Day 13 – N 32° 23.643’ W 80° 40.669’ Port Royal, SC

Up at 07:00 with time for a nice breakfast before raising the anchor and getting underway at 08:10.  There is a bridge in the Savannah area that doesn’t open until 09:00, and we were anchored about 5 miles before that bridge, so we knew that it would take an hour or less to get there.  Of course it would have been even more pleasant if the temperature were above 40°F, but that was not the case.  As it turned out, we had a favorable current, so we had to slow down the engine to keep our speed at 5 knots until we reached the bridge.  Sure enough, we came around the final bend in the river at 08:55 and there was the bridge, with 2 other sailboats waiting for the opening.  We slowed down just a little and called the bridge tender to confirm the 09:00 opening, then passed through the bridge right on schedule.  After that there were no more low bridges before our arrival in Port Royal Landing marina in South Carolina.

About 2 hours into today’s voyage, we had to cross the Savannah River.  This is a very busy shipping channel and the ICW crosses right at a bend in the river, so it is hard to see what is coming.  But as much of the surrounding terrain is low marshes, we saw a large ship coming up the river about 5 minutes before we got to the crossing, and I knew it would be close if we tried to cross before it.  Peter’s rule #1: big ships sink little sailboats.  So Lyn radioed the ship that we would wait until it passed before crossing.  When we actually arrived at the crossing point, the ship was out of sight around the bend.  But we had said we would wait so we did, which was good because it popped into view a few seconds later.  However, looking upriver we saw that another large ship was coming from the opposite direction, although Peter judged that it was farther away from the crossing than the first ship.  There was also a small tug and barge kind of waiting across the river by the entrance to the ICW on that side, and a dredge operating on our side of the river just a little ways downstream.  With all that going on at once, it was a little hectic, but Peter decided to cross just behind the first large ship, before the second (outgoing) one got to us, and deal with the (slower) barge and tug as the situation developed.  His plan worked out just fine, and we were out of harms way in less than 5 minutes.

The remainder of our trip to Port Royal was mostly through rivers in marshlands of the low country of South Carolina.  Our trip today was only 40 miles from start to finish, and we arrived safely at about 16:00.  We were traveling in a northeasterly direction, and the wind was from the northeast, so we had very few opportunities to use our sails.  Near the end of our day, the wind had shifted to the SE and we had a long stretch of Port Royal Sound to cross on an easterly heading, so we seized the opportunity to get an assist from the wind.  Lyn set up a video camera to provide our readers with a taste of what sailing is about.  Enjoy.

Our friends, Bill and Cheryl Mote live here at Port Royal Landing marina, so we will spend a few days here to visit with them and enjoy the hospitality of South Carolina's lowlands before continuing our journey to Chesapeake Bay.

Day 12 – N 32° 01.002’ W 81° 01.939’ Herb River, GA

Déjà vu, all over again. 

Based on forecast N winds at 10 to 15 mph and seas 2 feet or less, we decided to go out to sea again today and set a course directly for Port Royal, SC, where we want to see our friends Bill and Cheryl Mote.  We knew that even if the winds turned out to be a little NE, we could motor into the small seas and still arrive before sunset.  Up before sunrise, we had the anchor up just as the sun was rising and noted that the wind was also doing the same, after a perfectly calm night at anchor.  By the time we got to the end of the sea channel, the wind was quite strong, more like 15 to 20 mph, and the seas had kicked up to 3 to 5 feet.  We set our course for Port Royal, and just as it did yesterday, the wind started clocking around to the east, so we were not able to hold our course.  But because the seas were running so high, we weren’t able to make any headway motoring directly into them either.  After an hour of crashing up and down the waves and making only 4 to 5 knots, Peter decided to tack in toward the coast and enter Ossabaw Sound and join the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). 

Osprey on ICW day marker "48"

The ICW winds through the tidal rivers that form the barrier islands of coastal GA, SC and NC.  There is lots of wildlife in the many waterfront ecosystems along this 1000 mile system of rivers and canals.  Some birds, like ospreys, take advantage of the man-made amenities that are part of the ICW infrastructure and put it to their own uses.

We checked the tides, and of course the high tide was just happening in Ossabaw, so we would be fighting an outgoing current as we were entering this long sound.  Three hours after entering Ossabaw Sound, we reached the ICW, a mere 11 miles distant.  We had no hope of making Port Royal before sundown, so we started looking for a suitable anchorage in the Savannah, GA area.  Skipper Bob’s publication directed us to a little river branching off the ICW as a suitable anchorage and here we are now in Herb River, just outside of Savannah.  It is calm and well protected, but seems to be in the landing pattern for Savannah airport.  We are now committed to the ICW for the rest of our trip to Port Royal, but it should be one more day before we arrive there.

