Heading up to Two Way Marina, took a "short cut" recommended by a friend who will remain nameless (Joe) and gently ran aground just off center of the very shallow channel, Got off ok and continued on.
This is the "short Cut", kinda tight huh.
This is where we found the bottom , just off center of the channel.
This is a 12 foot gator. Have seen more wildlife here than in the keys, and the birds are very active, unlike our keys birds which are lethargic.
Our first cliffs! well,mini cliffs, ok rocks anyway
Arrived Two Way fish camp near Brunswick GA. about 4 PM. It's called two way because the water goes from fresh to salt twice daily with the tides.
Dinner and drinks at Mud Cats', followed by a nite cap at the bar.
4/20/07
An early start to KilKenny marina, near Richmond Hills GA, where ever that is. Kilkenny is named after a town in Australia, not the TV series South Park
In the morning, or late afternoon, when the water is right and the angle of the sun is low, you get what I call "Diamonds" reflecting on the H20. Unfortunately, the camera could not capture it properly.
Passed some of the cleanest, nicest shrimpers I've ever seen.
Arrived early at KilKenny, it was a maintenance day.
spent the afternoon in the engine room, the "holy place'
The dockmaster was just back from shrimping, and they were very different from our Keys shrimp. Bigger, colored tails, and long antenna
5/1/07
Todays goal, Thunderbolt, just next to Savanah Ga.
We anchored in the Herb River, just south of Thunderbolt Marina, near Savanah, (in the background) Nice anchorage.
They can have tides here as high as 9 feet!~
This is the pet squirel that eats chitoes
Finally,as we near Savannah, we start to see sighs of civilization and a confederate flag.
Miles and miles of marsh, as far as the eye can see
Up here, the osprays are just hatching, back home, they are hatched, grown, out left the nest.
This floating pile of grass? came by. Can't figure where it came from or how,.saw several thru the night.
Took the dingy over to Thunderbold Marina, and for $10 we got use of the dingy dock, showers, and laudry. We took a $16 taxi ride to Savanah to sigh see. Here is a picture collage of Savanah
cobblestone streets
Remember the 5 and 10?
Took the $ 1 bus ride bach to thunderbolt, very fast and senic, all the back roads.
As luck would have it , Tubbys Tank House was right on the way home. We took that as a sign, so we stopped in for a few.
Note the propeller
So just to prepare for the laundry that had to be done, I toasted the sunset from the rooftop deck of Tubby's!
(several times)
5/2/07
The tides were with us today, so our route to Beaufort South Carolina took about 1.5 hours less than expected. We arrived early afternoon and our friends from SkinWalker and Freedom were at the anchorage.
Remember Tubbys roof patio, from yesterday? Well that's it beween the two condo's. God I hate Condo's.
As we were passing Paris Island, we could hear gun fire. Note the nice barracks on the left.
We anchored next to the famous MV Skinwalker, and were graciously invited over for Cocktails and a turkey dinner. Yumm! The trukey was donated by MV Freedom, as they lost their freezer.
Got to bed early that nite, the turkey kicked in.
5/3/07
Watched a very red sun come up,, all the fires have left a smokey haze in the air.
This is your typical Beaufort SC home, like a movie set.
This sign welcomes the boaters to the city's free dingy dock
Your probably asking yourself, what this is. Well, it's a Beaufort breakfast specialty, Grits and shrimp. I had to try it and it was good!
This sculpture was all over Beaufort, must be their mascot! They were all decorated differently.
1779, wow!
Loved the moss in the trees.
There was a huge fire going on in Georgia, causing the sky to be hazy!
The anchorage at high tide, note the marsh exposed.
I finally did the official renaming the boat ceremony, a day late and a dollar short, hopefully Neptune will be happy.
5/4/07
An early sunrise start and we off toward Charleston South Carolina.
About an hour out, we ran into several patches of fog, some pretty thick. It was already hazy due the the fires. Thank God we for radar, GPS, and the renaming of the boat ceremony!
On the port beam , our first dirt shoreline and hills. Quite a change from the coral rock of Key Largo.
In Elliot Cut, just south of Charelston, we got a huge push from the running tide, check out our speed!
Our destination for this final leg of the trip, Cooper River Marina, just beyound this bridge a few miles.
