The End of March

Tuesday March 31, 2009

The Captain had charted about a 71 mile passage for the day. We intend to make it to Kilkenny Creek which has good protection, a marina if need be and a small town. There was some skinny water ahead that we wanted to navigate at high tide so the dock attendant at Jekyll Harbour Marina advised that we not leave until 9:00 am. The wind was ever increasing and choppy waters from the south. We gratefully made it though all the areas of concern without going aground. The water was at low tide by the time we got to Kilkenny Creek but this is a deep area so no concern. A Dolphin came to ride on our stern wave for a while as we were coming up to the creek. That is the closest one has come to us. We could have scratched his back. It was 9:00 pm by the time we had dinner and were fastening things down for the thunderstorms that were eminent. About 5:30 am the worst of the storm hit with high winds, it really howls when you are out there in the middle of nature.
Because of the tide we could not sit into the wind so our poor boat was taking waves on the stern and all the canvas was being battered by the wind. It is so frustrating because there is nothing you can do.

Wednesday April 1, 2009
We are going to Savannah
We woke up to the dreaded “Georgian Curse”. The No See 'ums were out in full force. This is our first time in the clouds. They only bite about one every 10 million and are easily demolished by the smack of a wrist. Screaming, whining and spitting has no effect. Tired from not enough sleep we rose early and decide to travel to Thunderbolt and get a dock for a couple of days and ride out these annoying thunderstorms. Thunderbolt was about 30 miles and this is the prettiest part of the trip on the ICW. It is beautiful and has everything, from forests, marshes and waterfront homes laced along the coast. The waters are deep for the most part and it was a relaxing part of the trip. The city of Savannah is actually about 8 miles up river of the normal route so we decided to stay in Thunderbolt and take the bus north to tour the City. When we got to the dock our friends from the swamp were here as well. The wind had died down and the no see 'ums were everywhere. No sign of a recession here. The neighbouring boats are upward to 80 feet and more. The dock fees have increased about 50 cents a foot and they charge for the hydro. The good thing is they still have 30 amp service and include a newspaper and \krispy kream donuts with it in the morning. The down side is they have fee for service wifi and it is $12.00 per day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Back to the 10/15 cents a minute Cell phone. It was time to do laundry and get dinner ready. The boat beside us is being fumigated and we were wondering what creatures were living aboard. Apparently the owner is exporting it to Australian and the law is they have to be fumigated or they cannot come into the country. He tells us Australia does not have near the number of surges we have on the continents here. We will be touring Savannah tomorrow.