Day 11 – N 31° 40.934’ W 81° 09.423’ Walburg Creek, GA

Finally, after nearly a week of bad weather, including thunderstorms for 2 days and high winds for 3 days, we got a day that promised to be good.  Forecast winds were to be NW at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph and the seas were to be 2 to 3 feet.  The day was to be sunny, but chilly, starting out at 35°F with a high of 56°F.  So we bundled up and left the marina at St. Simons Island at 08:05 and set our course for the sea channel.  We thought that we could make it to Ossabaw Sound before sundown and anchor there, but a backup plan was to find an anchorage in St. Catherine’s Sound (about 10 miles shorter trip than Ossabaw).  We set one sail as soon as we cleared the docks, but waited setting the main sail until we reached the end of the sea channel.  This was because the wind would be directly behind us as we went down the 5 mile sea channel, and with the waves there was a strong risk of gybing, which could be very dangerous in such strong winds.  Even though we were fighting an incoming current in the sea channel, with the one sail set we were able to average about 6 knots during that transit.  We were off to a great start!

Leaving St. Simons Island, GA

Upon reaching the end of the sea channel, we set the main sail, and bore off to find our course to Ossabaw.   In a few minutes time, it became clear that the wind was not NW as promised, but NNW, which meant that we would not be able to steer a direct course to Ossabaw.  We decided to steer as close to the wind as we could and hope the wind would go back to NW as forecast.  After an hour or so the wind had changed, but in the opposite direction to what we hoped for, and our course was getting farther and farther out to sea.  By noon, it was clear that “Tall Tales NOAA” had once again earned its nickname, and we were by now 5 miles farther out to sea than we wanted to be.  Peter decided to tack in order to return to our original track, and maybe take advantage of the rapidly worsening wind direction (what hurts on one tack, helps on the other one).  Sure enough, in the one hour it took us to return to our original track the wind had gone through N and NE and was now E, and we were able to hold a course toward our original objective.  But because we had lost an hour by going so far out to sea, we were obliged to take our backup anchorage in St. Catherine’s Sound.  Lyn put out a fishing line but no luck with that.

Wild pig on St. Catherine's Island, GA

Our cruising information told us of an interesting anchorage located just inside St. Catherine’s Sound, in Walburg Creek.  Creeks in the Georgia barrier islands are salt water and the tide ebbs and flows through them, but they usually are deep because the tidal flows scour their bottoms out 4 times per day.  As we were entering Walburg Creek, we noticed some activity on the shoreline of St. Catherine’s Island.  It turned out to be several wild pigs feeding in the grasses above the shoreline.  We found the anchorage to be very peaceful and pleasant and slept comfortably through the night after a gourmet meal of chili over a bed of rice, topped off with carrot cake.

We tried to phone TowboatUS to let them know that we had anchored safely for the night, but the island is so remote that we had no cell phone reception.  We tried to raise TowboatUS on the VHF radio, but could only get SeaTow.  They were kind enough to relay the information to TowboatUS.

Day Six - St. Simons Island (T'storms)

View through Kite's windows today.

No progress today.  After listening to the weather forecast last night (severe t'storms today and tomorrow) we decided that we wanted to stay a bit longer at St. Simons Island.  This morning it looked a little like the forecast was not going to materialize, but we our decision was vindicated by noon when the first thunderstorm rolled through.  Since then there have been a few more, and the weather radio is constantly relaying severe weather warnings throughout the region.  The view through our windows looked a lot like this all day.

Brown pelican and royal terns flocking on the dock.

We've decided to stay here until the weather improves, likely Monday morning.  Meanwhile we have been enjoying the wildlife here.  Quite a variety of birds enjoy using the dock as a platform for their meetings.  This morning there were about 50 birds, mostly laughing gulls and royal terns displaying that pecking order that Lyn captured on the beach as we made our way here.  The terns enjoy the dock's edge, a waterfront view, while the gulls take their positons behind the terns.  A brown pelican also joined the flock for a while.  He seemed to be giving us an evil stare, and stood wherever he wanted to.

We'll post an update after we get moving again.

