Conquering Jekyll Creek

December 5, 2012 Wednesday

The last shallow to conquer in Georgia was Jekyll Creek.  It can be the shallowest, 1 foot at mean low tide.  We did not depart St. Simons Island until we were sure that we would approach at rising high tide.  For the record...Georgian tide tables can have as much as a 9 foot tide differential.  As long as we have been willing to wait for tides and not get frustrated with short trips we have been able to get through Georgia without incident, and so it was with Jekyll Creek.  This leg also included crossing the St. Andrew Sound that led us part way through the inlet to the Atlantic, then turning us back into the ICW.  The Sound was calm.  We approached Cumberland Island on our port with great anticipation that we would see the famous wild horses that roam the shore.....no horses for us : (.   We dropped our anchor in Brickhill River adjacent to the Cumberland Island National Park, as we motored up the river we came upon several pink flamingos on the shore.  This is our last night in Georgia.  We loved the natural, undisturbed beauty of Georgia.   Thursday we would be in Florida!!!!! (Getting  us closer to our winter "hideaway" at Boot Key Harbor, in Marathon Key.)

Our companion in the St. Simons Sound

Enter "Jekyll Creek"

Some people don't obey the rules, Sign says "Keep Off"

Cumberland Island shoreline on ICW

Green marker 29A, not so green, white washed by fine feather friends,
this marker guided us out toward Atlantic in the St. Andrew Sound

Pink Flamingos on the shore of Cumberland Island National Park
where we anchored for the night

St. Simons Island

December 3 - 4, 2012  Monday and Tuesday

Mud River and Buttermilk Sound were our challenges for Monday, again we timed and approached these areas at rising to high tide and had no depth problems.  There have been opportunities to "go outside" on the Atlantic to bypass these challenges and many people do, mostly because it takes longer to navigate through the Georgia ICW.  It is a day sail  from St. Simons Sound to Fernandina Beach (see map below).  We both commented today that though the travel was a bit of work and slow, it was very beautiful and we were glad we chose this route.
We took a slip at St. Simons Island.  
Tuesday morning we readied to depart St. Simons Island.  Our departure time was 1030 with "Chasseur" as the lead boat.  We cleared the long marina dock by approximately 300 yards when "Chasseur's"  alarm light for the water temperature lite up and the gauge pegged beyond 240 degrees.   We idled the boat back to the dock.   "Mistress" turned back with us.
We had our spare parts on-board, and quickly replaced the demolished impeller.  Tutty joined us at "Chasseur's" engine compartment for "head scratching", and advise.
We lost our tide window for the day to transit through Jekyll Creek, so we signed up for another day in  St. Simons Island.  The marina gave us 4 bicycles to use for the day, and we enjoyed a bicycle tour to the shore-side village of the Island.  It was a delightful day.  St. Simons Island will be a repeat visit in the future.

"The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck."

Channing Pollock

Crabber in the Georgian ICW

Sand dunes on the ICW

Ship in St. Simons Sound

Sunset at Golden Isle Marina, St. Simons Island 

Sunrise over St. Simons Island

T & T Diesel Repair
Call 1- 800- Planet Earth

Old demolished impeller in left hand, new one in right

Beautiful trees on St. Simons Island

St. Simons Island Lighthouse

Shops in the village of St. Simons Island

Blue dot is our location in Golden Isle Marina,
below blue dot is St. Simons Sound,
 to the right is the Atlantic Ocean.

Herb River, Kilkenny, New Teakettle Creek, Georgia

November 30 -  December 2, 2012 Friday - Sunday


Friday November 30
We departed Bull Creek early with our much needed rising tide.  We were headed for Herb River 18 nm.  Another falling tide kept us from going further.  Herb River is our "staging" stop for the notoriously shallow cut called "Hell Gate".  We could not approach "Hell Gate" with a falling tide, shallow draft Catamarans had been running aground here recently...the VHF radio tells no lies!
Trip planning through southern South Carolina and Georgia is hard work and travel is slow, even more difficult with a deep draft vessel.  If planning is careful and deliberate, it is doable.  It is not just the tides we have to contend with.  There are the swift currents and the lack of daylight.  The currents and lack of daylight slow us down.  Time, speed and distance calculating is critical.  Sometimes we get discouraged at our short distances and slow travel, it is so tempting to keep going, extending our travel time, but we know the risks!  We take each day as a great experience regardless of our mileage.
The weather improves as our Latitude descends, and that is spirit healing.  There are sunny and warm days and the night "lows" are getting warmer as we move south.  Today we crossed the Georgia border!!

Saturday December 1

The Georgian ICW is beautiful.  It winds dramatically through marshlands.  The beauty is deceiving as it hides the shallows that can leave a boat and it's crew stranded.  We approached "Hell Gate" at high tide and cruised through in 14 feet of water.  We were happy to have "Hell Gate" done.  Still ahead in the next few days are Creighton Narrows, Little Mud River, Buttermilk Sound and Jekyll Creek, all equally challenging as "Hell Gate".
"Chasseur" and "Mistress" took slips at Kilkenny Marina for the night Saturday.  There was a restaurant next door with it's own shrimp boat docked in front of it.  We indulged in a Georgian shrimp dinner.  The walk to the restaurant was lined with beautiful, old live oak trees draped in Spanish moss.
Sunday (December 2) we had one "caution" shallow to get through, Creighton Narrows.  At low tide it can be 3 feet on one side of the channel.  We never saw less than 17 feet depth with the high tide just beginning to ebb.  It was a beautiful warm, sunny day.  We dropped anchor in New Teakettle Creek.  Muriel and Tutty came over to "Chasseur"  by dinghy, with a grilled pork tenderloin and green bean casserole for a Sunday afternoon potluck dinner.

