Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Savannah/Thunderbolt, GA to St. Simon, GA

We left Thunderbolt Sunday morning as soon as we could see the markers for the channel.  It was overcast and windy. 
                                                     Thunderbolt in background.

The captain wanted to get to a shallow area called Hell Gate (awesome) while the tide was high.  It is a good thing we did, as we had about 6-8 feet in places.  This is at high tide and the tidal fluctuation is about 6-8 feet here (you do the math).  Everything went very well and we did about 48 miles to get to our anchorage for the day.
                                                 
We anchored in the Wahoo River which is about half way between Thunderbolt and St. Simon which was our next stop.  This amount of time on the water is what we have found is right for us.  Going  at 8-9 knots and for 5 or so hours seems ideal.  The day is not too long and you can get in and settled with time to do some things before dark whether it be at a marina or anchoring. 

The anchorage was really nice.  We were definitely in the middle of nowhere GA.  There was a small outcropping of trees that gave us some shelter from the wind.
                                                 
                                                 View up the river from our spot.
                                                 
                                                  View down the river from our spot.

I thought for sure other boats would arrive as the afternoon progressed but we were the only ones there.  Since we got into the anchorage early, we had plenty of time to make sure the anchor was holding well before dark. 
                                              Our anchor is down and set.  Snubber also attached.

                                         Keith, Pengi and I enjoyed a spectacular sunset.

Pengi in profile.

Keith had noticed an electrical box over on the small island that we anchored behind.  It seemed strange as there was nothing out there.  Of all things, there was a single street light near the box that actually came on at sunset (go figure?).  In some ways it was helpful as when you are anchored out like that, it is so dark you often can't tell exactly where your boat is at night.  Are you drifting?  Are you facing the shore or parallel to the river?  With the little street light we could assess our location by looking out at it.

In the morning, we pulled anchor again at first light as there was more shallow spots (Mud River) on the way south to St. Simon.  Again we got through everything fine with the tide high and arrived in St. Simon about 12:30 PM. 
                                                      Feathered friends following us.

I hope someone got the name of the bus that hit both Keith and I because, Monday morning when pulling the anchor we both said we felt like a sore throat and cold was coming.  Well by the time we got in to St. Simon's marina we were glad to be there.  Neither of us was feeling to perky.  Keith did not even rinse the boat after getting in ( for those boat friends that know Keith, that tells you how he felt).  We plan to take it easy doing light chores Tuesday.  Weather is calling for cloudy and showers anyway.  I will disinfect surfaces around the boat and hopefully we can kick this bug off Southern Style.

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