Sunday -- 12 May 2019 --- Happy Mother’s DAY !! - Lanier GA to North River

We PULLED anchor this morning at Lanier GA… up in the Fredrica River. But our window for outside hop today was “spoiled”…. By a change in the forecasted weather….

SO…………… we used the favorable tide situation (low in the mornings .. going mid-to-rising around the noon hours….. to traverse part of the GA ICW…

WE did the Little MUD River on a mid –to-rising tide… no problem… WE did have one “UP and DOWN” incident.. .before the “Little MUD”, but it was just that…. AB ran straight over a 5 foot mud mound…. UP !!! and DOWN!!! The only time we touched BOTTOM…. (today anyway…)…
We could see the storm approaching… SO we took the initiative of anchoring South of the Doboy SOUND…. (where there was a possibility of exiting to the ocean tomorrow…..

We are anchored in the NORTH RIVER…. At N31 23.626 W 081 25.243 after only 25 nm of travel on the AICW, in GA.

It goes without saying that one of the “primary directives” of sailing this coast Is TO ‘AVOID GA ICW’….
But…. IN REVIEWING THE COMING WEATHER…It sort of looks like we’ll have to bite the bullet and do the whole stupid thing inside…. Severe weather coming each day…. Our weather window has ALL but Disappeared….. (insert really SAD face here)…. ;(
The storm did just hit a while ago…. INTENSE TO THE POINT OF HEELING Autumn Borne (20 Tons) over 20 degrees to starboard… with a 60 knot gust…. Rain so hard we could not see the BOW.
SO………………..I guess it’s a good thing we were OFF the ICW and anchored….
Pete and Bunny just wrote, and said that the Bridge of Lions is “stuck in the down position”…. NO sailboat traffic AT ALL….. Wow… We were lucky to get through… (even when ONE span was stuck down)….. They’re doing the touristy thing…. At ST. AUG for a couple (or more) days…..( by plan, and necessity).
WELL…. The thunder and lightning has stopped, and the SUN is nearly OUT….. BIG change from this PM… Time for dinner…. And perhaps get the electronics OUT OF the MICROWAVE oven….
 more later.