Fri Nov 15 - In which Krispy Kreme donuts feature

Savannah – Sunbury Harbor/Sunbury Crab Company Marina

It’s stressful to get up after a day off and realize you have to take care of a 22,000 lb mechanical object.  You have to be alert and cautious at all times.  And, as I may have said before, you have to watch the tide, wind, current, other boats, no wake zones, etc – and I am NOT a multitask-er. 

The other day there was a Pan Pan (pronounced Pon Pon –  it’s a French thing and always repeated 3 times, which is a lot of Pans, if you ask me…) call on the radio – this is a Coast Guard call that means there is urgency, and it is often a call for all watercraft to be on the lookout for something.  In this case it was a Pan Pan for a missing kayak-er, and he was missing from the area we had been in some days ago.  As of this writing, he is still missing.  It was a reminder that the sea and the weather are not your friend – they are indomitable forces and you best be respectful and prepared.  And we are, as well as we can be.  I make light of the experience, but I don’t take it lightly.

It had rained all night and was still raining (of course it was) in the morning at our appointed wake up time (7:15 am).  Rick had planned out a route to the Sunbury Harbor and Sunbury Crab Co., restaurant that was mentioned in one of our many guide ( we have more guide books than we had college planning books – and that is saying something) books as a “must stop”.  We really had to debate this, since the last time we went to a ‘must stop’ restaurant it was closed, and we ended up with oyster knives in our hands.  But we called ahead to verify it’s open-ness.

Stepping off the boat to get us ready to go, Rick found the ONLY thing that would have gotten me up – a box of fresh Krispy Kreme Donuts! We had heard about a marina that delivered donuts to your boat in the morning, but didn’t expect that it would be the Thunderbolt Marina – more an industrial boat yard than a luxury marina; boy will we be back to visit!

We packed up the boat (took in the power cord, water hose and most dock lines) and prepared to depart.  I am getting better at my deck-hand job (often my trainer, Karen, is talking in my head – I mean that in a positive way, not in a mental health worrisome way) and had two dock lines ready to release so we could slide away from the dock.  The boat has a helm station in the main cabin but we had never used it, opting to drive from the fly bridge.  With the rain pouring down we decided to drive from inside the cabin and what a pleasure it was!

It was warm, the windshield wipers worked (another thing that Rick had worked on – he changed the wiper blades and put Rainex on the windows to help the water sheet off) and it kept us dry.  Eventually the rain stopped and we moved back to the fly bridge but it probably would have been better to stay downstairs – it was cold with the direct wind.

We cruised down the Intracoastal and eventually turned right into the Medway river.  This area really has an amazing number of rivers, streams, sounds and other types of water – all merging and diverging.  We worked our way up the river and eventually came to the Sunbury Marina. We were the only transient boat (no one else was dumb enough to be out boating) so we almost had the place to ourselves.  We docked with help from Barney, hooked up the power and put everything away for the evening.  

One of the interesting things about the coast of Georgia is the tidal range.   Through the early part of our trip tides had been 2 to 3 feet at the most (high tide is 3 feet higher than low tide) but in Georgia tides are 6 to 7 feet.  This means that twice each day the water goes up 7 ft and down 7 ft.  Docks go up and docks go down.  It is important to time each day’s cruising with tides - if you are in a shallow area you need to cruise on a rising or high tide to make sure not to run aground or hit rocks.    This is an additional level of planning each day and departures/arrivals need to be timed with tides and currents. We had fun watching the metal walkway on the dock move from horizontal to vertical.

On a map, we are minutes away from from US I95.  But we are a world away.  This is not a glamorous stop, but it’s an authentic view of the heartland of coastal GA.  The restaurant and marina were built by the family who now runs it, and it’s lots of fun.  On a Fri night in off season it was full of locals, and they made us feel at home, and made sure we were well fed.  It would be super charming in warmer weather…  We will be back.

Thurs Nov 14 - In which we are bullish about ballast

Savannah, GA

We slept in today – it was such a gift!  It used to be that sleeping in for me meant 11am.  But now that we are on ‘boat time’ (as the sun dictates) sleeping in is until 8am. Heaven.  You know what’s missing from my wake-up routine?  The barking dog who lives next door.  It’s SO peaceful.  (Other than boat noises -ranging from weird alarms to slapping rigging – peaceful is relative). Also, there was rain last night and we enjoyed our little cocoon with the sounds of rain.  There was rain two other times but both times we were too busy being terrified to enjoy it.