Bull Creek departure sunrise

Kilkenny live oak trees and Spanish moss

Tutty and Muriel with grilled pork tenderloin delivery

Skull Creek to Bull Creek

November 28 - 29, 2012 Wednesday and Thursday

We have been moving everyday.  There has not been time to dedicate to the blog.  Planning each leg through these parts of the ICW is very time consuming, and challenging, but also very rewarding.  Tide tables are dictating our every mile now.  We have to stop moving "Chasseur" when the tide falls to mid-tide ebbing.   Skull Creek was as far as we were willing to go with a falling tide and our 6.5 ft draft, only 17 nm from Beaufort.  We crossed Port Royal Sound, a large body of water that takes you out to the Atlantic.  It was windy, raining and cold, 17 nm for the day was enough.

Thursday was another short run because we had to be at a "staging" area for a rising tide that would take us through a very shallow area on Friday.  We stopped in Bull Creek and anchored.  SV "Mistress" joined us at this anchorage.  We had happy hour on "Chasseur" and agreed upon "buddying" through the shallow transits ahead of us.  We have been very pleased with our anchorages along the ICW and Bull Creek was no exception, another quiet night with a full moon rising up over the trees.

"Mistress" and Bull Creek sunset

Moon rise over Bull Creek

Beaufort, South Carolina

November 27, 2012 Tuesday

From Tom Point Creek we headed to Beaufort, South Carolina.  There is a Beaufort in North Carolina pronounced "BO-fert".  Here in South Carolina it is pronounced like "beaut..tiful" or "beYOUfert", as they like to say.  This IS a beautiful town and waterfront, unfortunately for us, it was only a stop for diesel and a nights rest.  It was also an unplanned cruiser reunion.  Tom and Laura (Muskegon, MI) on SV "Cool Hand" were tied up next to us and Tutty and Muriel (Toronto area) on SV "Mistress", were here as well.  It was like having our own greeting committee.  It was great to see them all again.  Everyone was still happy and enjoying their journeys.  We had just a little time to drive the marina courtesy car for a propane fill up and a few groceries.
New friends Wayne and Heidi Crann (Toronto) on SV "Courageous" were here in Beaufort.  We met them previously at Dowry Creek, NC where we waited out our 3rd "Nor'Easter" together.  They have been following our blog since before we met.  They found us on the internet and recognized our "Chasseur" from the blog and introduced themselves to us.  We had dinner together in town.

We get excited every time we see a porpoise.  They visit us everyday.
We never get tired of them.  They are playful and curious.

Friends Bob and Diane Deans on SV  "Sanderling"  sailing dog "Rudder"  on the bow.  
Terry called him  "bow - wow fluff".

Tom Point Creek

November 26, 2012 Monday

A beautiful sunny day for the travel - the morning warmed up nicely and there was no wind.  We had to navigate through a short, narrow rocky cut called Elliott Cut.  It is best to approach as close to low tide as possible.  The current can and does reach 4 kts.  It is a riveting experience to have your boat cruising at 5.5 kts then suddenly drop to 1.5 kts against the current.  The current was so strong we could see big ripples, almost rapids on the water.  It was only a quarter mile long and then we were on our way.
The anchorage for the night was Tom Point Creek, another beautiful anchorage.  We had the Creek to ourselves, calm and quiet with a beautiful sunset and moonrise.

Elliott Cut, current 4kts 

On our way to Tom Point Creek...this scene broke our hearts.
Spray of water toward the bow is water being evacuated. from this sinking ship.
Would like to know what happened.

Naturally growing palms in Tom Point Creek

Sunrise as we left Tom Point Creek

Charleston, SC

November 24 -25, 2012 Saturday - Sunday

Entering Charleston Harbor was bit confusing.  We were grateful to SV "Mistress", 2 days ahead of us, with marker cautions, as they ran aground twice there.  Docking at Charleston City Marina was dicey with a 4 kt current- Terry did a great job.
There is an old movie, "National Lampoons Family Vacation", where the Griswold family goes cross country in their station wagon.  They experience many frustrations along the way.  Clark (Chevy Chase) the father, is at his wits end.  He and his son Russ are at the edge of the Grand Canyon.  Clark is in a hurry, Russ says "Dad don't you want to see the Grand Canyon?"  Clark turns his head toward the canyon, nods his head several times and tell Russ "ok let's go".  This is our analogy of how we visited Charleston.  We know there was much more to appreciate but we just want to get to Florida and warm. We spent Sunday walking through downtown, shopping, took a horse and buggy tour and had dinner, did not even take many photos.  We nodded our heads several times and said "ok let's go".  Charleston is a great town and deserves more attention, it is rich in history and architecture  (too much to write about in the blog).  We were content to depart with only a day visit.

"Sweetgrass" basket making has been part of the Charleston community for more than 300 years.
An African American art form passed on generation to generation, brought here by the slaves from West Africa.
They are purchased by museums and art collectors thoughout the world.
They are available for purchase throughout the "market place" in town and  are very expensive.  

Daughters of the Confederacy

Home in Charleston

Wrought iron seen throughout the streets of Charleston

Charleston Harbor