Cooper River Marina is a city owned marina, used to be owned and built by the Navy. Is very well built, and storm resistant. More on that later. I will be storing the Lady there for a few weeks while we return to Key Largo by rental car, some 600 miles south.
Slip E9, where the lady will wait for our return. Note the strong current.
As is usual, the transient docks are the farthest away. We are docked just behind the secound blue building way, way down that long concrete ramp.
This area is a large commercial shipping area. I never knew ships were this deep in the water. Look how high the water line is on this empty ship.
Got the rental car early and did the tourist thing around Charleston.
Explored the Yorktown. A huge huge ship with lots and lots of very steep stairs.
The Yorktown Lower Station, Just like the Lady, cept we have windows
There was also a submarine, a Coast Guard Cutter, and a Destroyer to tour.
Going over the bridge we went under ealier
The day ended with happy hour at this Waters Edge rooftop bar...
5/7/07
Thanks to a $75 National one way car rental, and a tank of gas, and a 11 hour drive, I am back in ol Key Largo for a week or so, to catch up on business.
And true to form, as soon as we left the Andrea, first tropical storm of the season was just off Charleston headed our way, but only with 45 mph winds.
Do I have to have a tropical storm on every trip?
love that moss!
...overlooking this view of the other bars and boats...
...with this libation in hand.
I could tell we were up north, because of the ice on bridges sign
Called Hertz and reserved the rental car for the May 20th drive back to Charleston, S.C.
I know it's a little late, however, Ordered Skippers Bob's complete set of "loop" books, and bought a used Waeco small freezer on Ebay. Supposed to be very energy stingy.Will let you know how it works.
Things I have learned cruising, # 7
Never discuss politics and religion with friends, and never discuss anchoring technics and marine heads with cruisers.
I purchased a bottle ($2.99) of Blue colored Boone Farm Wine, and at dinner on board the MV Skinwalker, I presented it to Wayne an Lynne with the Following Instructions
Never, ever , open or partake of this special, one of a kind wine. You must put your boat name on it, and where you got it, and pass it on to other boaters on the loop, with the hope that one day, after completing the loop, the bottle will return to the Sterling Lady III, for it's next adventure.
Tomorrow 8 am we are off in the one way rental car from Hertz ($121 a day) leaving Key Largo to arrive at Charleston, S.C. 12 hours later @ Cooper River Marina, to continue the quest of the Great Loop. The loop books arrived! Thanks Skipper Bob!
5/20/07
Arrived Cooper River Marina, ready to leave, the boat would not start. Long story short, it finally did. We have pictures of me in the Holy Place, but they are not pretty, and NOT to be posted here! Got out about noon, heading to Mcclellenville. To this day I don't know what happened.
It was kinda neat, leaving Chaleston, at Fort Sumpter, where the civil war began, there was a Tall ship anchored off. That probably hasn't happend in a hundred years of so.
Fort Sumpter
The look of the Waterway once again changed,, nice houses, long walkways to the water.
Obviously , this part of the Waterway is Man Made.
The firts bit of "artsy Fartsy" I have seen since Ft. liquordale.
Tried to anchor in Five Fathom Creek,however, the wind was strong against the tide, and the boat lied sideways to the anchor, so we went to Leland Oil Co. Docks in McEllenville.
The boats on the other side of our dock were on the bottom at low tide.
Leland Oil Co. Docks sucked, they were way overpriced! $1.60 a foot. Ice $2 a bag.The only reason I would ever go back , is to anchor out and see the town, which is Terrific! Take a look.
The houses were hundreds of years old,...
And they have a tree that is over 400 years old, not to mention the tree that President Washington did not want to cut down.
The marina office, which looks alot better in this picture.
5/22/07
The next Morning we are off to Georgetown, S.C, and the dolphins are everywhere!
And so where the Alligators!
In the early AM a bird landed on the rails.
Now comes the story of the horse fly....
Un benoinst to myself and the crew, horse flys do urinate, and as it happens , this one urinated on the crew! What r the odds?
The Docks here were not the best I have seen. And as you can see, at low tide, the inland side of the dock is dry.
They were dreging near the inlet to Georgtown
And also a fairy.
A local tour boat operated out of the Marina
The daylight ended while we visited this local on the H20 bar.
The lady slept at the dingy dock, along with another trawler. Seems we forgot we were supposed to go out to anchor for the night.....and got away with it ;-}
