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First Trip

We logged our first local trip aboard Rita Traveling to Beaufort, S.C. via the ICW. I planned both legs of the trip on a rising tide hoping to avoid quite a few shallow areas along the ICW. We have a draft of around 5’ and scraped by a few places along the way. The area between Beaufort and Charleston has quite a few twists and turns so you have to really pay attention to your plotter. Rita creates a pretty good wake so running the ditch was slow going averaging around 9 knots. 6 hours after leaving Charleston we arrived in Beaufort on a slack tide so we only had to deal with slight wind and very little current. Our friends David and Laurie joined us for this weekend trip and we really enjoyed our time in Beaufort. This town has a beautiful river front park with nice restaurants nearby serving excellent food and drink. After dinner on Friday night we enjoyed sitting in the porch swings along the river and taking in the beautiful night along the river. Traveling on Friday and Sunday only gave us one day to enjoy this historical town which was not nearly enough time. We will return for an extended stay and see the town from the seat of a horse drawn carriage. We hope to get in one more short trip to maybe Georgetown or Hilton Head before winter sets in.

Training Complete

Well, training is complete and the Capt. and Crew made our first solo trip aboard the MargaRita Daze. We originally planned on a short cruise around the Charleston Harbor but it was such a nice day we decided on a short trip into the Atlantic. The sea was gentle with 3-4 ft swells about 100 yds apart which made for a nice ride, but not so good sitting still and taking them on the beam. After an hour of cruising the coast we made our way back to the harbor for a ride around Patriot’s Point and the Battery. We returned to the Marina, fired up the blender, and enjoyed our first frozen Margaritas aboard our boat. Life is good. Now the countdown begins. After some local trips we plan to leave Charleston next June for a 2 month adventure in the Abaco’s. Stay tuned !

Easter Week

We spent Easter week on the boat in Charleston,SC.  I had a good training session with Capt. George maintaining boat control in the current of the Ashley River. We spent time keeping the bow centered on a channel marker on maintaining a 15′ to 20′ distance. We practiced swaping from bow to stern against the current and recovering from getting sideways in the current. This experience will be helpful while waiting for a bridge opening or docking in a current. The one thing that makes me a little nervous about docking is that the Margarita Daze does not have thrusters. George says its better to learn just using twin screws because my ability to handle the boat in adverse conditions will be much better. After our session we headed down the Ashley to the Entrance of the Cooper and the Charleston Harbor, motored for a while and headed back to the marina. This was my first attempt at docking on my on, aced it. It felt great to spend some time at the helm and can’t wait for the next session. I have some experience with a 36′ twin screw but this boat is a whole different animal and having a Captain give me one on one training was the way to go.

We spent the rest of the week doing boat chores, maintenence and being lazy. We grilled steak and shrimp for the family on Easter and watched the Masters on the tube. Our son Garrett chose to stay home and Turkey hunt and fish with his friends instead of trying to adapt to the coastal life. He told us once we start making trips he will join us but for now he will hunt, fish and play golf.

Getting a little closer

Spent a few great days on the boat this past week. Had a mechanic onboard servicing and tuning the 8V92’s. Took the boat out for a quick sea trial to see if we could reach top speed and maxium RPMs. Got within a couple of hundred RPMs and ran about 22 knots. That’s plenty fast for me because at that speed we are burning about 60 gal of fuel an hour. We also got the name installed on the boat and I have to say It looks pretty good. With spring here we will be spending more time on the boat and I hope to post more often.

All Settled in.

Well we are settled in at Ripley Light and love it. Sunny and 70 today so it was time to wash the salt off the boat and do a little cleaning inside and out. We have a lot of little projects to accomplish but try to do a few each day so we don’t spend all our time working and not relaxing. I have included a few pics of marina life included a little puppy time.

Moving Day

Today we moved Margarita Daze to our new home in Charleston, SC. We have a slip at a local marina which shall serve as our home base while I receive training from Capt. George. We moved the boat from Rockville to Charleston via the ICW. We maintained an average speed of about  10 knots into some pretty strong head winds but had to slow many times due to no wake zones. Capt. George filled my head with plenty of navigational info and we both learned a lot how the boat performed. We had my First Mate Garrett along today to learn the ropes and tie the lines. He is the one in the picture looking out and checking the channel markers. Well thanks to Capt. George we are comfortable in our slip and enjoying a nice cool night.

A Little TLC

Time to do a little maintenance and get The ” Margarita Daze” ready for some ocean time. She is a great boat but her previous owners didn’t use her to her capabilities. She was designed to spend some time traveling not tied down to a marina slip. We plan to spend weekends making some short runs around the Charleston SC area and maybe a couple of weeks this summer going to Georgia. Before we head out  she needs some bottom paint, seals replaced and stabilizers serviced. We are servicing basically every system on the boat along with a full engine service and tune up. Next week we will get her in the water and make a 2 to 3 hour trip up the ICW to a slip in Charleston. This will give us a good chance to check out all the systems and make sure everything is working properly.

December 15, 2011

Well, we have purchased our new boat. She is “Margarita Daze” a 50′ Viking Motor Yacht yearning for the warm waters of the Bahamas. Follow us as we put her through sea trials off the South Carolina Coast. We will spend this summer getting to know her a little better and preparing for an extended cruise in the Bahamas in 2013. Enjoy life now, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.