What's With This Wind?
01 May 2017 | St. Simons Island, GA
Low 80s, humid, partly cloudy
Happy May Day!
Fernandino Beach is a cute, historic town, but it is noisy. Two paper mills and trains serving them provide a background hum and typical train noises. Not too bad with the wind, but I am sure it can be smelly at times. By 7:30 we were on the ICW headed north. For one more day the wind built up as the hours passed and by 10:30 am it was 20-25 kts sustained and gusts to 35 kts. This results in all kinds of chop, especially at the junctions with the ocean - in this area they are called "sounds" (up north they are called inlets). The tidal swings in Georgia are very large and the currents rush in and out, so when the current opposes the wind, big waves form. We had hoped to visit Cumberland Island today but one look at the forecast and we decided anchoring was not what we wanted to do, so we headed further north and stopped at St. Simons Island and Morningstar Marina. I don't think Bill could handle any more at that point - we were tossed and bounced through each sound. When we finally reached the marina, a 60 ft sports fisherman boat had arrived just before us and had all kinds of problems docking, so Bill had to stand off in the horrific winds and wait our turn. We got in fine, but the winds have not died down at all. After a celebratory beer, we decided to get the folding bikes out and bike into town. Not so bad, but old knees are feeling it now! This island has much history involving the British and Spanish, but in our short visit we had to be selective. We visited the pier and the lighthouse and then a pub called Brogens, which is right near the pier. Wings, onion rings, and beer were our choices, and they were delicious. Biked back the 3 miles to the marina, and relaxed for awhile before taking showers and calling it a day. Hopefully the air conditioning masks the noise of wind, squeaking docks, and clanging halyards...
43 miles, 6.25 hours