Charlestown
Moonbeam
David and Lynn Wilkie
Wed 11 May 2011 22:42
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32.47.171N 079.54.635W
The early start from Marsh Harbour on Friday
morning saw us out through the North Man O War Cut and into deep water by
9.30am. Hot and sunny, not enough wind and a contrary current! We motor sailed
on a course of 330mag and the sea was unpleasant but by nightfall we were
relieved to be just on the edge of the massive thunder and lightening storms to
the NE.
We carried on through Saturday, sometimes with a
good sailing breeze and sometimes none at all and forever with the current
confusing us with it's directions. We had imagined that the Gulf stream would be
pushing us North but we found that the contrary currents cancelled that
out.
Sunday was just as mixed and the weather forecasts
were suggesting fresh headwinds so we decided to head to Charlestown where after
navigating the 15 miles of channels into the harbour in the dark we found a spot
to drop anchor at 0400 on Monday morning just out of the main fairways with 428
miles logged.
At 0800 we up anchored and moved over to the nearby
Charlestown Harbour Marina ( www.charlestownharbourmarina.com)
for fuel and a berth for the night, getting alongside was made interesting in
the current.
    Old aircraft carrier next to the
marina
Chris and Erin aboard "Barefeet" were about 3 hours
behind us entering the harbour and they went direct to the marina- they later
told us that the passage was as unpleasant as any they had made in their 5 year
circumnavigation aboard their 44ft PDQ catamaran ( www.notallthosewhowanderarelost.com
)
  Marina Resort
buildings Serious
seafishing graphics!
The marina and resort facilities looked excellent
and included a free bus service to Charlestown old town so after washing down
the boat and ourselves and despite the lack of sleep we headed to town for
lunch at the famous Hyman's seafood restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious
meal.
  Afterwards a stroll past some of the beautiful
houses and buildings before heading back to the boats. Too tired ( and too full
) to eat we crashed out planning for an early start.
          It was disappointing not to spend more time there
but we had a plane to catch. The city has an interesting history and has been
both very rich and very poor at times and it was there that the first shots were
fired in the American Cival War.
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