, we have de-rigged her & are still in the process of refitting her. So while we may step outside & watch dolphins frolic in our backyard, the boat's interior is a chaotic masterpiece of construction.

Dolphin off our bow while under way, making way towards wherever the whim takes us

Though living in a construction site has it's downfalls (like no point in having nice decorations up yet, insert wistful sigh), the site itself being a large boat has definite upsides all in a class of their own.  As I mentioned earlier, we see dolphins everyday, multiple times a day! I will never be anything but profoundly amazed at the sight of these wondrous creatures in my midst, there almost every time I walk outside. I mean, I am often times heard to squeal like a child, unabashedly. We find ourselves running up & down the catwalks for a closer look, giggling & excited.  Even the dogs get in on the action, whining at what must surely be meant as a new playmate or toy for them!  Once while we were out tubing behind our Carolina Skiff, dolphins were swimming beside me as I clung onto the tube.  Sometimes we take the skiff out on the water, cut the engine, & are rewarded with pods of dolphins coming to check us out.  All this dolphin interaction right here in Charleston, SC! We've been told that even in the Keys, we will not have as many dolphin encounters as we do here... but we are still going to take a shot traveling down to the Florida Keys on the next leg of our adventure!  Dare I say, stay tuned.

Miss Betty in all her shrimpin' glory. Basically, this is her Before pic.