Jekyll Island

We have found that the marina along the ICW in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have specials on rates after the big rush of cruisers have passed through on their way south.  Jekyll Harbor Marina has such a special, pay for a few days, get a week!  We get the use of bikes and a courtesy car.  Sounds like a good week to clean the boat inside and out and get the laundry done.  The marina has a bar on premises that has live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Sounds like a good time to lounge in the hot tub and listen to some good tunes.

Jekyll Island was the playground of the 1% during the winter months.  The homes were maintained year round.  Most of the homes were called cottages.  The houses did not have kitchens.  The residents went to the 'club' for all their meals.  The club is now the Jekyll Island Hotel.  The Island has three golf courses and many restaurants.  Bikes are the main form of travel around the island.  The beaches are wide and clean and uncrowded.  I did some research on beach house rentals and it seems like a good value for a family or group.  There is no boardwalk and the activities seem to be more eco than night club. 

We went to a cookout at the marina.  Had about 30 people attend.  The biggest thing we learned is that Georgia has laws against 'liveaboards' on boats.  So if anyone asks if you live aboard your boat, you say 'no, we are a boat in transit.  We live in _____(in our case Maryland).'  Good to know the correct lingo to avoid any 'imperial entanglements'.  We also learned that the same lingo can be used Florida to stay within the restrictive laws. 

Going to the museum and the turtle sanctuary today.  Since we are going to be here until Tuesday, we are going to volunteer to help at the turtle hospital.  We are also going to take a kayak trip through the nature center water trail.  So much to do!  It is amazing what you can see and do while traveling by boat.  When we started this trip we though we were trying to get to Florida.  Now we found out that when you have no schedule and the only destination is south it is possible to see every stop as the destination.  The beauty of enjoying every stop is the happiness you find around each turn. 

  

biking on Jekyll Island

Isle of Hope and Jekyll Island

As we continued south on the ICW, we kept remembering that all of Georgia is just a big 'fender'.  The bottom is mud or sand and the shore sides are mud.  Every time the depth finder went below 7 ft, I started saying ' I think I can, I think I can', and shazam! I found some water.  We anchored out the night before we got to Isle of Hope, GA.  We stayed for two days.  While we were sailing the Chesapeake we learned how to anchor in the conditions that were predominate in the Bay.  It took us until Georgia to get comfortable with our anchoring technique.  I have no problem sleeping while at anchor, but Matt ends up being on watch all night.  I keep watch during the day, which now that we have our back porch, sun room, canvas cover, is warm from the sunlight streaming through the isinglass. 

Isle of Hope is a suburb of Savannah.  We took the courtesy car and went to Savannah for the day.  We took the trolley tour.  You get to see all of the city and get the history.  Jessi asked us to go to Paula Deen's restaurant, but it was closed for renovations.  How strange that Paula announced she has diabetes when the restaurant was closed.  Paula said that her menu would change so maybe she changed the restaurants' menu also. 

We went to Ft. Fredrica and anchored.  The fort is small and on St. Simons Island.  It was a nice quiet place to ride out the small craft winds for two days.  I got impatient and left before the tide had come up.  Ran aground.  No big deal, found the deeper water and moved on down the river.  We sailed a bit to get to Jekyll Island.  I docked against the tide, with the current and the wind.  We fueled up, and then moved the boat to our overnight dock.  No problem.  I didn't panic and I docked the boat without incident.  The boat size used to scare me.  It still is a bit scarey, but over the past few months I have become knowledgeable about how the boat reacts.  Time to explore the island!

Charlie doing tricks at Jekyll Island

Ft Fredrica, revolutionary war era fort.

Beaufort to Savannah

We had planned to go to the ocean and sail to Florida.  We changed our mind.  We are seeing things we had only read about. It is such a different way to see the east coast of the USA.  Not an interstate in sight.  You get to see how people live and interact with the waterway and their towns. The journey is turning into it's own destination.  Each turn of the rivers and streams brings something new to see and explore.  Going down the ICW has taught us many new skills.  We only thought we knew about sailing and boats. 


 Anchoring is more than just securing the boat in the water.  Usually there is no one around and you become part of the land and water around you.  Dolphins swim all around.  Birds of all shapes and sizes fly over to check us and the boat out.  A few landed and hitched a ride for a while.  We stay up late and watch the moon rise and the stars.  We sleep for a few hours and then wake up at 4 am - the magic hour.  The dolphins show up to feed and play and frolic all around us.  The sun starts to peek over the horizon and sends all the colors and brightness over the waters and land.  The water is still and is waiting for the current to change.  We watch and listen.  I make coffee and oatmeal and we sit in the cockpit and we plan the days travel. 

our tv antenna at the top of the mast, illuminated by the anchor light

moon reflected in the water

sunrise at wright river, sc

sunrise on wright river, SC

 

 

