Tuesday, Wednesday,and Thursday March 29, 30 & 31, 2011

Tuesday - Jekyll Island to Anchorage-New Teakettle Creek:  We were traveling with Debrief and left at 10:30 in order to reach Mile 655 on the Mud River (which is supposed to be the worst shoaling on the ICW) at mid to high tide.  We went through St. Simons Sound and Buttermilk Sound; both a little rough, before we reached our anchorage at Mile 647.0 on New Teakettle Creek.  So far what we have seen of Georgia has not impressed us; a lot of swamps or marsh lands is what the chart says.  Our anchor held good in about 18' of water with a 7' tide but there wasn't a tree in sight for miles.  It was a windy day but no rain.  The wind died down after dark.

N31.45918
W81.30186

Wednesday - Anchorage Mile 647.0, New Teakettle Creek to Isle of Hope, GA:  We got going at 08:15 to try and beat the thunderstorms predicted for about 12:00.  We went through Sapelo Sound and went up Johnson Creek to North Newport River and into St. Catherine's Sound.  Both sounds were relatively smooth for a change.  The thunderstorms started at noon as predicted and we kept on going.  We broke one of our rules-Never travel in a thunderstorm.  We skipped our planned anchorage and kept going to Isle of Hope Marina, just south of Savannah, GA.  A very long day; 57 miles and 7 1/2 hours; we all were tired of traveling in the winds, rains, thunder and lightning.  The marina had a loaner car so we went to dinner at a local pub.  It was very good.

Thursday - We stayed another day and got the night for half price because of weather delay-good deal.  It was a rainy day so we got together with 2 other boaters and drove into Savannah and took a tour of the city.  It was one of the nicest things we have seen so far in Georgia.  It is a beautiful downtown area and worth seeing.  After getting back Sue and I took the car to a Super Walmart to stock up.

N31 58.835
W81 03.352

Debrief-43' North Pacific
Pilot House Trawler

John and Sue on our tour

Bob-has a Mainship 390 Trawler
and is doing the Loop by himself

Cathedral of St John the Baptist formed
in the late 18th century - Beautiful church

Downtown Savannah has all kinds
of horse drawn carriages

One of the many park statues in
downtown Savannah

CO's comments:  Rain, thunderstorms, poor visibility, narrow channels, shoaling, low water, lightning, and no windshield wipers.  We had to rely on the chart plotter, paper charts, and Debrief, who was in front of us.  It was a long hard day.  There was one bright spot.  A 50' Sea Ray Sundance asked to do a slow pass and then pulled along side and asked me to go to Channel 68.  He identified himself as Rusty Higgins working for Sea Ray.  He recognized our boat and said he put the gel coat on our hull back in 1989.  He gave me his address and said if we needed any information on our boat to contact him. After he did another slow pass by Debrief, he was out of sight in seconds-hate to pay that fuel bill!