Went to the Beach at Jekyll Island, Ga.; Fueled Up; Anchoring in Florida Tomorrow

Spent the morning cleaning and reorganizing the boat. Then Chuck took Jazzy for a walk while I made bacon and French toast for breakfast.Then we moved the boat to the fuel dock, fueled up and moved back to our spot on the transient dock. They had five boats coming in at once yesterday, so we didn't fuel up when we arrived.

We left Jazzy on the boat and walked up to the new convention center on the ocean side of the island. There is so much development since we were here four years ago. They put sidewalks in everywhere and really beautified the area. A bike path was added all around the island and the marina has free bicycles to loan.

There's a Days Inn down from the convention center and three more hotels and a shopping complex are under construction.

It felt good to get our toes in the sand and the ocean! It was 80 degrees here today. We even turned the air conditioning on in the boat when we got back to the marina.

We fueled up and are ready to head to Florida tomorrow. We're planning on staying in an anchorage just below Fernandina Beach.

I made NY strip steaks, baked potatoes and a Caesar salad for dinner. Then we walked up and sat at a picnic table with a bottle of wine and listened to the band that was playing at Sea Jay's. I even got Chuck to dance under the trees. It was a wonderful evening.

Tomorrow: Anchorage in Ft. George River or Sisters Creek

This is part of a mile-long barge that went past us today!

Walking to the new convention center on Jekyll Island.

The beach!

We near the very back on the right.

Tonight's sunset...beautiful!

We're in Jekyll Island, Ga.; Enjoyed Dinner with Friends (Again!)

We left Kilkenny Creek at 7:30 a.m. We had planned to anchor in the Duplin River tonight. We passed SM 620 at 8:20 a.m. We went down Bear River, across St. Catherine South, down North Newport River, into Johnson Creek. At 9:50 a.m. Johnson Creek ran into the South Newport River and at 10 a.m. we entered Sapelo Sound. We crossed SM650 at 10 a.m.

The skipper checked the trip odometer reading. We went 1,050 statute miles so far. The current was pulling us out to the sound at 9.7 knots. Then it slowed us to 6.5 after we turned at marker 138A. We went down the Front River, through Old Tea Kettle Creek into the Duplin River.

We pulled out the main sail at 10:25 a.m. to try to get some speed and better fuel mileage.

We saw lots of dolphins today. We reached our anchorage at 11:50 a.m. and decided to keep going. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day and it was too early to stop.

Between SM 654 and 655 we had to slow down because it was dead low tide and we were seeing 4.6 feet of water in some places!

We continued into the North River, through Little Mud River and into Buttermilk Sound. At SM 660, a few minutes before 2 p.m., I took the helm for a few minutes in Buttermilk Sound while Chuck added 5 gallons of fuel . Then we headed down the Mackay River.

We were in touch with Jim and Ruth Edwards and Sandy and Joe McConnell. They were in Jekyll Island for the day! So we called to see if there was a slip at Jekyll Island Harbor Marina so we could meet them for dinner again.

We entered St. Simon’s Sound at 4 p.m. and Jekyll Creek at 4:40 p.m., motor sailing at 7 mph. We pulled alongside the transient pier just before 5 p.m., where our friends were waiting for us.

We went to Sea Jay’s Waterfront Café and Pub here. We had Chuck’s birthday dinner there four years ago. I had a cup of Heart Brunswick Stew and half a shrimp salad sandwich on a croissant for dinner, Chuck had a hamburger, both with wine, of course!

We’ll probably stay here tomorrow so we can spend a day on land and our insurance stipulates we can’t cross the Georgia/Florida border until Friday.

This morning on our way out of Kilkenny.

A few minutes later...

Dead low tide. We saw many markers with no water.

Adding 5 gallons of fuel.

Jazzy met some new friends on the dock.

Dinner with friends on Jekyll Island, Ga.

We're in Kilkenny Creek, Richmond Hill, Ga.

Tuesday, Oct. 29

It was a beautiful sunny day on the water. It started out at 66 degrees at 7:45 a.m. and it was close to 80 degrees when we ended the day.

We crossed the border into Georgia at 10:10 a.m. We stopped at Isle of Hope Marina for pumpout because we intended to anchor out the next few nights and there are very few pumpouts in Georgia. It cost us $20 plus a $5 tip and I don’t even think we needed it! Ugh. The gauge was still showing ¼ when it was pumped out, so I adjusted it for next time. THAT was a big waste. No pun intended.

We had a dolphin follow us for a while. I can’t seem to catch a good photo of them with my camera, so I took video and caught a frame from there. See below.

