Week 3 ~ Cruising North ~ Fernandina, FL to Georgetown, SC

Monday 5/16/21~
Fernandina, FL to Jekyll Island, GA
Today:           31.0 miles         5.4 hours        ICW ST Mile: 685.0

Total:         1470.2 miles     227.3 hours

     We were up, dog walked and away from the dock by 8:15. Skies were clear, temps in the 70’s and the breezes light. As the day progressed the winds climbed to about 15. It created some mild rollers that were present in St. Andrew’s Sound. It is such a beautiful area, but so deceiving in its shallowness. There is a submerged sandbar across the mouth to the ocean.

 

Kings Point Naval Submarine Base

 

 We were able to top off our tanks (something that is wise since there is still spots that are out of fuel. So far we have not had a problem, but better to be safe than sorry. It can be hours between marinas. In fact, to Jekyll Island (5 hours travel), then to Kilkenny(10 additional hours travel) and onto Thunderbolt (5 more hours) are the only places available to us.

  

    The horse flies have emerged. We killed over a hundred on our travels today. Bailey gets upset at anything that flies. She had a run in with a wasp about 6-7 years ago that required an emergency visit to a vet at 11 pm. Her face swelled. She looked as if she had multiple tennis balls in her mouth along with eyes partially swollen shut! Hence she runs down to the salon and we put up the screen to "protect" her.
     We have confirmed reservations for the Kilkenny Fishing Camp. They have a fabulous restaurant on sight that everyone raves about. Unfortunately, it’s only open Wednesday’ to Sunday’s. Bummer! It would have been a nice way to end a 10-hour day.
     Speaking of dinner, I made meatballs and spaghetti for dinner. I love to simmer the meatballs for hours to increase their flavor. I also made enough for 3 more meals.
     Before bed, Pete reviewed the recent edition of Bob Sherer’s ICW Cruise Guide and marked all the questionable areas on the chart pack. Tomorrow we start a new adventure into areas unknown to us.


Tuesday, 7/18/21~

Jekyll Island to Kilkenny, GA
Today:           72.0 miles        12.5 hours        ICW ST Mile: 613.0

Total:         1542.2 miles      239.8 hours

 

 

    We were away from the dock by 6:10 this morning. The sky was lightening, temps around 70 and a very mild breeze. The current was still going out, but we had enough water to make it to the St. Simon Sound. At dead low, there might have been a problem for 2 spots on Jekyll Creek.

Remnants of the GOLDEN RAY

   Once out on the Sound we could see what remains of the car carrier GOLDEN RAY that capsized 2 years ago. The crew of 10 were ok, but the 4200 Hundai vehicles aboard as well as the fairly new ship were a total loss. Special equipment was brought in and it is being used to slice the ship into pieces to dismantle and scrap her. So far, four sections have been removed, the latest being the ship’s engine section, which was removed on May 8. The VB-10,000 vessel doing the cutting comprises two metal towers, about 240 feet tall, with a suspended giant diamond-cutting chain each connected to a barge and to each other at the top. A crane will remove the sections after they have brackets attached to the side, the vessel will move, and the crane will put each section on a barge, which will take them to a recycling facility in Louisiana (CNN). Just a week ago, they had a fire onboard; no injuries.

     It was a beautiful ride, temps on the water felt like the mid 60, partially cloudy and like yesterday, the winds increased. We had 3-foot rollers in Sapelo Sound, Blackbeard’s Creek and St. Catherine Sound.

     The Deer flies returned with a vengeance. Not only do they fly into your fair and face, one even went between my eyes and glasses. Same happened to Pete. They also bite!  Blood actually dropped from Pete’s leg! We must have killed a couple hundred of them.

Cannon Ball Jellyfish

     We were also buzzed by a pair of A-10s they screeched over us about 300 fort of the deck! They sure weren’t slow passes we get on the middle Chesapeake.
     While crossing Sapelo Sound, we could see hundreds of cannon ball jellies. The water was too agitated by the wind to get a decent photo.

 

 

 

Scenic Georgia ICW
 

     Today is our long day, 10 hours. Tomorrow to Thunderbolt GA will be about 5 hours and I think the same to Beaufort, S.C. , but then we have another long day to St, John’s.

     Got into Kilkenny shortly after 5 pm. The current gods were kind. We had them and deeper water all day. As advertised, it is a no frills,  fishing camp. There aren’t any cleats on the dock, just a vertical board. Pete had some work to do before dinner, but we finally ate at 7.






