Sun. April 27    0830/1500   

50 miles      Thunderbolt Marina, GA to Beaufort River, SC

While cruising we passed many beautiful homes that probably cost as much as those in Florida, but these homes had a lot more class with the verandas and columns.

Crossing the Savannah River.

Today we checked off another state and moved north into South Carolina. Our anchorage tonight is just south of the town of Beaufort.

Fri. April 25    0740-1000   

14 miles      Beaulieu, GA to Thunderbolt Marina, GA

We spent Fri. and Sat. at this marina which is close to the town of Savannah. What a beautiful town with a lot of history. We met up with 2 other couples (also doing the Loop) and toured the town by trolley and walked a lot. Both days were 78 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Market Square (3 blocks of shops and restaurants).

 Check out the cobbled streets.
These stones came from ballast off the ships that came into port from all over the world.

 Randy, Sherri, Martha, Bob, Carol, & Dennis

(from Wisconsin) in front of the Savannah River.

 The Cotton Exchange (built over an existing road in 1887).

 Wrought iron is used thru out the city.

 Most of the houses were built up to get a way from the dust from the wagons going past.

Later the lower levels were used by the hired help.

 You will notice 2 floors with balconies but no doors. Back then you were taxed

by how many doors you had, so they used windows to get out to the balconies.

 Beautiful homes.

 This fountain is a replica of one built in Rome and is in the middle of Forsyth Park.

(one of many in the historic section of town)

 

 

Thurs. April 24    0745-1530   

56 miles      North River, GA to Beaulieu, GA

There is a very nice advantage (as long is there is no wind) to having flat land all around you when you are at anchor. You get to see the most amazing sunsets and sunrises.

Sunset Wednesday night.

 

 Sunrise Thursday morning.

 

Today’s travels took us through more winding waterways and past 3 Sounds. A Sound is a body of water (like an inlet) connecting rivers to the ocean.

 

 

Sapelo Sound looking east toward the Atlantic Ocean.

It's so calm you can't see where the water ends and the sky begins.

 

We also had one area to get through that we were told to only come through at mid to high tide. It’s named Hell Gate (pretty self explanatory isn’t it). This narrow channel is about ½ mile long and 100 foot wide, has a lot of shoaling, and an 8’ tide. We timed it perfectly at high tide and had 11-12 foot of water under us. Let’s see: we draft 4 1/2’ + an 8’ tide (you do the math if we had gone at low tide)

 

We anchored near the town of Beaulieu, GA on the Vernon River. Our next stop is Savannah, GA where we plan on spending a couple of days to see the sights.

Beaulieu anchorage.

Wed. April 23    0810-1625   

61 miles      Cumberland Island, GA to North River, GA

Right after leaving our anchorage this morning we passed the Kings Bay nuclear submarine base. The base looked pretty quite. If they have a sub going in or out they stop all boat traffic and make you turn the bow of your boat to shore till the sub is passed.

Nuclear sub.

 

The waterway we traveled on today zigzagged its way through very flat landscape which consisted of mostly grass and some sand.

We are headed west & the boat ahead of us is headed east.

 

 This is our GPS. Which way do I go?

 

 

St. Simons Inlet.

 The water is very brown through here.

 

 Shrimp boat.

 

Our anchorage for the night is just off the ICW and with the land so flat we can see for miles.

 

 

 This cruise ship came by our anchorage.

Tues. April 22    0820-1200   

27 miles      Fort George River, FL to Cumberland Island, GA

After 5 months we are finally out of the state of Florida and are now in Georgia. We are also leaving the 2-3 foot tides behind and are finding ourselves in 6 foot tides. It makes things very interesting when you anchor. You better make sure you have enough water under you as the tide goes out.

 In MI. to get to the water you build steps. Here you build really long & high docks.

 

 We are at low tide here. This will all be under water at high tide.

 

Bald Eagle

 

 Fernandina Beach, FL. Shrimp boats and marina.

 

 Fort Clinch on St. Mary's inlet.

 

 Coast Guard (thank goodness they were not after us).

 

Our anchorage tonight is by Cumberland Island, Georgia. This island is 18 miles long, covers about 36,000 acres and is the largest barrier island in GA. There is no bridge so the only way to get here is by ferry or private boat.

Cumberland Island

 

 Wild horses live on the island.

 

 jelly fish

 

 Ghost crab

 

Star fish 

 

 Horseshoe crab