The R.C. Roebling Highway bascule bridge was replaced by a 65 ft. fixed bridge at SM 592.6 since we were here last. We motor sailed on the Little Ogeechee River through Hell Gate into the Ogeechee River. I set up the anchor locker, unlocked the chain, hooked on the remote and as we went by Kilkenny Creek Marina to anchor, we decided to call them to see if we could dock for the night. It was 4:45 p.m.

Yes, we’re lazy. Besides, the Damp Rid bag that was hanging in the bathroom leaked all over the laundry bag and all the laundry was wet and sticky, so I had laundry to do. I forgot about the laundry facility here. It’s one washer for 75 cents and one dryer for 50 cents. And it’s in an old shed full of spider webs. There IS a nice formica folding counter that is clean. That came in handy. Of course,50 cents doesn’t dry your clothes, so I just kept putting quarters in.

I washed three loads. The second one was unbalanced and I had to run the washer again with half in the first half of the cycle to spin them dry and the other half on the rinse cycle to spin. Since it is coin-operated, there was no way to just re-spin them. It was AFTER I rung them all out by hand that I got the idea to re-run the washer with half a load in each half of the cycle. LOL. I got lots of exercise walking back and forth from our long dock to the laundry. It felt good to walk. I must have walked back and forth 15+ times.

They sell fresh shrimp here for bait and they were swimming in a tank. I took a photo. See below.

The old dog that was here on our last trip passed three years ago. I swear, Jazzy remembers where we are and was looking for him!

I made stuffed boneless chicken breast topped with peaches and a sweet and sour sauce, and mixed vegetables for dinner.

I paid bills online tonight. The connection was so slow that it took me two long frustrating hours, in what should have taken me 30 minutes! Oh, the pleasures of traveling in the boondocks!

Tomorrow:  Anchorage in Duplin River, behind the ferry crossing. We can’t cross the St. Mary’s, Georgia, line before Friday due to insurance restrictions.

This morning's sunrise.

Waiting for the bridge to open.

They are taking down the old bascule bridge.
 It was replaced by the fixed bridge in foreground.

This dolphin followed us for a few minutes.

Jazzy laying with mommy.

The boat lift and shrimp tanks

The laundry "shed."

The shrimp swimming.

The transient dock is an obstacle course!

Fun Times with Friends in Hilton Head, SC

We were planning to go to Beaufort, SC, today, but our friends Jim and Ruth Edwards and Joe and Sandy McConnell are vacationing in Hilton Head, SC, so we decided to go there and catch up with them.

We left Green Pond, SC, at 7:45 a.m. after spending some time looking at the charts and changing our destination. So glad we did! We saw lots of dolphins, one swimming along side of us for a while, but I was at the helm and Chuck was down below, so couldn’t get a picture.

We arrived around 2 p.m. and Chuck changed the oil while I took Jazzy for a long walk. We’re at Hilton Head Harbor RV Park, Marina and Resort. We’re at the end of the T head on the ICW and it’s fairly quiet here.

We went to Hudson’s Restaurant, Hilton Head’s most renowned seafood eatery on the water. Their seafood is from local fishermen and they serve 3,000 gallons of oysters, 70,000 pounds of shrimp and 250,000 raw oysters annually here.

I had the red snapper over red-skinned smashed potatoes and fresh spinach. It was awesome! Chuck had a steamed seafood combination of oysters, clams and shrimp. Yum!

We drove like teenagers crammed into a five-person car back to our marina. I sat on Chuck’s lap. Our friend, Chrissy, sent me a text while we were in the restaurant, so we called her on speaker phone from the car and we all talked. Good times with good friends.

I ran down to Sheet Music to grab some glasses and a bottle of wine to sit outside on the dock, but the no-see-ums had a different idea, so we called it a night.

Tomorrow: Anchorage somewhere south of Hilton Head

Sunrise leaving Green Pond, SC

The evasive dolphin. LOL.

Chuck adjusting lines on Sheet Music.

Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort Marina and Restaurant

Record shark catch here is 360 pounds.

Changing the oil

The sunset through the restaurant window.

Me and Chuck, Ruth & Jim Edwards and Sandy & Joe McConnell.

Mmmm. Fresh Shrimp at B & B Seafood in Green Pond, SC

We left Charleston around 7:30 a.m. The Cooper River was eerily smooth. We went through Wappoo Creek Bridge at 8:30 a.m. I was tired, so I napped during the day. Not much going on today. We DID see lots of dolphins, though.

We had planned to anchor tonight, but it was too early when we got to the anchorage, so we are staying at B & B Seafood dock. We stayed here when we traveled with Bum’s Rest. It’s only $25 for the night and they sell fresh shrimp. I bought 3 lbs. and made a new dish for dinner. It was delicious!

