Mutiny in Charleston?

We love to visit new places on our boat. Every season is a mix of our favorite stops and locations we've never been before, or haven't been to in a while. One stop that always makes it on our itinerary is Charleston, SC. We love the city and the food and all there is to do, plus we have very dear friends who live here. In the past, we've stayed a few days to a few months.

It's not a bad place for the the kids either - they've always managed to to have a good time. But this stop turned into something quite extraordinary for Dylan and Dee Dee.

If I've failed to mention it before, Dylan loves dolphins. No, I'm serious - read the blog...

Dee Dee generally follows Dylan's lead and runs to the bow when he gets excited but we've never had the feeling that she fully understood what the fuss was all about. All that changed this week at the Charleston Harbor Marina.

We requested to be placed out on the A-dock extension this time because that's typically where the other transients are and we wanted to be close to our peeps. In the past we've been in one of the A-docks slips and know that the dolphins like to feed along the edge of the docks there. What we didn't realize was that they also like to feed along the extension but there, the docks are narrower, there's no fence in the way, and it's close the the breakwater opening where dolphins can come into the basin. You can see a satellite image of the marina at the link below. We are along the long side dock on the western side of the marina on the bottom half.

Charleston Harbor Marina

During our first afternoon here, two dolphins were chasing a fish back and forth between the dock and our bow. That got Dee Dee's attention!

Since then it has been pandemonium. The second the crew is finished with breakfast, they're out. The day is filled with the sound of eight paws roaring from the bow down the side to the cockpit and back again as they follow the dolphins' movements. Even the fail-safe method of calling "treats" doesn't always get them in. Getting them in for bedtime is a chore but then they crash for the night.

Needless to say, this past week or so in Charleston has been a good time for our canine crew. The problem, it's time to go...

The weather window is lining up for us to hop offshore to Hilton Head. The crew doesn't know it yet and we're concerned that when the engines start there may be a mutiny. They've threatened once or twice in the past but this time could be for real.

We're thinking of maybe sneaking out under the cover of darkness. Of course, that would mean we'd have to get out of bed without waking them, start the engines without a sound, hope their food clock malfunctions, and pray that no dolphin makes a snorting noise. That could be doable, except for the dolphin part.