Skylarking

The weather was once again forecast for some severe wind and storms. We left the free dock fairly early and headed toward Hilton Head. Today’s trip was only about fifteen miles, so it would only take us two to three hours. We are used to traveling at this speed, and it must sound funny to hear how long it takes us, but we’re not in a fast boat!

We made it to the marina and I called in on the radio to let them know we were close. They directed me to our assigned slip and we docked without incident. The dock hand that helped us was a little too close in contact for our comfort, but we were able to stay far enough away and finally get rid of him so we could go about our business adjusting the lines. This had been our docking procedure: pull in, get secure, then I go about adding bumpers and adjusting and adding spring lines as I see fit, while Lauren takes Frank for a quick walk. We got settled in and spent the day on the boat, we ordered dinner from a local restaurant which delivered and it was delicious! It was the first time we’ve had ‘restaurant’ food in a while… She-Crab soup, blackened fish sandwich, salmon with collard greens and potatoes. We stayed inside and dry from the rain that was coming down in buckets.

Day 2: Lauren did some laundry in the morning then we got the bikes off and went for a ride. As we were riding by a small creek I noticed an alligator sunning on the bank. We stopped to look at it and it looked like it wasn’t real- maybe a yard decoration to scare other alligators? – It was far enough away we couldn’t get close to it, so we decided we would check back on the way back to see if it was still there. We were riding to find a hardware store as our sink drain had broke. The ring that connects the drain to the pipe had cracked, so it was now hanging loose. We currently have to use a bucket under the drain to drain the sink…I didn’t think it would be too hard to fix if I could find the right pieces… we decided to see ride to a beach first and found it gated and locked shut. They are closed! We tried the next beach a little farther down the road and it too was closed, with a security guard sitting in a truck at the entrance to make sure no one got in! Oh well- we started back toward the marina and made a stop at the hardware store. I picked up what I thought I needed and we decided to stop at the nearby grocery store too. Once we were stocked with what we could carry on our bikes, we headed back to the marina. We got to the gate of the marina which is in a ‘gated community’ and the officer at the gate tried to give us a hard time. I had to show my drivers license to her (she was not wearing gloves or a mask) and explain we were at the dock. She eventually let us in (with bags of groceries!?) and we continued on. I stopped to see if the alligator’was still there and it was not, so it WAS real, and was now somewhere else. We got back to the boat and unloaded the groceries, then I went to work on the drain. Turns out I didn’t get all the right pieces- I need to replace not just the ring, but the pipe as well. Ughh. I guess we’ll just have to keep using the bucket to drain the sink until we can get to another hardware store. The rest of the night was spent having dinner, walking Frank and planning our next destination…

We left St. Catherines and headed toward Savannah. The day did not go as planned in many ways, and we ended up traveling about sixty five miles; this is a lot more miles than we normally travel.

