St. Somewhere
| Vessel Name: | St. Somewhere |
12 November 2009 | Jacksonville, FL ICW (extended) 752
St. Somewhere at Her New Temporary Home
The wind continued strong as we wound our way down to Jacksonville. The ICW crosses the St. Johns River at ICW Mile 740, but we turned right and went up the St. Johns another 12 miles to our marina in the Trout River. As we got to the marina we could see blue sky to the west- the end of the cold front- [...]
11 November 2009 | Bells River, Fernandina, FL ICW 716
Sunny Florida at Last (Not)
We opted to anchor in Bells River across from Fernandina Beach- I guess we've seen our share of historic waterfront towns, and wanted a peaceful and quiet evening at anchor. Well, that's not exactly what we got. It had been cold and rainy all day as a cold front approached, and after we had anchored the front started to come through with a vengeance- 20 knot winds, gusting to 35! Wind pressure on an object is proportional to the square of the wind velocity, so 35 knots is three times the pressure of 20 knots. No problem however, and my penchant for what some consider over-sized anchors paid off once again. Nonetheless the wind moaning in the rigging, and the waves slapping us around, did not make for a restful night.
10 November 2009 | Jekyll Island, GA ICW 684
Rain at Jekyll
We walked around a little before the rain came, but basically we lazed around the boat all day because of the weather. We invited Owen over for cocktails and hors d'ouvres- he brought a box wine that was much better than our box wine- and pointed out that the box method of wine packaging was an Australian invention. A good time was had by all, and his box was much lighter when he took it back to his boat.
09 November 2009 | Jekyll Island, GA ICW 684
Jekyll but no Hyde
A longish day of travel today, to get to Jekyll Island and a friendly small marina. Rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so I think we stay put and continue on Wednesday. Shortly after we arrived, Owen, our Australian friend we last saw in Belhaven, NC, came by to say hello- I'm sure we'll get together later for a couple of cold ones. He's been here a couple of days, and says it a great place to explore (the marina provides bicycles), but we probably won't venture out in the rain.
08 November 2009 | Wahoo River, GA ICW 630
Gyrating through Georgia
The ICW through Georgia is "a maze of twisty little passages all the same" (and if you recognize that quote, you're an old geek like me!). The course goes up one serpentine river and down the next, the boat heading on all points of the compass along the way. The rivers cut through grass marshes, so [...]
07 November 2009 | Thunderbolt, GA ICW 583
Surveying Savannah
We took the local bus into Savannah today, for sightseeing, shopping and lunch. We took a "trolley" tour of the historic district- lots of beautiful, old homes and churches, another "Forrest Gump" location, and lots of references to "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (which Barbara is reading as I type this). The most memorable thing, however, was probably the system of "squares", 24 originally, 22 now, that are full of huge live oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, typically with a statue of a hero in the center. In several cases the hero is buried under the statue. The squares originally served as the "commons" for groups of homes surrounding them, but now function like lovely parks, scattered throughout the city.
Waterway Wildlife
We passed the half way point between Norfolk and Jacksonville on the trip down the Waccamaw to Georgetown. Much of this northern low country consists of large tracts of preserved marshland, including the Romain National Wildlife Refuge, one of the east coasts most remote wildlife areas, and accessible only by boat. The 250,000 acre Francis Marion National Forrest is also here. This was the hideout of the Revolutionary War patriot, "Swamp Fox", who would emerge with his small band of men to ambush British troops and the then disappear back into the swamps.
