Day 13 - Georgia On My Mind

Some people we spoke with before, and even during our trip, suggested that we skip Georgia and go on “the outside.” As diehard Florida Gators, it did cross my mind that we should skip Georgia Bulldog country (As a matter of fact, I purposely have not put up our Florida Gators burgee flag.). But, we chose to take the ICW through Georgia anyway, and we are glad we did. It was a good four plus hour run today from Hilton Head to Kilkenny Creek Marina on Kilkenny Creek. The water was deep all day and we had just a few places that we had to slow down to no wake speed. We ran into traffic at the Savannah River, and just on the southern side we met up with a sailboat from Rock Hall, Breezin’ Up. I saw the boat in the Skull Creek Marina the day before, but didn’t see anyone on it. We had a conversation over the VHF radio and it turns out that their final destination is Corpus Christi, Texas, where they will be relocating. They had been keeping their sailboat at Gratitude Marina, which is the sister marina to our Osprey Point Marina. Small world!
​

Once past the Savannah River, we passed a few well-known marinas and boatyards. Thunderbolt Marine is known for the many super yachts that stop there for work.

The treacherous spots on the ICW all have names infamous among cruisers. The ones we passed today were Fields Cut, Elba Island Cut and Hell Gate. It just required close attention to the markers to avoid an unfortunate incident. There will be a few more tomorrow, so we need to leave early and catch as much water as possible as the tide rises. We follow the guides carefully to make sure we navigate the tough areas correctly.


Today was a good day for seeing dolphin. It is hard to get a picture, but I was able to catch a dorsal fin on one of them. We are still waiting for some to swim alongside us. The coastal grasslands of Georgia are beautiful. It is truly a natural wonder. It reminds one of the grassy plains in the midwest, only there are rivers and creeks winding throughout them.

Our stop for tonight was up one of those creeks a couple of miles. According to the guidebooks it is a regular stopover for ICW cruisers, although as of 3:30pm we are the only cruisers here. There is a very popular cruiser restaurant next door, Marker 107. 

The marina is, well, different. The docks are wobbly, but floating. They float on blue barrels. The cleats are vertical 2 x 8s and some of the pilings move with the current, which is very strong. There are some good ole Georgia boys here, and the southern drawl reminds me of all the years spent in Lake City, FL with my grandparents and extended family. The huge live oak trees are beautiful with Spanish moss blowing in the breeze. It really is a step back in time, and I am glad we stopped here. It is beautiful and quiet. Completely opposite the mega yacht surroundings in Charleston. There is no wi-fi and the cellular connection is not strong, so it has taken much longer to get the blog out.

I just spoke to a gentlemen that does charter fishing trips in his small skiff. He had recently come in with two women that caught 15 fish. He cleaned the fish and prepped them for the ladies before they left. He apparently loves his work and is very proud of this area. He told me that the marina has been here since 1960 and that Walter Cronkite came here, loved it and stayed for quite a while. Apparently it was a plantation at one time. The modest plantation home is on the grounds of the marina. The adjacent grasslands were purchased when Jimmy Carter was Governor and are set aside as a preserve. He also told me that it is very dark at night. Since there are no clouds in the sky, it should be a great night for stargazing.

The boat is running well and we have been very satisfied with the comfort level and performance on a long trip such as this. We seemed to have provisioned the trip appropriately and may have a little food left at the end. So far, we have had the right clothes for the trip. We are fortunate that we can be inside the cabin while running. A lot of the sailboaters who have to navigate from the cockpit are bundled up like it is the middle of January in New Jersey, despite temperatures in the 60s and 70s. We will leave early tomorrow to get to Jekyll Island before it gets to low tide. We have heard that the approach can be a little dicey. We also have to pass a couple of large sounds with a potentially strong east wind, and of course there will be those few trouble spots that are susceptible to shoaling.