We finally made it out of Florida with our trip from St. Augustine, FL to Savannah, GA. We were super excited to cross this milestone off our list. We finally found a weather window to travel the 147nm / 27 hours offshore and up the Wilmington River to stay at the Thunderbolt Marina. For our 11 day stay, we were easily tied up with the current on a T-Head dock just off the ICW. Since the tide was around 6-7 feet, we had lovely floating docks . There were small wakes from boats that were slowly going by in the “no-wake zone” but the evenings were mostly nice and calm. Out of Sight, anchored not too far away in the mouth of the Herb River and would dinghy to our marina to go ashore. It was very nice to have them behind us on this passage. It definitely eased a bit of worry and gave the feeling that we were not alone in the deep dark water, especially overnight.
We were excited to learn about Savannah’s history and to discover the beauty of Georgia’s low country. After the city was founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe, he developed a city plan that consisted of six interconnected wards built around central squares. These squares still exist today with homes, shops, churches and restaurants surrounding each. The Savannah Cotton Exchange was established in 1876 with a row of warehouses on Bay Street and looking over the Savannah River. Though these buildings are now hotels, restaurants and shops, like the majority of the historic downtown area, the original architecture has been preserved. We could have spent many more days just wandering around the town with our cameras out.
We also had a wonderful visit with our Durango friends, Mark and Sarah Wilcox. It was very nice to catch up, get a private tour of their favorite places in Savannah and to, of course, receive mail and do our laundry at their place. We will definitely try to stop by when we make our way back down the east coast.
We did have some very rainy days during our stay and a few thunderstorms blew through. Our friends Craig and Diane, on Out of Sight, had a mishap during a storm while at anchor. They were pushed ashore by a wind gust at low tide. In the process of getting towed off the shore, they sustained some damage to their skeg (an extension of the keel which the rudder is mounted to) and were slowly taking on water. They have since been hauled out for repairs but are unsure how long it will keep them out of the water. I’m sure they will document their experience on their YouTube channel Sailing Out of Sight (Be patient, they may be a bit behind on posting updates, just like I am…).
Needless to say, after we made sure that Craig and Diane were ok and had a plan, Justin and I realized that were shaken up by the news of their accident. It just goes to show that anything can happen out here, at any time. Unfortunately, because they are currently out of commission and since boat repairs seem to take much longer than expected, Justin and I planned on our next move on our own. We’re hoping that their repairs will be swift and we can meet up again to hang out and buddy boat in the not so distant future. Skål
Never pass up new experiences [Scarlett], They enrich the mind.
– Rhett Butler, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