Day Five - N 31 09.973' W 81 24.895' St. Simons Island

Hurray! We are (finally!) en route to Chesapeake Bay.  The new pump arrived as planned on Wednesday, early afternoon and Peter had it installed before 15:00.  So we decided to leave Jax Municipal Marina immediately and anchor at the east end of Blount Island, near the mouth of the St. Johns River, where we could decide in the morning whether to travel by sea or by Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to St. Simons Island, GA.  This would depend upon the weather and sea conditions.  We left the marina before 15:00 in bright sunshine, expecting a rather slow trip because we would be traveling against the (flooding) incoming tidal current for most of the 12 miles distance.  The wind was strong from the north, so we got to have a power assist from the sail for about half the distance.  All was going well until we got to the Dames Point Bridge, at the western end of Blount Island.  The weather abruptly changed to a thunderstorm with cold, torrential rain.  On top of that, there was a dredge operating in the channel there and tugs and barges maneuvering in the area, so we both had to be on deck and alert to the many dangers.  The farther east we traveled the more severe the rain, until we reached our anchorage, soaked and freezing cold, at about 18:00.  We quickly set the anchor and went below (nautical term for "inside our boat's cabin") to strip off our wet clothing and find something warm and dry to wear, and get some warm food to eat.  In spite of the weather, we had reached our objective and made 12 nautical miles of progress toward Chesapeake Bay.

Lyn prepared some warm chili over a bed of rice while we both listened to "Tall Tails NOAA" for a weather forecast update.  The forecast called for low temps of 40 degrees F by morning, and a daytime high of only 60 degrees F on Thursday.  The predicted wind was 20 knots from the northwest, with seas building to 3 to 5 feet.  We decided to start out in the ICW and kept open the option to go to sea at St. Mary's inlet (at the northern border of Florida) if the wind didn't strengthen as predicted.  We prefer to travel at sea, because when the weather is favorable, it is far easier and safer.  The ICW has many shallow spots and is narrow in many locations, so the helmsperson has to be very attentive all the time.  In contrast, at sea, the water is deep and one normally has to set a straight line course to the next objective, and the autopilot and take care of the steering for most of the trip.  But it is not very pleasant to be at sea when the weather is bad, so the ICW is an alternative.

We awakened at 06:45 on Thursday to a chilly morning.  It was indeed about 40 degrees outside and only about 55 degrees inside.  Wednesday evening we had decided not to leave the warmth of our cabin to start the generator, and felt we could withstand the chilly conditions of the morning.  We dressed in our woolies with lots of layers, and got underway by 07:30.  There was an annoying alarm buzzer that normally stops when the engine oil pressure comes up after starting, but today it would not quit.  Peter checked the engine oil and the level was fine and there was no sign of any leakage into the bilge, so we decided the sensor was bad and we could deal with it at St. Simons Island - today's destination.  Meanwhile Peter muted the incessant beeping by folding up a towel and placing it over the buzzer.  By 08:00 we had entered Sister's Creek and hailed the drawbridge there to get an opening. The trip through the ICW had a couple of white knuckle experiences as the water depth shallowed out to below 6 feet (near Sawpit Creek, and again in Jekyll Creek, at high tide!).  When we got to the St. Mary's inlet, we noted that the wind had strengthened and seemed more northerly, so we decided to stay in ICW for the whole trip.  We were able to motor sail for about 2.5 hours during the 11.5 hour trip.  We thought we might be ahead of the "snowbirds" returning to Canada and northern US, but weren't sure until today.  After traveling all day (11+ hours) we were passed by 1 powerboat heading north, period.  The marinas at Fernandina Harbor and Jekyll Creek were quite empty, as is the Golden Isles marina at St. Simons Island, where we are now resting having made 60 nautical miles of additional progress.

Bird real estate pecking order.

Lyn bundled against the cold.

Along the ICW, Lyn photographed an interesting phenomenon of bird behavior.  It seems the white pelicans take the high ground, the brown pelicans have the middle ground, and the anhingas get the waters-edge.  She took this photo through the eyepiece of stabilized binoculars.

Today, Friday, was devoted to discovering and correcting the real cause of the oil pressure alarm.  Peter took out the engine manuals and was able to locate where on the engine the oil pressure switch is located.  Inspecting visually confirmed that one of the two electrical connection tabs had broken off after 10 years of engine vibration, so we needed a new oil pressure switch.  The marina has a loan car available, and a quick trip to the local NAPA parts store produced a suitable replacement.  So we can enjoy a cool afternoon at St. Simon's Island today before starting the next leg tomorrow.  Based on the forecast, it looks like we will be another day in the ICW, and there is a pretty good chance of thunderstorms.

