A day like this sunny afternoon in late April would be perfect weather window to experience a few hours of ocean sailing in the Atlantic.

Visitors to Charleston can expect mild winters and hot, humid summers. Boating season can begin as early as late February or early March and water temperatures are comfortably warm for swimming by early May. Weather can be spotty in the early spring with periods of rain and chilly temperatures followed by stretches of beautiful warm and sunny weather. As is usually the case everywhere, 10-day weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable during the spring months, so be prepared to be flexible with your vacation plans as to which days you spend afloat and which days you stay ashore at a campground or motel.

Summertime tends to be more predictable with hot, sunny days being the norm. Lying at the northern edge of the subtropics, summer also tends to be the rainy season with frequent afternoon showers that come on quickly and end just as suddenly. Autumn is absolutely beautiful with long stretches of warm, sunny days. Of course, from late July through November is hurricane season, but this is where the trailer boater really has an advantage since it is rarely a hardship to pull his boat ashore and move it inland on short notice. Just be sure to not make the notice too short--if you wait until you're sure that a hurricane is heading your way, you may have a lot of competition at the launch ramp from locals trying to get their boats out of the water as well.