Departing our anchorage was easy enough. We weren’t in a hurry and after taking Frank to shore first it was almost 10am before we actually left. We followed the ICW back past Kilkenny Creek and continued north. The current was flowing against us for a while, so our speed was between five to six knots. We were soon coming to Hell Gate- a shallow area of the ICW that you want to transit on a rising tide, but never at low tide. We were not at low tide, so going through shouldn’t be a problem… It was not a problem going through, but when we came out the other side in Green Island Sound, the markers were confusing. I could see on the chart there was a shallow are to our north, with deeper water on either side. A little before the shallow area, I saw the chart had depths at ten to twelve feet. We needed to cross the sound and pick up the ICW on the other side. I turned the boat toward the other side and continued on, thinking we were past the hard part. As i was looking down at the chart the boat came to a dead halt. WTF!? It came to such a fast stop it threw me forward toward the steering wheel. I can only imagine what Lauren felt! The good news was I didn’t hear any scratching sounds or solid objects hitting us- it seemed we literally ran right on to a mud or sand shoal. I immediately throttled down and shifted in reverse. I was hoping we could back off of this and at first nothing was happening. Lauren came out from downstairs and said “What was that!? Are we aground?!” I responded affirmatively and told her I was trying to back us off. Eventually I saw we were making some progress, so I continued to throttle in reverse. We finally came un-stuck and I looked at the charts and decided I would head south, around the ‘ten foot’ areas and stay in the sixteen to twenty foot range. I was a little shaken up over this, but we kept on going. We followed the ICW and passes a coule of anchorages we had discussed, but they were not in the city of Savannah. I thought we were going to Savannah, so I continued on. We came to a cut by Elba Island that would take us to Savannah, but as I looked at the chart I was seeing really shallow water. I was afraid now after our grounding ealrier, so I took the ‘long way’, bypassing the cut and adding an hour to our trip. Now we were in the Savannah River, heading toward downtown. We got to the downtown area and sure enough the public docks were all closed and roped off with police tape. There was nowhere to dock, and the anchorage that we thought was there too was not to be found. There were no other boats anchored anywhere around, the current was strong and we were in a major shipping channel. Lauren called a local marina to inquire about anchoring somewhere and they told her not to do it, for all of the above reasons. Shit. Lauren asked about the anchorages we had discussed and I explained they were several miles back and I thought we had decided to skip them to get here. I was wrong- I skipped them and now we have nowhere to go. Shit, again. We looked at the charts and saw there was a free day dock at mile marker 570.5- that is about fourteen miles away and we are losing day light. We could still make it there if we go now, so I turned the boat around and throttled on. We were now headed back down the Savannah River to where we could pick up the ICW again and continue on the fourteen miles.

We finally made it to the free dock. There were a couple of people fishing on the pier but I pulled right up and we tied off. Lauren hopped off and took Frank for a much needed walk. There were signs stating ‘no overnight docking’ but we’ve done this before. Besides the dock and the island seemed pretty deserted except for the couple of people fishing, We did talk about going across from the dock and dropping anchor, but it was getting late and we decided to roll the dice. We had dinner and looked at our next stop. Hilton Head Island is next, and there are more storms and high winds in the immediate forecast. We went on Dockwa- an app that allows you to book slips at marinas- and made a reservation at Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head. We want to leave early in the morning so we do not push our luck at this free dock…

Since Lauren found out about the lemurs on St. Catherines Island, that is where we are heading! It was only less than ten miles backwards, so it didn’t take too long, only about an hour and a half. We crossed back across St. Catherines Sound and made our way into Walburg Creek. The north end of the island was all sandy beach, so we stayed close to that so we could land the dinghy easily. We found our spot, dropped anchor and waited. The waiting is critical to make sure the anchor is holding tight and not dragging. After we were confident in the anchor, we headed to shore.

There were a couple of boats beached with people hanging out on the beach, so we landed far away from them. We walked all the way around the island to the Atlantic Ocean side. We brought our binoculars to help us search for these elusive lemurs and other wildlife. At one point we made our way a short way into the island and I saw an armadillo (I think) and a couple of snakes, but no lemurs. We turned around when we came to a creek/marshy area with no easy way to cross it. We got back to the beach and again avoided the few people that were still hanging out and made our way back to Klondike. I think Frank enjoyed the long walk and time he was allowed to run around off leash. We had dinner and decided to stay another night since we liked this anchorage so much.

Day 2- We again went to the beach to let Frank run and continue t look for lemurs. We did some research about the island:

I copied and pasted the above from the website ‘Only In Your State‘ and the pictures of the lemurs are as close as we came to seeing them…

We planned tomorrows trip- we were planning on going to Savannah, but there is mixed reports about the free dock there being closed and possibly an anchorage close by, so we’re not sure exactly where we will end up…

In the morning I took Frank to Sapelo Island one more time. We were there pretty early- around 7:30am, so I knew we probably wouldn’t see anyone and I was right. We took a walk down the same road and returned without seeing anyone. We pulled anchor and headed north on the ICW toward our next anchorage- Kilkenny Creek.

Our research on this anchorage showed a good protected anchorage, but shore access was only if we got permission from the only marina around there. All of the other anchorages we researched had zero shore access, so we took our chances with this. We found the turn off and made our way up the creek. We found a spot to drop the anchor and commenced making sure we were secure. I called the marina and requested permission to land the dinghy to walk the dog. They said it would be fine.

