Offshore Sailing: Charleston, SC to Annapolis, MD
DAY 1: I arrive at the Charleston airport around 1:45 pm on a Wednesday in April, 2014. This will be my first multi-day offshore sailing voyage. After a call from the boat captain, I learn that another member of the crew has arrived, too. His name is Jerry. He is 39 years old and like me has never been offshore. We meet outside and share a cab to the Cooper River Marina in North Charleston. The cabbie doesn't know where the marina is, so we navigate from the backseat with our iPhones. We unload, unchain the gate to the marina, walk down the concrete quarter mile long dock (which turns out to be drivable, but is only one car wide with a turning area at the end). There are some beautiful sailboats there and some not so beautiful. Southern Accent , a 2006 50' Beneteau Cyclades is ours. A lot of plastic and fiberglass but it looks strong. The new owner and a delivery skipper were taking it to Annapolis from BVI via Dominican Republic and Miami, but