To Infinity and Beyond (or at least Miami)

We have reviewed all the web updates, the navigational challenges ahead, the "skinny" water in the rest of North Carolina and Georgia, the date, the weather, our committments, and capabilities. The best plan appears to be 25+ miles a day until we get there. We could walk faster perhaps. But then, the boats would not get there. Darn. We do have a cool but good weather window, so we are casting off as the tide is rising this morning, so as to catch the first land cut after Charleston on a favorable tide. Apparently the current is killer there, and it can knock your speed down to near zero if you are battling against it the wrong way. Oh, happiness. Yes, it is starting to feel a bit like a job. There are of course still wonderful parts, but honestly the challenges ahead are mainly running aground and crashing into other boats. If we just keep going and put in 5 to 6 hours a day, we can make it! We will probably be out of electronic contact for a few days, anchoring in marshy creeks in the North Carolina wilderness. Honestly, you see these houses just like in "Water Boy" and wonder how folks can live in such desolate surroundings. That's when you can take a moment to divert your attention from staying EXACTLY within the narrow channel defined by the navigational markers. It's easy to drift slightly one way or the other given the wind and/or current, but to do so is foolhardy. It is also foolish to navigate this part of the ICW without first checking on the tide schedule and planning accordingly - all of which we have been doing. The most unfortunate thing is that our country can no longer afford to maintain the ICW as it was in the past - the Army Corps of Engineers is actually the maintenance crew. They have all been drawn off into our bizarro war (?) effort and there are neither funds nor personnel available to do the needed work in order to make the ICW user-friendly again. Last night the 3 of us sat around the dinner table and knew this was the last time we would ever do this trip, and wondered how many sailors will be able to even make it at all in the future. The Dismal Swamp canal is closed - perhaps permanently. The ICW is in peril, but very few people actually care. It is reportedly much easier to go "outside" or into the Atlantic Ocean to bypass the ICW between Charleston and Miami, but we just cannot do that. That requires round-the-clock sailing with shifts of 4 on and 4 off. Claude is alone, and would have no one to spell him. So, we are armed with all the information available and mentally and emotionally ready for the inherent and probable eventuality of running aground again a few more times. Charleston has been delightful. Many beautiful sunrises and sunsets await us. The Bahamas are like the brass ring on the merry-go-round - if only we can stay on long enough and stretch ourselves far enough, we will reach it!