Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The sun came out as we left River Edge Marina in St
Augustine. We departed at daylight for
our destination, an anchorage off of Jekyll Island Marina in Georgia. We arrived there mid-afternoon, a 96 mile
day. A few discourteous boaters gave us
some nasty rocking until late in the afternoon when they all had to return
after their weekend. The view to the
west gave us the advantage of enjoying a marvelous sunset. It is a nice deep anchorage and the wind was calm
overnight as were the temperatures.
We took time for breakfast on Monday morning to fortify us
for another long day; 100 miles to Thunderbolt, GA. Thunderbolt is on the ICW; 5 miles from Savannah. The marina was very quiet and we only saw 2
other couples in the marina. Strangely
no one seemed very friendly other than the dock master. We walked part of the town but found nothing
of great interest. The showers were
great and a vanity in the ladies room between the two complete bathrooms was a
nice touch. This would be our last night
to eat out. Dave had oodles of noodles
and Alfredo sauce left. Another comfortable
night and here they bring you a ½ dozen Krispy Crème donuts and a paper in the
AM. The draw back was the gnats swarming
us and the condensation on the inside and outside of the windshield. We fueled despite them and off we motored
onward.
Twists and turns in the GA area are really boring and when
we got to the North end of Hilton Head Island into Port Royal Sound Dave got
anxious to be on with the trip and go into the ocean and save time. He promised we would come back if conditions
were not good. This meant we could bypass
Parris Island, Beaufort, and a good portion of the Charleston Harbor, SC. We spent 4 hours out there in 3 foot swells
that were not too organized. The captain
had a tiring time steering and told me as we came in to the Charleston, SC
Inlet to give him a “NO” next time he gets an idea to go out in the ocean again. I did alert Adrienne that we had taken
another course and our life jackets on the seats.
We fueled again in Isle of Palms and continued on to
McClellanville. We were not happy with
the anchorage so went into the village. Lucky
for us we got to the seafood dock just before closing and walked a short
distance to the seafood store. We bought
3 pounds of shrimp a $5.99 a pound. Down
the creek Leland Oil Company has a small dock with hookups and a facility. The locals told us, “If no one is there just
tie up and someone would catch you in the morning. If you need to leave early call them and just
give them your credit card number.” Is that
laid back or what? We saw the owner in
the morning and paid up. Cheapest dockage on the trip.
Cocktail time was enjoyed with a nice chat with a man on the
dock who reminisced about Hurricane Hugo devastating their village and how
folks from Toms River, NJ came down and helped.
They took a collection last fall to send them after Hurricane Sandy,
some $14,000. Folks, that is sizable, this village is comprised mostly of shrimpers
and their industry; just a few large homes built recently. The town had recently received
a nice thank you from the mayor and the towns people of Toms River.
Well, this was the last night of our trip and the left over
Alfredo and noodles sure were bumped up with the shrimp. So tasty!
A nice sunset and then the gnats arrived. We got to use our screens for the first time.
Early to bed, we had 141 miles under our butts that day. By the way the time in the ocean saved us 14
miles.
The morning brought more gnats and condensation. Getting the air moving blew them away. The last leg of the trip was a familiar one. Just ahead was Georgetown. Last summer we had done an overnight trip there on the boat. North into the Peedee River and the Waccamaw
Rivers. The Cypress trees along the
banks make the area so very different
than anything else you see on the ICW. The
trip is almost complete and things are looking so very familiar, the excitement
of reaching home is heightened.
Our trip came full cycle at 2:00 P.M. on that Tuesday when
we pulled into our slip at Harbor gate Marina.
We got a wave from our friends the Jones’ at Barefoot Resort with a welcome
home over the VHF and a hug from Susie at the marina. Our neighbor, Julian, taxied us to get our
vehicles to go back to the marina and transfer our possessions to the house. Lots of lifting and lugging with the tide
full low and then the steps at the house.
This morning it was interesting to hear the boats on the
river but not feel the wake. Sitting on
the porch is not as compelling as last season.
We have seen LOTS of boats! Our boat
is not empty there are still canned goods and books and such to off load. (Being close to the marina is a big plus.) After that the boat needs a good cleaning but
an 80% chance of rain on Friday may help.
Today I sorted clothing and aired some things and washed 7 loads of laundry
and folded it and stored it. I walked
from room to room to room putting things away.
So funny how I had to think twice about where things were or were they
belonged. The house seems huge after the
square footage of a 28 foot boat. I love
its space……
Dave sorted a month’s
worth of mail, fertilized the lawn and mowed it, washed the tenacious
yellow pollen off the porch and the furniture.
STATS: 179 hours on the engine
2,344.5
miles traveled
5.527
average fuel used an hour
13.05 mph
average speed
By the way, neither of us gained weight………
Thank you for following along on our trip with us and commenting via
e-mail. We enjoyed your company and want
you to feel free to share the blog with other friends if you would like. They are invited to comment also to
jgammons@sc.rr.com.
Cross-Over out. Jane
and Dave standing by.
