Ahoy there!
With some ups and downs we've reached Florida ! Last time we wrote we calmly said we were having a day off in Wrightsville Beach which turned into three days and little sleep!
We woke up on Monday to torrential rain - 3 inches by lunchtime and building winds of 20/25 mph. The holding at the anchorage is not good and we decided to move, it's not fun doing this in the driving rain! Tide and wind did strange things to Paragon and the boat we had been perfect position from looked awfully close so we upped and moved again, as did most of the other boats with dragging anchors. NOAA forecast gale force winds that evening so we set two hour anchor watches. By 4.a.m. the wind seemed to ease and we both caught up on some sleep until 6.30 a.m. when the anchor drag alarm went off and we were heading for the shore! We moved again. 
This time we managed to stay put. Jim & Alison kindly came along and took us to a pub for the evening which both cheered and warmed us up!
The following day was perfect, little wind, warm & sunny as we chugged down the I.C.W. North Carolina has few anchorages but we managed to find a nice one with just one 
other boat anchored. He radioed us up and said don't get too close as he was aground - too late - we were in the mud. After some jiggery- pokery Andrew got us off and we anchored.
Unfortunately another sleepless night as unpredicted winds reached gale force! But at least we stayed put this time. By the following day we were desperate for a decent nights sleep.
It was Thanksgiving Day with bright sunshine and guess what? More gale force winds on the nose. It was so bad that half an hour after going through Barefoot Landing Swing Bridge it was closed due to high winds. Eventually we reached the Waccamaw River which is wide and sheltered and lots of spooky looking cypress trees. Bear Creek provided a beautiful anchorage and we didn't move all night. We did our bit for Thanksgiving as Andrew had made chocolate brownies and we had sweetcorn for supper.
After a second night at a peaceful anchorage we arrived at Charleston , one of our favourite towns. Despite some time pressures due to the lost days at Wrightsville Beach we still managed a day off. A walking guide to Charleston was purchased and off we went. Charleston has an excellent historic buildings preservation society and the houses are beautiful. Lots of traditional 'single houses' built sideways on to the road, a single room width and two or three storey. Along one side on all levels are wide verandas, many furnished with white wicker furniture and ceiling fans. Nothing is as evocative of 'The South' as these. Andrew was dismayed at being dragged into TWO 
graveyards by Sharon . Many of the graves are very old and document the whole life of the resident. Adding to the effect are the old trees dripping with Spanish moss. After a light lunch at the microbrewery we met up with the owners of the S.V.Yamana - Hugh, Lynn & twins Mitch & Josh. We had met several times in the Chesapeake and they were moving back to their hometown in Charleston and invited us to call if we passed through. Unfortunately for them we remembered their kind invite! After a great supper on their sailboat and accompanied by their friend Jen, they took us to the local Christmas lights show. 
This was at the local park and a drive thorough extravaganza! Lights ablaze on every theme - fairy tales, space, underwater, enchanted forest as well as local companies advertising. There was a radio station you could tune into and listen to the Christmas tunes as well! After parking the car we had another treat in store. We were introduced to " s'mores " at the fire pit. Lynn had brought along all the ingredients, marshmallows, chocolate, sweet biscuits and twigs. After roasting your marshmallow on the twig it is sandwiched between two crackers with the chocolate. Sharon let the side down with just two plain roasted mallows and Andrew, with much face pulling, managed a full s'more . After which they became known as "no s'mores ". But
it was a terrific evening and we hadn't laughed so much for a long time - thanks " Yamana's "
Sadly all good things end and on Monday morning we left Charleston . At last a day where we didn't have to wear every item of clothing we possessed and even went barefoot. The next three days we went through beautiful countryside, much of it national park land. At this time of the year the marsh grass is gold and it's like sailing through wheat fields. We still had the bottlenose dolphins plus lots of birdlife. Andrew had been trying, with little success, to photograph a brown pelican. Without warning one flew in and landed on our radar. He then moved onto the bimini and sat looking at Andrew steering. Up close you can see a rather vicious looking hook at the end of their beaks. He didn't want to move and took some persuading to leave.
Our time in Georgia passed peacefully, still windy but sunny. We had some fun at low tides with the shallow waters and for once appreciated the wake of the power boats as the timely passing of one lifted us off an uncharted shoal! Now we're in Florida and on the home straight to St. Augustine to collect Roger and onto Lake Worth where we will wait for a weather window to cross to The Bahamas. 
Hopefully this won't be too long a wait but there is a cold front coming from the north which may delay us.
Sharon has some comments regarding Andrew's description of the haul out at Deltaville. It sounded as though we were part of the Bloomsbury group wafting around for two weeks occasionally passing the boat with a paintbrush in hand! What did he miss?
Barnacle scraping, sanding down the hull, removing the old paint around the waterline, taking the two headsails to the sail loft to have one sail's sacrificial strip replaced and one restitched , servicing the through-hulls, applying 10 layers of enamel paint to the dorades , remarking 150 foot of anchor chain, replacing the anodes (zincs) and cleaning the carpet! That's why it took over two weeks!
Hopefully by the middle of December we will be in The Bahamas - air & sea temperature 75 F.degrees but it will mean we can't use our mobile phone for internet access so please send us e-mails before then.
Warm regards
Sharon & Andrew