We took the dinghy to shore and walked Frank. There wasn’t anything around, so we walked a bit, then turned around and headed back to the boat. The rest of the night was relaxed, dinner, and more research on our next destination. Lauren had since found out we passed St. Catherine’s Island a few miles back and it has some extreme wildlife, such as lemurs on the island, so we decided we would go backwards and try to find some lemurs!

Today we were going about thirty miles to the Duplin River. I had noticed it on the charts and it looked like a pretty good anchorage. We made our way there and found a spot to ‘drop the hook’. We were a little ways past an active ferry dock that transports people to and from the island, as that is the only way to access the island. We were fairly close to the shore, trying to stay out of the middle of the river, but it was plenty deep all the way to shore and we were the only boat anchored there. Again the tides were extreme- they dropped and rose around seven feet! Once we were comfortable knowing we were secure, I took Frank to the island.

We made it to the island and were walking down the road when a ferry dropped off some of the locals. They all drove past and waved, but I didn’t have any contact with anyone. We continued down the only road and walked about a half mile then turned around and returned to the dock. We made it back to the boat and I was telling Lauren about the amount of cars that were parked just up from the ferry. They looked like they hadn’t moved in some time, but it made me curious, so we looked up the history of the island. Apparently it is the site of Hog Hammock, the last known Gullah community. It is illegal to visit the island without a permit issued by state tourism authorities. No one questioned me, so no harm no foul, right? More from Wikipedia: “The community of Hog Hammock, also known as Hogg Hummock, includes homes, a general store, bar, public library, and other small businesses including vacation rentals. There are two active church congregations in Hog Hammock: St. Luke Baptist Church, founded in 1885, and First African Baptist Church, established in 1866. The latter congregation has an older building known as First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff, constructed in 1900 in the former Raccoon Bluff community north of Hog Hammock. It is used for special services and programs. Many of the full-time inhabitants of the Hog Hammock Community are African Americans known as Gullah-Geechees, descendants of enslaved West African people brought to the island in the 1700s and 1800s to work on island plantations. The current population of full-time Gullah-Geechee residents in the community is estimated to be 47 (2009). The residents must bring all supplies from the mainland or purchase them in the small store on the island. The children of Hog Hammock take the ferry to the mainland and then take a bus to school, as the island school closed in 1978…Sapelo Island is speculated to be the site of San Miguel de Gualdape, the short-lived (1526–1527) first European settlement in the present-day United States and, if true, it would also be the first place in the present-day U.S. that a Catholic mass was celebrated.” We also found this from Buzzfeednews: The survival of black families on Sapelo traces back to an enslaved Muslim named Bilali Muhammad, an educated man who despite bondage led one of the nation’s earliest Muslim communities and wrote what’s believed to be the first Islamic text produced on American soil. And yet few in Georgia, let alone the nation, know this religious significance because Islam was omitted from the telling of early America, historians said. The center of Sapelo society is the Graball Country Store, where locals buy cold drinks and tourists can pick up a Hog Hammock T-shirt or tea made from a plant the descendants call “Life Everlasting” because of its healing properties. Every Wednesday after sundown, the back of the store turns into a bar, the only nightlife. None of this answered why there were over fifty vehicles parked there, but it was an interesting history lesson we all just learned.

The rest of the night was quiet and peaceful. All we heard was the sounds of wildlife around us. We had dinner and relaxed, doing more research on our next destination…

The trip from Brunswick to St. Simon was only about ten miles. We left just as the rain was starting. I was driving from the inside lower helm today due to the weather. As soon as we were clear of the dock the rain started coming down harder. I was glad to be inside and the windshield wipers were doing their job. At one point we couldn’t see too far in front of us, so I had all the running lights on and we were second guessing our decision to leave. Soon the rain started to lighten up, then stop. We were also getting close to our destination, so I went upstairs to dock from there where I am more comfortable and have much better views. We called the dockmaster and told him where we were and he said he would meet us at the slip he directed us to. We pulled in without incident and he secured our front line. He then told me from ten feet away he would just take all our info here so we do not have to have any contact. At least they were taking it seriously. Once the information exchange was complete he retreated to the office and sent me a text of the receipt, again so there was no actual close contact. Nice. Most marinas (not all) we have found will let us dock, but there are no facilities or amenities available which is okay with us.