Wednesday, 5/19/21 ~

Kilkenny to Thunderbolt, GA
Today:           32.0 miles         5.1 hours        ICW ST Mile: 582.4

Total:         1574.2 miles     244.9 hours

     Since it is only 32 miles, we left about 8:15. Using the current and light breeze, Pete was able to back away from the dock, and we were on our way. Skies were partially cloudy, but small showers kicked up around us. We were prepped for the rains, but the heavier stuff skirted around us.

Pop-up showers around us

     Georgia lowlands are beautiful. We encountered no buildings, except for 1 island with 3 fishing cabins, until we were about 5 miles from Thunderbolt. I guess it was in the Isles of Hope area, where we encountered civilization.

Beautiful Georgian vistas 

and the blimp heading to the Kiawah Golf Tournament

    
     While traveling we made reservations for Beaufort and tried for St. John’s. This is only the second time in 16 cruises (south and north) that we have ever been closed out. However, I was able to get dockage for Friday at Charleston’s City Marina. That means the errands we were planning to run with our car, which is at St John’s, as well as picking up a package from Amazon will have to wait.

 

 

Nearing Isle of Hope, South of Thunderbolt

   We were only passed by a few boats today compared to yesterday, where it must have been close to 20! Of course they were all power boats.

     We arrived at Safe Harbor Bahia Blue in Thunderbolt shortly after 1:30. That gave Pete time to prep for the meetings at 2 and 3.  Apparently, when we were here in 2010, they had recently opened. Things here look just as good as they did back then. Of course, they did a lots of sprucing up under the new ownership.
     After dinner, Pete contacted his cousin, who lives not far from Myrtle Beach. When we get there, we’ll stay a couple of days, to have lunch with her as well as catch up on chores and chill. We at both looking forward to seeing Sue!
     I did a temporary patch to our starboard windows. They will need resealing when we get back to the Chesapeake. I had to make it quick as the showers were approaching.

Thursday, 5/20/21 ~ 

Thunderbolt, GA to Beauford, SC
Today:           46.0 miles         7.1 hours        ICW ST Mile: 536.3

Total:         1574.2 miles     244.9 hours

   We were away from the dock at 7:45 after Pete did the engine check and added a little oil to the engine. As we were cruising around one of the bends, we were hailed by the sailboat in front of us. The bridge ahead only opens on the hour and it was 7:58. We still had a mile to the Causton Bluffs Bridge. Thankfully, we made it. With confidence in our oil pressure, Pete was able to floor the engine and make the opening. This bridge is being replaced most importantly to have undisturbed traffic, but also the northernmost west span cannot open fully. If we didn't make this opening, we would have had to wait an hour for the next one.

 

   The Savannah River was busy this morning. We could see an oil freighter heading north crossing in front of our ICW path. As we crossed the River we had to look both ways. There was an inbound car carrier, but we still had plenty of time to cross. We now be in South Carolina!
     While traversing Wrights Cut, we needed to stay away from R 48 and hug the shore by less than 30 feet. With it being a point of land, usually it means that it shallows far out, but not this time! We had 18 feet under our 5.5-foot keel (23.5 foot deep)! Even at low tide, the river dolphins gather in pods to hunt the shallows for food. The pod I saw had about 20 members.

 
Wright's Cut close to shore to avoid the shallows beyond the red marker

 

     It took about 3 hours, but we came to our usual tracts by Harbor Town Marina. Once on Calibogue Sound, I just happened to look to an area where a river dolphin jumped and spun! Pete saw another do it on Port Royal Sound.
     We pulled into Beaufort City Marina around 2:40 and snubbed up to the inside of the main dock. Pete heads down to attend the 3 pm meeting while Bailey and I took a walk in the waterfront park. I was able to find an open swing to sit and enjoy the breeze and view (can never get enough water views!)

 

 
Views within the Waterfront Park

     Tonight will be an early night with an early alarm in the morning. We have about 65 miles tomorrow to Charleston with constantly changing currents.

Friday, 5/21/21 ~

Beauford to Charleston, SC
Today:           67.0 miles        10.1 hours  (+3 waiting for the Wapoo Bridge)    ICW ST Mile: 469.3

Total:         1641.2 miles     255.0 hours

 
Ladies Island Bridge at Sunrise

     In order to make the Ladies Island Bridge before it closed for rush hour (really 2 hours! and the on the hour for the rest of the day until evening rush hour), we slipped from the dock at 6:25 and the bridge opened at 6:35. Breezes slowly increased from calm to about 10, temps started in the mid 60’s but climbed into the mid 80’s.

