What an amazing and interesting leg of the trip Georgia was! We had read and heard many warnings and opinions along the way about how difficult, shallow and unmaintained most of the 140 mile ICW stretch is through Georgia and that all or part of it should be avoided by going out to the Atlantic. But, we decided to continue on the ICW and are so glad that we were able to experience this amazing state.
There were challenges and we had to become diligent in timing our travels with the tides to make sure there was ample water to transit several well-known shallow water sections (eg, 2-3 ft deep at low tide). That said, we only saw a handful of those areas and had plenty of water (10-20 ft) elsewhere. We also saw Georgia’s beautiful scenery and met some great folks along the way.
Much of the ICW path through Georgia follows meandering rivers and creeks surrounded by natural shoreline with only a few pockets of modern development. There’s very little boat traffic other than the odd shrimp boat with its long arms and nets either up in the air at rest or down for the day’s catch. Our first night was in the serene, secluded Bull Creek, a great anchorage just off the main path that would have been perfect except for the heavy rain and strong winds that blew all night! But Mr. Rocna did his job once again and stayed set in the mud.
It was still pouring the next morning, (we would have been calling for Noah if we weren’t already on a boat) but we decided to leave early anyway as we wanted to catch high tide in a few stretches ahead where the water was skinny. That 7-8 ft tide can make all the difference! We easily got through those sections and then stopped by early afternoon when the tide was getting too low to help with the next challenging stretch. Having a better understanding of how to use high tide rising to get through shallow waters will definitely help us in the Bahamas!
We tied up a few miles outside of Savannah at the Morningstar Marina in Thunderbolt. Although it was our first time at one of these marinas, we were given gold status at the chain, with fuel and dock discounts, loaner cars etc (not sure how we qualified but we’ll take it).
Once we were settled, the rain let up and just as we were trying to figure out the best way to get to Savannah (the loaner car wasn’t there) someone knocked on the boat. Joe, from the Hinckley Sloop down the dock, introduced himself and offered us his new jeep for the afternoon. He suggested the best route into downtown Savannah and local grocery stores as well as a side trip through the infamous Bonaventure Cemetery.
What a beautiful city Savannah is! Its layout is almost like a checkerboard as it was built around 24 square parks – each surrounded by various architectural styles representing its 300 year history. There was so much to see in just a few hours – from the Factor’s Walk with restaurants and shops built out of old warehouses along the Savannah River to the City Market of galleries, shops and pubs on closed off streets where folks are invited to walk around with a cocktail (no temperance movement here)! We drove through the immense Bonaventure Cemetery (featured in the movie ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’). It was very eerie with huge drooping trees and ancient tombstones and would be fascinating to walk through and explore – but only in daylight!
The next morning we were ready to leave at high tide to get through the nearby Hell’s Gate and Mud River, one of the shallowest sections of the ICW. There were forecasts of afternoon thunderstorms with possibly up to 60 kt winds and we were trying to decide if we should leave for an early day run or not. Our decision was helped when a marina near Mud River that we had contacted earlier, called us back saying the fog was so thick he couldn’t see the ICW 100 yards away (gotta love local knowledge and southern hospitality rolled into one). But we did continue with our plans to anchor that night and went around the corner to Herb Creek, advertised as a local hurricane hole. While we waited for the storm, surprisingly the sun came out, the wind dropped and we enjoyed 80 F for an hour or so. This was followed by torrential rains and 40 kt winds - not the forecasted 60 kt but enough to get our attention!
We continued on through Mud River the next day and everything went fine...until the engine started to falter off and on that afternoon. Luckily, even though it seemed that we were in the middle of nowhere, there was a little marina, Kilkenney within a couple of miles. We couldn’t believe that it could be the fuel pump again (we had just replaced it in upper NY) – but it was! Thankfully, the owner of the marina knew a mechanic who was not only able to find a replacement pump, but willing to drive a couple of hours at the end of the day to pick it up, bring it to the boat and install it.