I peeled the shrimp, sprinkled them with fresh ground pepper, kosher salt and a little fresh lemon juice. Then I sautéed fresh minced garlic with a pinch of paprika in olive oil, added the shrimp, turned them over. Then I added diced tomatoes, chopped artichoke hearts, a little lemon zest and a little lemon  juice. I added crumbled feta cheese and mixed in Farfalle pasta. I let it sit covered while we ate our Caesar salad and that helped melt the feta.

I also discovered that if I boil water, dump the pasta in and turn off the burner, I can cover it tightly and the pasta cooks in the hot water and it saves propane!

Tomorrow: Beaufort, SC (pronounced Bew-fort, not to be confused with Beaufort, NC, pronounced Bow-fort)

The sunrise leaving Charleston Maritime Center

This tug was moving a water tower in three pieces.

It was also being pushed by another tug

Tonight's dinner. Yummm.

Happy Birthday to my sister, Susie! Beautiful Day in Charleston

A shout out to my sister, Susie Pettrey, who celebrates her birthday today.

I was up a few times with the dinghy banging against the stern behind my head, so I finally gave in at 1:30 a.m. and tied a flat fender between the boat and the dinghy. Finally, some peaceful sleep. No alarms today, but a seagull woke me up at 8 a.m.!

After I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, we took Jazzy for a walk to the hardware store to buy oil for the next oil change. Then we went across the street to Harris Teeter

and Chuck stayed outside with her while I picked up a few things that I didn’t get the other night. We took our purchases back to the boat and left Jazzy there.

Granite map of Ireland

Chuck and I walked around the marina and surrounding area. We saw an Irish Memorial, a granite map of Ireland. Then we walked into downtown Charleston. We toured the Old Slave Mart Museum, known as Ryan’s Mart, the last standing building in Charleston where slaves were sold. It was a depressing place. I’m glad we didn’t live in those times. We had lunch at Queology Competition BBQ, where we split a rack of ribs, cole slaw and potato salad and some Coors Light. It was delicious!

We toured through all the vendors in the Charleston Market, a series of buildings in the middle of the street. I resisted buying anything.

I got another load of laundry done when we returned to the marina. No dinner tonight. We’re still full from lunch!

Tomorrow: South Edisto River Anchorage

Old Rice Refinery

Sheet Music at Charleston Maritime Center

Time Capsule...wonder what's in it?

Old Slave Mart Museum

Me posing with a Gas Lantern

The streets are marked with brass plaques in the sidewalk

Carriage Stable

Fountain

Docked at Charleston Maritime Center; Spending the Day in Charleston Tomorrow

We loved the anchorage at Minim Creek. We had a good holding and a solid night's sleep. Chuck pulled the anchor and it came up clean. No mud this morning to wash off. We left at 7:10 a.m. We were moving at 9.2 knots SOG and 6 knots SOW. We called for a slip at the Charleston Maritime Center and they were booked, but since we have such a shallow draft, they could fit us in on the inside. Our friends, Bill Turner and Patti O’Neill Turner stayed here on Annalee and recommended it. The marina is in the downtown area and is owned by the city and is a Boat U.S. marina. We’ve gotten our money’s worth with Boat U.S. with all the discounts we’ve received on fuel and dockage already this trip.

The sun finally came out from behind the big bank of clouds around 10 a.m. It felt good! We were freezing all day. It was bitter cold with the wind coming over our beam. Chuck even had a fleece neck wrap on today to keep warm.

We went under the Isle of Palms Highway Bridge at 12:53 p.m. and the Ben Sawyer Bridge opens on the hour, which was 3.3 miles ahead. We knew we couldn’t make the 1 p.m. opening, so we slowed down. But the bridge tender let us through at 1:40 p.m., after another sailboat caught up to us.

We entered the Charleston Harbor at 1:53 p.m. and arrived at our marina around 3 p.m. after taking photos of the aircraft carrier and the bridge.

There are two free washers and dryers here, so I went up and washed a load of clothes, while Chuck hosed the boat down to get rid of the salt. Tonight is the first time I hear that familiar “crackling” of the shrimp eating the algae off the bottom of the boat. Our last trip, we thought we had an electrical problem until Patti Bumm told us what it was. Now we know what it is!

We’re staying two nights so we can get a good walk downtown tomorrow. We’ve been pushing along and we need some exercise! By Sunday, the weather is supposed to be back in the mid 70s. I can't wait!

This morning's sunrise leaving the anchorage.

Another swing bridge.

Bridge at U.S.S. Yorktowne.

U.S.S. Yorktowne behind marina.

U.S.S. Yorktowne