     Once again dolphins were in playful mode. Many of the doing a double tail taps and belly rolls. Something about "Springtime and the males’ fancy . . . ."
     Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff, between G189, and G185 in spots, we only had 0.8 under the keel. It didn’t help that it was almost dead low. Needless to say the greens at the intersections of the cut were out of the water, again.
     Our fuel was getting very low, so we transferred the fuel from the tanks on the rail. I love the system we are using. We have a 15-foot length of plastic hose attached to brass siphoning “thing-a-ma-bob.” In the 8 or so years we have used them, Pete no longer needs to untie the jugs from the rail, fill the tanks, and retire them. It’s safe, secure, and usually no mess!
 

YIKES!!!

   There is one area on the North Edisto River that made my stomach drop to my toes. Pete was working and I was at the helm. I had one more set of red and green channel markers on the charts before I made a 90 degree turn to Port. However, Bob’s tracts indicated that I should turn NOW into the land according to the charts, and what visibly looked like shallow water. Silly me! Bob would never steer us cruisers wrong. Still panicked, I let Pete take the wheel until he proved we were in deep water. I really shouldn’t have been caught off guard. We came across here in the fall. I just assumed that by now, the markers would be positioned to reflect the new channel. Apparently, many boats are still running aground following the current navigational aids.

No idea what on this barge or what it is used for 

Geometry in the sky

     According to GPS we would miss the Wapoo Creek Bridge final opening at 3:30 by 20 minutes, so we would have to wait until 7 pm for it to open again. To avoid doing circles by the bridge for hours we decided to drop our speed and keep moving forward. We were about 2 miles from Elliott Cut when a towboat pushing a barge came up behind us. We figured the bridge had to open for him, perhaps we could get thru the bridge, too, at 4:45 instead of 7. Even at full throttle the tug made it to the bridge a 1/2 mile ahead of us. With the current against us and a few less horses (we’ll probably a few thousand horses less compared to our 35 hp engine!) there was no way, but we gave it our best shot. Hence 2 hours of circles and dancing in the current. Thankfully, dinner was quick reheated leftovers, which we ate while waiting. All 3 boats waiting for the opening headed over to Charleston City Marina. Since it was after hours dock hands were in short supply. We had to wait our turn to dock in a slip on the western end of the marina.

 
Saturday tourists and sunken barge by Wapoo Bridge

     Once docked, Bailey was on a mission to find grass. Here, it has to be close to 1/4 mile to land, but she made it.
     Since tomorrow is also a long day, it was an early night.

Saturday, 5/22/21 ~ 

Charleston to Georgetown, SC
Today:           65.0 miles        10.1 hours      ICW ST Mile: 402.9

Total:         1706.2 miles     265.1 hours

Great views 

    We were prepared to leave the dock at 6 because it is a long day, but had to get fuel first, it would be tight running to Georgetown on 13 gallons if we fight currents most of the day. Unfortunately, the fuel is not pumped between 6 and 7 am. So we had to wait until then. We were finally underway by 7:30 and waiting at the Ben Sawyer Bridge by 8:15 waiting for the 9 am opening. At 8:50 a southbound boat called for an opening, and that’s when we learned on weekends it’s on demand UNTIL 9 am. Then it is on the hour! We just lost another 45 minutes. Proper notations are now in the chart pack.
     Weekends are very busy on the water, hundreds of small boats explore the various inlets, creeks and marshes of the low lands.

Away from the Maddening Crowds?

         
     The current remained against us until 11. Even with the low waters, the banks were not as exposed as we had seen then a few years ago. If it had been that super low, we might not have had passage at low tide. As it, there were a few areas that we had only about 2 foot under the keel before dead low.

Aground near McClullenville

     We fought the currents until shortly before McCullenville. We rode in the 7+ mile speed for quite a while. As we traverse the Esterville Minimum Creek Canal, we were flying at 9.7 mph. We believed that would drastically change once we made the turn heading north in Winyah Bay. For once it is nice to be wrong. We cruised at 9.4 instead of 4.5!!!

      Even though Georgetown Harbor Marina was full, we had no problems with reservations at Georgetown Landing. The current here at the bottom of the Pee Dee River is really strong. We hate being put on the northern, inside area of the main dock. The route 17 bridge is way too close if something goes wrong! As we approached some things were definitely different.  First thing we noticed was the 100-foot plus breakwater. As we approached the main T-dock, it is now longer.  Once tied to the dock, the docks on the inside have been shortened by about 4 slips, allowing a wider ally to the big ocean fishing boats.  It seems kind of silly to do such a substantial renovation, but eliminate docks. (As we left, I noticed a new dock on the southside of the marina, so if anything, they added more slips.)  We had plenty of room on the outside of the T-Dock and there was plenty of open space for additional boats. WHEW!

 
View of the Georgetown Marina modifications

     Pete walked the dog, paid the bill and noticed that the restaurant is no longer. It is now an events center. Tonight it will be hosting a wedding.

~  ~ ~ /) ~ ~   P & K