We were soon approaching the most challenging and notoriously shallow section of the ICW - Jekyll Creek, Georgia. We had been advised that although we could probably manage transiting the other areas, we should seriously consider avoiding this section by doing an outside run from St. Simon Sound, GA to Fernandina, Florida (about 30 miles). We planned to do that until the day we arrived at St. Simon’s with unforecast 38 kt winds. It was US Thanksgiving Day and we knew that no staff would be available to help us dock because of the holiday. We were concerned about how difficult it might be to dock as the blowing winds would be pushing us off the dock while the strong flooding current would be pulling us forward. Thankfully, there were a few other boats on the transient dock and the boating community is amazing! Many hands were there and helped make a challenging situation much easier. It was so reassuring as we approached to hear one of the fellows say, ‘It’s all good - we got ya’. We followed in kind and joined the crew to help the next several boats as they arrived – everyone had experiences to share once they were secured to the jetty. Later we enjoyed a ‘makeshift’ Thanksgiving dinner with Scott, our American friend from Airagone Stryder.
The winds continued overnight and the resulting swells meant that it would be an uncomfortable day for traveling down the Atlantic. So after talking to other boaters and the dock staff, a group of us headed down the ICW for the ‘dreaded’ Jekyll Island transit. Once again, timing was everything - the 2/3 rising tide not only gave us the depth we needed but had us trucking along at 7kts for a good portion of this leg.
Soon we were bidding farewell to Georgia and hello to Florida! There’s no mistaking Florida along the ICW. It seemed that as soon as we crossed the state line, speed boats began whizzing by, the shore filled with huge resort-like homes and fancy docks and the weather turned much warmer.
We anchored out a couple of nights before finally reaching St. Augustine harbour. We could have arrived a day earlier, but by mid-afternoon as we were about 10 miles away from the harbour, the current started to change and our speed was dropping. It was going to be pretty tight to make sure we arrived before sunset (which comes very early these days!) and there was a lift bridge that only opened every ½ hour just before the marina. We decided to make it an easier day so found a side river to anchor in and enjoyed the sunshine as it warmed up the cockpit. It was also great to know that we only had a short trip ahead.
The next morning as we cleared the fixed bridge from the ICW to St. Augustine, it was terrible to see a boat washed up on the beach at the harbour entrance from the ocean. What a heart wrenching experience that must have been for the captain and crew. The ocean forecast that morning was fog and 8 -10 ft waves with a 7 second interval. The ride onto the beach would have been a violent one that couldn’t be avoided if the captain had missed an aid to navigation on the way into the harbour. We weren’t sure how much damage was done to the boat, but later that afternoon (at high tide), it was finally towed off.
St. Augustine is a quaint town steeped in old world culture and architecture as ’the nation’s oldest city’ (as the radio stations continually remind us). Much of the historic waterfront area is definitely aimed at tourists with side streets full of shopping, pubs, restaurants, and every imaginable tour. It’s an easy town to get around with lots to see and do within walking distance of the waterfront and anything else (eg grocery stores and outlet malls) is a $1 local bus ride away.
It’s funny how through this trip we meet up with some folks at unexpected places and times along the way! We met up again here with Julie and Dwayne from Boom de Yada. They’re from Oakville and we met in Annapolis, then Lady’s Island Marina, SC and now here. It’s fun catching up with them to share experiences and get to know them better. Each time, we’ve left with very different departure days and route plans and then days or weeks later end up unexpectedly in the same place at the same time! They were recuperating from a challenging night with engine problems during an overnight run in the ocean – thankfully it all ended ok and they are now on their way again. Who knows where we’ll see them next!
We hope to meet up with Scott from Airagone Stryder in Titusville before he catches a plane back to Burlington Vt to spend Christmas with his wife. We don’t think we’ll catch up with Nick (and his cat Wilbur) from Arden as they were heading to the Gulf Coast for a side trip home before continuing on their journey around the world. Greig and Caroline from Lequesteau are further south down the Florida coast – maybe we’ll see them down that way or the Bahamas – who knows!
We’re staying in St. Augustine for 10 days or so. The first couple of nights were on a mooring ball in a busy marina just beside the historic downtown area. This was a great location – only $20/night with a free shuttle to the dock and a free pumpout boat (that comes to you!). The other nights we’ve paid a bit more ($1/ft) to be on a dock at Riverside Edge, a smaller marina up San Sabastian River around the corner from the harbour. We wanted to be at a dock so that the boat (and Maureen) will be secure and comfortable while Brad goes back to Toronto to close up the house and make sure everything is good until we return in April.
St. Augustine has been a great stopover and a good introduction to Florida. It’s a beautiful city – but what we’ve enjoyed the most is the summery weather for most of the week. Mid 70s and sunshine – now that’s more like what we signed up for on a trip south!!