November 30 to December 11

Tuesday, November 30 to Thursday, December 2, 2004
Location: Downtown Marina, Beaufort, S.C.

We spend the next three days relaxing and re-provisioning while continuing to take in the sights and sounds of Beaufort. With the help of the dock master, we moved our boat over to the fuel dock so we could refuel and position ourselves for leaving on the flood tide.

We had a nice lunch at Kathleen’s Grille and met a singer, Dave Dowling (“I should have been a Hank”). He had a wonderful country blues sound so we bought his CD “Tail Feathers Up.” I ordered my first oyster dish, which I enjoyed, but Sandy hated. Sandy ordered a shrimp burger, which we both loved. Jupiter chased her last Beaufort squirrel.

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Friday, December 3, 2004

Location: Downtown Marina, Beaufort, S.C.
Destination: Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head, SC

Our final day, we arose at 6:00 a.m. and started plotting how to get off the dock unscathed. Even though we were pointed in the right direction, we were tightly sandwiched between the end dock and a large power boat in front. Just before 7:00 a.m., we helped another boat cast off its lines and gratefully took the offer extended by another couple to help us off with our own lines. After spending 10 wonderful days in Beaufort, it was a great departure!

We got underway a 7:20 a.m. and passed by the famous Parris Island Marine training base as we wound our way through Port Royal Sound on a light beam wind. We’re headed to Hilton Head Island to meet up with our friends, Bob and Sandy Schaeffer, whom we met in Norfolk, VA.

We arrive at Skull Creek Marina at 10:30 a.m. and are greeted at the dock by Bob and a dockhand who took our lines. Once we were safely tied to the dock, we had a brief visit with Bob and made plans to meet up with him and Sandy later this afternoon for a tour of the island. They are also planning a nice dinner for us this evening at their home.

Sandy and Bob are such gracious hosts. They drove us all around the island and even invited Joop and Tula along for the tour. We all especially loved the beach. Our friends Mike and Michele, who are avid golfers, would love this island. It has something like 22 golf courses in a 12-mile span.

Later that evening Sandy picked us up at the marina and we went to dinner at their beautiful home. Bob cooked us his special “Shrimp a la Schaeff” dish. Bob, it was truly fantastic and I still want the recipe! In fact the entire meal was delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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Saturday, December 4, 2004

Location: Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head, SC
Destination: Staying put

This morning we do some route planning for the state of Georgia and identify a number of possible anchorages along the way. Bob and Sandy agreed to look over the charts with us this afternoon and give us some advice, since they’ve made this trip many times before.

At 1:00 p.m. we meet them at the dock and head over to The Boathouse restaurant for a nice lunch. I highly recommend the shrimp and crab quesadilla. After lunch, Bob and Sandy took us shopping to get some last minute provisions and pointed out a six-foot alligator basking in the sun on the bank of a lagoon.

After lunch we spent the remainder of the afternoon looking over our trip plans. Again, Bob and Sandy provided us with a wealth of good information and we now feel confident with our plans going forward.

Sadly, we say our farewells and promise to meet up again somewhere down the road. It was truly a great visit.

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Sunday, December 5, 2004

Location: Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head, SC
Destination: Herb River anchorage, Thunderbolt, GA

We get underway at 9:05, one hour after low tide to catch the flood on the way to Thunderbolt. Thankfully it’s a nice calm morning with little wind so getting off the dock was easy. Since Georgia has a 7-9 ft. tidal range and a good deal of shoaling along the ICW, we’ll have to plan our travels carefully.

As we pass by Bull Creek at G”39” I note that this looks like a good anchorage with plenty of beach to land the dogs at the entrance.

Today we see dolphins just about everywhere we look, especially along Calibogue Sound and the Cooper River. At 12:10 p.m. we cross the border into Georgia.

We arrive at our anchorage in the Herb River at 1:40 p.m. Since there is no place to land the dogs here, we have to dinghy back out of the river and head north a short distance to find a shell bank. It’s a bit of a trip but it works out fine. Overall, this is a nice quiet anchorage with good swing room.

Anchor Notes: We anchored in 23 ft. water, 45 minutes before high tide in position 32 00.791 N 081 02.193 W.

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Monday, December 6, 2004.

Location: Herb River anchorage, Thunderbolt, GA
Destination: Walburg Creek anchorage, St. Catherine’s Sound, GA

This morning we awake to cloudy skies and light rain. We depart the anchorage one hour after low tide and find good deep water on our exit. About 7 miles south we pass by the Isle of Hope marina and note that it looks like a nice spot and possibly worth a stop on our return.