We took the bikes off and rode across the bridge to St. Simons Island. We rode to the end of the island to see the St. Simons Lighthouse (museum). The museum was closed, but we got some pictures. We continued around the island and circled back to the marina. We were hanging out on the boat when Lauren discovered there are ‘Tree Spirits‘ on the island, so we hopped back on the bikes and took off to find them before it got dark. From the visitors guide: “If you look closely at certain majestic oak trees that cover St. Simons Island, it’s possible to find one gazing back at you. Either peering out from the trunk (in-between two huge branches) or from the stub of a long-vanished branch, you may see the unmistakable image of a weathered face. These are the Tree Spirits of St. Simons Island…In the 1980’s, artist Keith Jennings decided to make his mark on St. Simons Island, carving about 20 faces from the island’s famous oak trees. Each unique face is hand-carved, taking the artist between two and four days to complete. It’s not surprising that they each have a unique personality and look!…Legend has it, the images immortalize the countless sailors who lost their lives at sea aboard the mighty sailing ships that were once made from St. Simons Island oak. Their sad, sorrowful expressions seem to reflect the grieving appearance of the trees themselves with their drooping branches and moss.But if you look a little closer, you can see that there are more than just sailors amongst these tree faces. Artist Keith Jennings attributes the artwork to the spirit of the tree. He carefully carves the faces from the wood, but his artwork simply reveals each tree’s soul.”

We returned to the boat for the second time in the dark. Frank got another walk in and we looked for our next destination. We decided we would head to an anchorage off Sapelo Island, in the Duplin River. It looked promising with plenty of depth and easy shore access to walk the dog…

Morning came and we took the bikes back to shore for another tour of Jekyll Island. We explored, stopping by the small airport to watch a plane take off, then on to the Horton House and other ruins nearby. In 1735, William Horton was granted Jekyll Island by the trustees of the colony of Georgia. Following a Spanish attack that destroyed his first house on the island, Horton rebuilt the home that still stands today with the help of indentured servants in 1743. Horton distinguished himself through his leadership in the fledgling colony. As one of Gen. Oglethorpe’s top military aides, Horton was in charge of troops garrisoned at Fort Frederica on nearby St. Simons Island. Horton “found the land exceeding rich” on his Jekyll Island property, and grew a variety of crops to supply the nearby Frederica Settlement. Horton also brewed Georgia’s first beer at his plantation on Jekyll Island. The site also includes the cemetery of the DuBignon Family, which owned Jekyll from 1790 to 1886 and occupied the house as their home from 1790 until sometime in the mid-1800s. The Horton House is one of the oldest tabby buildings in Georgia, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After our tour of the ruins, we got some lunch at The Love Shack in Jekyll Market and and ate it in the sun, in a courtyard close to the beach. We rode around a bit longer then headed back to the boat to load the bikes and take Frank for a walk before pulling up our anchor.

We were only going about ten miles from Jekyll Island to Brunswick, so we didn’t have to leave until later in the day. We had made a reservation at a marina in Brunswick due to the upcoming storms that were forecast for the next couple of days. The marina is well known and quite large. Its website says “Brunswick Landing Marina is a 101-acre marina with approximately 347 wet slips plus 100 dry slips and is able to accommodate vessels up to 250-ft in length. Our floating concrete docks are built tough and secured by 14″ x 14″ reinforced concrete piles. Used by the US Navy until recently as a hurricane hole, we are surrounded by land on three sides which protects the docks and customers boats from hurricanes. This unique geographic quality is why during hurricanes every one of the 347 slips at the marina are occupied.” It is not the cheapest place to stay, but it does have some amenities such as a dog park on site, normally they have weekly parties for boaters- but not now due to Corona, but they do have FREE BEER! They have a keg in their clubhouse that boaters can enjoy at anytime. Obviously they frown upon taking pitchers of beer away, but you can fill your mug as much as you want. We were approaching the marina and I had made radio contact with the dockmaster about where we would be docking. I saw that the slip was next to another trawler and there were a couple of empty slips next to us. I called on the radio and asked if we could be one slip over? He didn’t hesitate and said no. He then called back and asked why did I not want to be next to the other boat? I replied due to the current ‘social distancing’ guidelines- we would prefer not to be right next to another boat if possible. He told me ‘no’ again and made a lame joke about the other boat being a ‘partier’. I also noticed the other boat owner was standing there listening- Oh well- nothing I could do about it so we made our way in to the slip. As a side note: the empty slips next to us were never occupied during our time there, so there was no good reason to deny our request. Obviously they were not too worried about the current virus situation around here, which did not make us feel too safe. Once the lines were secure and Frank was walked, we retreated to the boat and ordered a pizza.