Day One - N 30 19.2', W 81 38.5'

Got off to a great start! Left our marina Sunday, around 17:45, after a great send-off at the marina by our friends Richard and Debbie Ortis, Karen Gustafson, and Joyce White.  Our plan was to spend the night at Jacksonville Municipal Marina - downstream of all the bridges that would not open on weekdays during rush hour - and leave at 07:00 on Monday for sea.  We would spend the day traveling 60+ miles to St. Simons Island, then anchor off St. Simons Island for the night.  That was the plan.

Reality check: Upon arriving at Jacksonville Municipal Marina Peter checked the engine and found a significant leak coming from the raw water pump.  His attempts to correct the problem resulted in over-tightening a bolt that closes up the pump body, and stripping out the threads.  Now we need a new raw water pump - we do not carry a spare of this item.  Who was it that wisely said the definition of cruising is finding ways to fix your boat in exotic locations.

So it is now 19:00 on Monday, and we are still at Jax Municipal Marina and after searching local sources for a new pump we decided to order one online.  It looks like we'll be here until Wednesday afternoon before we can get one.  Then we'll try again on Thursday to begin our journey in earnest.  On the bright side, we have the marina to ourselves.  As you can see, it is empty of boats, except Kite.

Provisioning for the Trip

How do I bring enough food on our boat to avoid having to do frequent grocery shopping along the way in small convenience stores with limited supplies? That’s my challenge in provisioning for our trip to Chesapeake Bay.  Even if there are some good groceries stores along our route, we will have to carry everything to the boat, so stocking up on non-perishables before we go is my preferred strategy.

Many convenience items are not as “convenient” as you might think when living aboard and cruising for months.  Disposable plates and cups leave you with a mountain of trash and no place to dump it except when you stay at a marina. Beverages in cans and plastic bottles also leave you with bulky trash. We are carrying water in our water tanks anyway (80 gallons when full), so I prefer to mix up beverages as needed and keep them in reusable containers. Our favorites for hot weather are Gatorade (from powder), ice-tea (made in the sun) and lemonade made from bottled lemon juice and sweetened with stevia. In cold weather we like coffee, tea, herbal teas and cocoa --- and soups (is that a beverage?) I even make up powdered milk to use in cooking pancakes, oatmeal, or making yogurt.

We have a small refrigerator which includes a very small freezer box. It’s powered by the boat batteries which are kept charged using a combination of our wind generator, gas generator, or by running our boat engine. I can cram about 5 frozen packs of meats/poultry/fish for the 2 of us into the freezer box, and these make the basis of some dinners. Other dinners from canned and/or dry goods include beans, chili, spaghetti, or other pasta, rice, lentils, etc.  I like cans for minimizing trash since I can take the bottom off the empty cans and then flatten them. In the refrigerator section I keep “essential” perishables: beer, milk, juice, butter, condiments, cheese, sandwich meats, tomatoes, celery, radishes and romaine lettuce (which keeps really well for several weeks when wrapped in wet paper towels and then plastic bags). A few fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t need refrigeration round out the supplies: oranges, apples, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots. Replacing perishables will, of course, require some grocery shopping.

We have a 2-burner propane stove in our galley, and a propane-fueled grill (which we only use when anchored) that hangs from the stern. We like a few one-pot meals we can cook on the stove, even when sailing on the ocean. Chicken alfredo using canned chicken, canned artichoke hearts, fresh carrots and frozen peas or other vegetables is a frequent one. So are pasta or rice-based meals.

Freshly caught fish is our favorite meal! When we are sailing in the Atlantic (as opposed to the Intracoastal Waterway), we often hang a fishing line off the stern of the boat.  In the past we have caught mahi-mahi and a small black-fin tuna (in the Bahamas), and also a king mackerel once on the way to Charleston.

So I now have on board, stashed in every available storage compartment, over 75 cans, 23 plastic bottles (sauces, oils) and 18 boxes of dry goods – not to mention 12 bottles of wine! I’m expecting these to supplies to last for up to 4 months. Everyone has their own preferences, but the goal of good provisioning, in my mind, is to be able to pull into a harbor, drop anchor and then have on hand what we need to make a good dinner. Then we can relax in the cockpit and enjoy it with a glass of wine while watching the sunset.