We can already feel the difference in temperature as we move further south. It’s definitely getting warmer. Today we see 70 degrees at 11:30 a.m. This area is a real pretty stretch of the ICW with tall trees surrounded by marshland, big skies, and visibility for miles.

As we pass through Hell Gate we notice that the water in this area is really shallow. You definitely want to arrive at Hell Gate on a rising tide. We heard one boat on the radio say they saw only 5.5 ft. one hour after low tide.

We arrive at the anchorage at 3:30 p.m. and drop the hook just before the northernmost houses. This makes for a long dinghy ride to the beach, but well worth the trip.

Anchor Notes: We anchored in 23.8 ft. at high water in position 31 40.7 N 081 09.5 W.

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004

Location: Walburg Creek anchorage, St. Catherine’s Sound, GA
Destination: New Teakettle Creek anchorage, GA

This morning we have to wait a while for a rising tide so we take advantage of the morning and head to the beach. Joop and Tula are thrilled to find plenty of room to run and they catch up on some long-neglected ball time. The beach is gorgeous here, surrounded by a tall dense forest as its backdrop. We find tracks on the beach that we think were left by an armadillo.

After breakfast, we get underway at 10:45 and head back out to the sound to avoid the shoal in Middle Ground. Once back on the ICW, we make slow time as we get stuck behind a Canadian sailboat, which we can’t seem to pass in these narrow channels. Dave is getting frustrated since the boat is only going about 4.5 kts, forcing us to continually throttle back to maintain a safe distance.

Finally, as we approach Sapelo Sound, we are able to get around him. In the sound, we find 15 kts wind about 30 degrees off the bow and we are riding the current. This allows us to go about 9 miles per hour and make up some of the lost time. Dave wanted to put out some sail but I was feeling too lazy to do so, since we would only be able to sail a few miles before entering a narrow cut.

We arrived at our anchorage about 3:30 p.m. under threatening skies. It looks like we may get a thunderstorm. Our first attempt at anchoring put us a little to close to the port side of the channel so we hauled it back in and made another attempt closer to center channel. Once we were sure the anchor was set well, we set out to find another oyster shell bed for the dogs. Joop and Tula are not impressed. They clearly miss the soft, sandy beach of this morning.

Dave cooks up a wonderful dry sherry chicken dish with potatoes, and green beans. The remainder of the night passes quietly with very little wind and no thunderstorms in sight.

Anchor Notes: Anchored in 25 ft. at high tide, center channel just past the first bend in position 31 27.53 N 081 18.22 W. We took the dogs to an oyster shell bank at the creek entrance.

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Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Location: New Teakettle Creek anchorage, St. Catherine’s Sound, GA
Destination: South Frederica River anchorage, St Simons, GA

Again we play the tidal game and calculate that we should leave around 1:30 p.m. in order to catch the rising tide. We plan a few different anchorages along the way since we’re not sure we can make the entire 30 miles to St Simons before dark. Also, the forecast calls for deteriorating weather with thunderstorms and high winds out of the south and southwest. Given the expected wind direction, we decide to anchor north of Lanier Island instead of the standard anchorage south of the Golden Isles Marina.

With one eye on the dark clouds, we team up on the ranges which you need to sight along in order to stay in the channel. Sometimes you have only a stern range marker so it helps to have someone looking back and giving you directions. This also helps us to make good time on our route. At 4:00 p.m. we decide to go for it and try to make St Simons.

Finally, at 5:20, just minutes before sundown, we drop anchor north of Lanier Island. With a hundred and ten feet of chain out the boat feels secure and we get ready to enjoy our third straight night of private anchorages.

The occasion calls for a special meal: four duck breasts, butternut and yellow split pea soup, and couscous with roasted garlic and olive oil. While the soup is cooking, I start simmering an apricot brandy peach sauce to accompany the roasted duck. We then break out our last two bottles of wine and sit down to a fantastic feast.

All this work somehow inspires Dave on to some great galley creations. I’m not sure but I think Pat Conroy’s book “Recipes of My Life” had something to do with his latest inspiration.

Anchor Notes: Anchored in 21.8 ft. water in position 31 10.804 N 081 24.843 W.

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Thursday, December 9, 2004

Location: South Frederica River anchorage, St Simons, GA
Destination: Staying put

We decide to sit out the weather here at our anchorage since we are fairly well protected and have to wait for the tides to come around anyway. We find an oyster shell bed on which to land the dogs.