The marina we are in is also a boatyard, where Big Boats are worked on.  We were pretty dazzled by the $75 million-dollar Blue Moon, and the equally large Full Moon, which were pulled up out of the water and towered over the boat yard and marina.

We took an Uber in to town, to a Starbucks so that I could get a better signal and get some work done.  Yes, some of us still need to work.  Fortunately, my job is virtual, and I have the most understanding boss.  Who is also my only devoted blog reader (not that I’m judging, those of you who are RELATED TO ME BY BLOOD).  Love you, Kim!

Hot chocolate and whipped cream can inspire real focus, so I had two really good work hours.  Then it was time to walk around Savannah.  I have been here with both my girl scout troop, and with Claire to visit SCAD – but Rick had not ever been (I guess this is not the forum to talk about who did most of the college visits – we’re a team.  A TEAM.  Must.  Remember. That.).  
 

The Girl Scout Mecca - I was here some years ago with my Troop

 I’m not going to lie, Savannah is much better with sunshine, but we still enjoyed the lovely squares and the old interesting buildings along the original wharf.  I know ballast doesn’t sound that interesting, but it came from all over the world and was discarded in Savannah where it was incorporated into the cobblestone streets and retaining walls – where it remains today.  That’s pretty cool, even if you are not a geologist.  AND, it’s perhaps the original recycling – rocks that were essentially waste turned into streets and walls!  Geology AND Recycling – that’s like nirvana for my dad.

We Ubered back to the Thunderbolt side of the bridge, and went to Tubby’s Tank House for buffalo shrimp and a local beer. OMG – can I just tell you about the spicy, juicy, tender, yummy little morsels that are buffalo shrimp… To die for!  Then it was time for a nap, and a little reading and blog writing. We really needed a break, and since Rick got the heater to work (it’s now 42 degrees outside), it’s a joy to be hunkered down in our warm, non-bucking, nest.

Note to self:  must remember to thank Rick for all the mechanical prowess, the charting, the weathering, the worrying, the tide tracking, the cooking.  I wonder what I’ve been doing all this time…

Wed Nov 13 - In which Blue Horizon the Weeble is still afloat

Beaufort, SC – Savannah, GA (Thunderbolt Marine)

We returned to the marina fresh from our luxurious stay at the Days Inn, and only one of us was having heart palpitations about seeing the boat.  (I kid you not, when we left last night the boat, which is esencially a stubby little effervescent cork, was bucking so high it was almost coming down on the dock)  I am glad Rick has all the worrying covered, because there is no point in my also freaking out.  Again, I say – this is exactly the opposite of our roles in the other 26 years of our marriage, where I kept the airplane in the air by worrying.  Except here he is worrying about real things, and I was well known for worrying about real things, as well as, things completely unlikely to happen… Also – not that I was wising it, but there is the insurance…if you know what I mean.

Poor little cork was still bucking around like a rabid bronc.   Hmmm…what to do.  It seemed best to leave with high tide.  We didn’t get to see much of Beaufort (BEW-fort, remember...), but we will be back in the spring.   As soon as we pulled away from the dock the boat calmed down. The waves were still high but the main issue was being tied to the dock (see the above, re. Physics 101).  Once we were on the water, we had a relatively nice cruise.

Fortunately, the day was routine with no major issues.  (Other than the fact that my phone keeps refusing to let me in because ‘You Are Driving’.  No, you moron – I’m on a boat).  We are starting to get the hang of the daily rhythm and feel more familiar with the boat.  Truly only about 10% of our time is sheer terror.  Compared to being a parent to teenagers, that seems like a good %. 

Our plan was to cruise to Isle of Hope marina but they didn’t have any space at the Inn.  Using our guide book decided to see if Thunderbolt Marine (not Marina) would take us for the night.  We were in luck and tied up to the face dock a little while later (those of you, Kim, who have been reading carefully might think we had learned not to dock on a face dock, but that’s where they put transient boat usually, and this time there is a happy ending).

We turned on the heater, warmed up the boat and got ourselves organized to visit Savannah the next day. Rick grilled sirloin steaks and we had a nice dinner of steak on salad.  Grilled to perfection – that boy….

 The tides here in GA are DRAMATIC, 6-7 feet!...  When the tide is in this metal walkway is totally flat.  When the tide is all the way in it's a workout to get up!