I had a pretty smooth trip on Monday, running north through coastal Georgia and anchored in a favorite spot of mine called Teakettle Creek. When I left Jekyll Island, the weather forcast called for moderate winds and warm and clear conditions.

I'll give them half-credit. Monday was just that. I made it to Tea Kettle Creek and got the hook down. I settled in for the night and things looked fine. I was up before sunrise and preparing to cook breakfast when I heard the winds picking up. **swell** I decided to get the anchor up before the winds got any stronger. (It's challenging enough doing that by yourself without going aground in calm conditions, let alone strong winds.)

I left the anchorage and started north. As I re-entered the ICW, I saw another sailboat doing the same from a nearby anchorage. They fell in behind me and we headed out.

By the time we reached Sapelo Sound, the winds were again approaching gale force (on my nose, naturally) and it was like sailing through a washing machine. As the winds continued to build, the temperature started to drop and I was forced to put on a jacket. (egads!)

It took almost 3 hours to get across that first sound and I got tossed around pretty good. The smaller sailboat behind me fell behind a few miles and I eventually lost sight of them. The winds stayed brisk all day and it was just as rough crossing St. Catherine's Sound and the Ogeechee River. By the time I reached Savannah, (hours later than expected) I was beat. Norma handled it like a champ but Wilson and I had had it.

I learned from the dock hand here that the winds were unexpected and it was one of the coldest days that they've had since February. I got settled in and decided to stay a second night since I had been underway every day for a week. Plus, I wanted to visit Savannah.

I took the courtesy car to the local Piggly Wiggly and reprovisioned, showered and had dinner. This morning, the captain of the smaller sail boat that I had seen yesterday morning sought me out and we had a conversation about the previous days' trip. (Turns out he's from Minnesota) He said that they arrived here in Savannah about 3 hours after me and the weather caught him by surprise as well. He said that his wife told him she would have gotten out and walked if she could.

Anyway, I plan to stick around and see the sights before moving on tomorrow. Here's a picture of this morning's sunrise.