This afternoon we took a dinghy trip over to the Golden Isles Marina and filled two gerry cans with 10 gallons of diesel. Since we only plan to stay long enough to go to the Ships Store, the dockmaster doesn’t charge us the $5 dinghy tie-up fee.

We pick up a few things at the store, including a 50 amp to 30 amp converter that we seem to need at several of the marinas. Dave also checks out a firearms shop. Fortunately, he leaves that shop empty- handed.

We return to the boat, have dinner, and settle in for an early evening. We’re both are feeling tired from our journey.

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Friday, December 10, 2004

Location: South Frederica River anchorage, St Simons, GA
Destination: Staying put

Today we decide to hang out for the day and go into town for some groceries and a few supplies. Dave also wants to check out the Dive shop for a spear gun. He hopes to learn spear fishing over the course of the winter.

Again we bring two gerry cans to the marina and pick up another 10 gallons of diesel. We also refill the gas can for the dinghy. We should have plenty of fuel now to hold us over for a while, which is good since we have heard that there are fuel shortages in the areas impacted by the hurricanes. Dave pays the girl in the dock office and again they don’t charge us to tie up our dinghy since we only plan to be there for a few hours. The folks at the marina were great, especially considering that we were anchored out.

We decide to walk to the grocery store, which is three miles away. At first Joop and Tula are thrilled to be stretching their legs a bit. Around mile 2, Joop’s tongue is hanging low and she’s breathing heavy. She begins looking up at us like okay, enough already. By mile 2.5, Tula’s tongue is doing the same. We stop for a short break and give them a bowl of water. We then decide we’d better call a taxi to take us back.'

When we arrive at the Winn Dixie, I go inside to call a taxi and arrange to get picked up in half an hour. The lady at the courtesy booth hands me a telephone book and a phone and then walks away. I manage to locate the heading for taxi services, but I can’t read a single number since I don’t have my glasses with me. Man, getting old really sucks! I have to ask an even older guy, who is wearing his glasses, to read the number to me.

I shop for the groceries while Dave and the dogs wait outside and swap stories with the Salvation Army Santa. Joop and Tula are thrilled when the taxi arrives and we get a nice ride back to the marina by a very friendly Jamaican man.

When we return from the shopping, Dave goes into the dive shop in search of the infamous spear gun. He comes out with a custom spear gun in hand and a big smile on his face. He got a terrific deal. Someone had ordered this combination spear gun as a custom order but never returned to complete the purchase. The gun is made of teak and stainless steel by a company called AB Billings in the US. He got the gun for less than cost. At least that’s the story he sold me on. But, I do feel better about the potential for shark and alligator protection.

We head back to the boat. While I put the groceries away, Dave begins to prepare another great meal. We settle in and watch the DVD, “We Were Soldiers,” which we’ve seen many times, but which always affects us profoundly. What a sad but realistic portrayal of war.

Anchor Notes: With the winds increasing, we increased our scope to 140 ft. The anchor held nicely.

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Saturday, December 11, 2004

Location: South Frederica River anchorage, St Simons, GA
Destination: Staying put

This morning we awake to 20-30 kt gusts and white caps on the river. It proves to be an adventurous dinghy ride to take the girls ashore.

Although we planned today as a day of rest, we again fill the day with maintenance chores. Dave has a “To Do List” ready before the coffee is even done perking. Yipes!

We cleaned the strainers, checked the oil, topped off the fuel tank with the diesel we bought yesterday, made up a dinghy survival bag with anchor and dog provisions, checked the tide and current tables, did route planning, called family, and did the laundry. This is Dave’s idea of a day off.

Dave spends some time reading the spear fishing book that his friend Steve Gioia bought him for his birthday. Dave is thrilled to discover that the book references his exact type of gun so he is able to quickly figure out how to use it. He then calls the shop owner to discuss a few questions he has. The shop owner was more than happy to provide him with the info he needed. Dave is a happy man with thoughts of big, fat fish hanging off his line.

Tomorrow looks like a good day to move on. We’ll likely make a short 23-mile trip in the morning to catch a favorable tide on to the Brickhill River, then on to Cumberland Island, a national seashore complete with wild horses and pigs, armadillos, and lots of gators. We only have a few more stops before we cross the border into Florida.

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Total Accumulated Miles Traveled: 1379.1 statute miles
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