Day 2- We took the bikes and rode around town. I am looking for shaft packing- it is special rope-like weave that winds around the shaft internally that allows the shaft to spin and water to drip to keep it cool, but expands to minimize the dripping. Lately it has been dripping more than I like, so I am trying to find the replacement so I can attempt to change it out. We rode to a West Marine store which I had called and they assured me they have the packing. When I showed them what I am looking for (I have a small left over piece from the previous owner) they looked shocked and said they don’t carry anything in that size. Damn. The search will go on. We then stopped at a grocery store next door and stocked up on some supplies. We can only buy as much as we can carry on our bikes and backpack. We got our supplies and made it back to the boat. I then went to the clubhouse for the free beer. There was a table of boaters hanging out inside, so I grabbed a beer and went outside so I could stay socially distanced. At least they had hand sanitizer right next to the tap handle so I could sanitize before and after pouring the beer. Lauren eventually joined me for a couple of beers before we went back to the boat for dinner and a series of Zoom meetings with friends and family to finish the day.

Day 3- The rain was continuing on and off the last few days and today was more of the same. Lauren did laundry (it too was free) and we went for another bike ride. We stopped at a cupcake shop and got some cupcakes. I found my way back to the clubhouse for more free beer, and the rest of the day was uneventful. We looked at our next destination- St. Simon Island. Lauren really wanted to check this island out, but we couldn’t find a good anchorage on our charts and the rain was to continue, so we called a marina and made another reservation. Again it was not cheap- $2.50/ ft, but they do offer a ten percent discount for BoatUS members, which we are. We only wanted to stay one night so it wouldn’t be too bad…

The trip from Brickill River to Jekyll Island was only twelve miles. Due to the lack of shore access, Frank would have to wait until we got to Jekyll Island to get to shore. We left early and found the anchorage, which had a few boats in it, but there was room for us across from nice sandy beach so I could land the dinghy without fear of tearing it up.

Jekyll Island: In 1733, General James Oglethorpe named Jekyll Island in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyll, his friend and financier from England. In the late 1800s, Jekyll Island became an exclusive hunting club for families with names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Baker. The once private retreat is now part of The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District, one of the largest preservation projects in the southeast. In 1947, the Governor and the Georgia state legislature established Jekyll Island as a State Park. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body.

After taking Frank for his much needed shore excursion, we loaded the bikes in the dinghy and unloaded at a close by boat ramp which had a dock. We rode around the island and explored the empty beaches all the way to Driftwood Beach. Driftwood Beach is filled with dead trees and driftwood (as the name implies) that resemble a scene from another world. These gnarled and weathered trees are left behind from years of erosion. We walked along the beach, staying far away from the few other people that were also exploring. We continued on to the Historic Landmark District which comprise a 240-acre site with 34 historic structures. If you follow that link you will see some pictures and history of the buildings. We made our way back to the boat and took Frank for another long walk. We decided we would bike around in the morning again, before heading to our next destination.

Our day started with the plan to go to Fernandina Beach and anchor. There was supposed to be an anchorage with access to land via the municipal marina close by. We made about twenty five miles and came to the area we could anchor at. We had to stay outside the mooring field and there were quite a few boats anchored around the only deep water. We circled through and debated where to anchor but couldn’t really find a good spot we both agreed on, so we decided to keep going. I consulted the charts and saw more anchorages if we continue on so onward we went. We soon found ourselves out of Florida and into Georgia!