The houses we pass are diverse.  Some are true 1% mansions, others look like fishing camps.  We passed Parris Island, SC, they make Marines there- siemper fi. I expected to see some kind of security around the Marine base, but it was just a town.   The reason we were thinking of going outside for GA was the rumors of shallow spots.  Having a boat with a 6 ft draft is deeper than some of the areas right off the 'magenta line' track of the ICW.  So far, so good in GA.  We did see an area near the Savannah River that could cause a problem.  There is a large rock pile that would be hidden by a high tide.  Thankfully, we got a bit of local knowledge from the Butler's.  There seems to be lots of places to anchor.  The rivers are deep and meander.  Have seen some duck hunter.  I know these hunters have weapons and we are in an isolated area, but I have never felt unsafe.  The marinas all seem to  have floating docks to accommodate the 7 the 10 ft tides.  The tidal ranges are quite hard to get used to after sailing in the Chesapeake.  Chesapeake sailors are real wooses when it comes to tides and currents.  For years, in the Chesapeake, we never even owned a tide chart or app.  We are quickly learning that tide and currents need to be closely watched. 

would love to own this dock!

keep the mark on your starboard (right) side or...

Rocks you will hit if go on the wrong side of the mark.

We are Isle of Hope marina, in a suburb of Savannah.  Going on a bike ride to see the town.  Beautiful weather.  Going to be around 75F.  Not bad for January. 

January 2012

Happy 2012!  We are moving south again.  Matt has always been a gypsy for along time, but was tied to the land by homes and kids and jobs.  It gets hard to remind him that we need to watch weather and ENJOY what is around.  We learned that the temperature is the same in the low country of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida.  Why are we in a hurry to get to Florida?  There is so much to see before we get to Florida.



 Beaufort, SC is an amazing place.  The city is steeped in history.  We took a carriage ride. Never had been on a carriage ride before.   The price was reasonable and we had time to get lunch at a local bar/cafe.  The guide was friendly and gave us a great tour.  Forrest Gump was filmed in Beaufort. The city is one of the few in the south that was not ravaged by the Civil War.  The homes in Beaufort were actually the southern planters' summer homes.  The homes were used for partying and hanging out with other 1% ers.  They had one home that was built just so that after the bugs started swarming in the party field the party could be moved indoors.  The windows were large, the porches are wide.  The homes face south to capture the cooling breezes

Plantation style home

formal garden and live oak with moss

The Great Santani tree.  Pat Conroy lived in Beaufort and his books are based on the surrounding areas. 

Party House

First all black owned/established church

I like the little homes better, less upkeep.

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secession house

One of the homes was called the secession house.  The 1% drew up the papers for South Carolina to withdraw from the USA and become their own country.  They filed the papers and went back to the parties.  The union army was not real happy so they decided to come and visit South Carolina and have a 'conversation' with the gentlemen.  The southern gentlemen learned of the unions' plans and skeedaddled out of town. Lots of BIG talk, but when it was time to back up their talk, they ran away.  Beaufort was taken without a single shot.  The white people ran away and they slaves/blacks weren't going to put up a fight.  The homes were empty, the union officers moved in and created a command center and hospitals. 

We met up with the Butler's through SSCA.  The Butlers' helped us with a rides and advice and the use of their mailing address.  They are one of the best resources we have met.  We thought we had some good ideas about boat equipment for this adventure but we are sorely lacking in some areas.  They have taken us under their wing and are teaching us how to equip our boat with the right stuff.  We are rigged for the Chesapeake Bay, weekend excursions, not the ICW.  Our dock/spring lines are frankly- pathetic.  Saving money by using 'old' lines is not such a good idea.  You need to remember that the lines are holding the boat and need to be stout enough for the job.  We are going to buy 4- 5/8"x 40' bow and stern lines (one for each corner), 2- 5/8"x 25' spring lines, and 2- 5/8"x 50' heavy weather rafting out spares.   Fenders needed:  2 big teardrops, 4- 10" x 30" (minimum) cylinder or double ended, all hanging on 3/8" minimum lines at least 6' long.  We felt, at times, that our lines were not up to the task we were asking them to do.  Now we have a good plan on what to buy/use and a maintenance schedule.  Old sheets as lines can serve a purpose back at the 'home' pilings, but your 'traveling' set of lines need to be in great/new condition and long and wide enough to do the job.  Love learning all this new stuff.  There are sooo many things that we never thought of before we started this trip.  We were prepared, somewhat, but not in all areas. 

Just hangin out

New Years Sunrise

Last night the low temperature was 20F.  Heater is working great!  They called for gale warnings and the wind arrived at midnight.  So glad we took all the cockpit canvas down and secured the bimini.  The wind is still blowing, but at small craft levels.  Sun is shining.  Getting ready to move down the ICW to Georgia.  Had thought of going outside, but after speaking with Commander Butler, we decided we didn't want to miss the flora and fauna of Georgia.  We will have to watch the tides, but the bottom is soft mud and the sides of the rivers are soft sand and mud.  There are historical sites that you can only see from the water.