We were now cruising up the west side of Cumberland Island. We continued on and soon were forty three miles from our departure point and came upon the river we wanted to anchor in. A large boat had passed us about a mile back and was now in front of us at a dead stop. I was trying to figure out if he was going into the river we were headed for as he stopped in front of the entrance. From the charts I knew it was a tricky shallow area to enter, so I was worried they had run aground. I called them on the radio but got no response. As we were approaching them, they started to move a bit and continue down the ICW. Now I was spooked and told Lauren we were not going to enter here, there is another ‘back’ entrance to the river that is deeper and we will go there instead. We continued to follow the boat that had passed us and it was slowing again. We pulled up beside it and I yelled over to them- apparently they had just hit a rock or something and damaged their prop (been there- done that), so they were now running on one engine only. There was nothing I could do to help them so we continued on to the back entrance of Brickhill River. We wound our way back and passed another trawler that was anchored. We didn’t want to be too close to them as it is impolite and there was plenty of room. We found our spot and dropped anchor. We waited to make sure we were secure, then I took Frank to try to find land. The tides here were on the extreme side- at least ten foot difference- so the land I saw was actually mud. Very soft mud. I stepped out of the dinghy and promptly sank mid calf deep. Frank jumped out and sank too. We looked at each other like ‘oh shit!’. There was nothing we could do at this point except try to get up to firm ground. We could not get there and the beach was lined with oysters, which are super sharp and will cut and deflate our dinghy really quick if I were to leave it in contact with them. We made our way back in the dinghy and continued on down the river to see if I could find a good landing spot. We found an area I could at least get hm off and not sink too deep, all the while looking out for alligators! They are supposed to be plentiful around here, so I need to be alert to our surroundings. Frank did his business and we made it back to Klondike. I called out to Lauren and she prepared a bucket to clean him up so he doesn’t track mud all around the boat. I cleaned up off the back swim platform as best I could before coming aboard. We spent the rest of the night on the boat, eating dinner and watching the tides change. I cannot explain how amazing it is to see land disappear and look out to a large body of water- knowing the land is only a foot under water! We also planned our next stop- Jekyll Island.

Our departure from St. Augustine was not without incident. We left the mooring ball and pulled to the fuel dock so we could get our pump out and retrieve the bikes. Lauren took Frank for a walk and also get the bikes one at a time while I was attending to the business. She brought one bike back and was bringing the last one- still holding Franks leash- when a dinghy pulled up and off jumped a dog who came after Frank. Since Lauren was holding the bike and the leash she was having a hard time getting the loose dog away. Eventually the owners ran up and grabbed their dog, but it shook up Lauren and Frank. The other dog was biting at Frank and all Lauren could do was yell. I was unaware of this as it was far enough away from the fuel dock to hear the commotion. Lauren told me all about it when she got back. We loaded into the boat, had a word with the dockmaster about the people and their unleashed dog and we left. We departed about five minutes before the Bridge of Lions was set to open. The bridge opens on the hour and half hour, so we planned it just right.

Our next stop was Jim King State Park. It is in the Jacksonville area, but the city of Jacksonville is about twenty miles away up the St. John’s River. We really had no interest in going to a ‘big city’ when everyone is supposed to be staying home and everything is closed anyway. We slowly made our way up the ICW and found the state park. The park had free dock space available with a three night maximum. We pulled up the small creek to the dock and noticed two other boats there, spaced out with one on each end. We docked in the middle, far enough from either boat. The dock was nice with easy access to the park. There were a few people fishing off the walkway to the dock, so we waited until they mostly cleared out so we didn’t have to walk so close to them to take Frank. The other boats stopped by to chat but stayed well away from the boat. There was nothing around the park so it was mostly quiet except for the few people fishing. We ended up staying for four nights- one longer than ‘allowed’ but nobody was around and due to not really having anywhere to go we decided to stay that extra night. A few boats came and went in the days we were there, but everyone stayed away from each other. We had finally decided our next stop is another anchorage off of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island which is about twenty five miles away…