Jekyll Island Nastiness and a Bad Night Out

Thursday, 3/24

Weather still windy and overcast.  We decided to leave Jekyll Island and head north.  We were up and ready to go at 8:00am but a local salt called 'Strider' told us to wait for an hour and a half so we could make it over the shallows and get lift from the rising tide.  We took his advice.  Said goodbye and shoved off at 9:38am.

About four navigation markers along, at Red "19" it got very shallow and we ran aground.  It was muddy..not a rocky bottom so no scrapes or damage to the hull.  However, the engine started to overheat and Kerm shut it down immediately.  The overheating indicated that the 'Belle' had sucked mud into her innards.  We needed assistance to get back to the marina so we called TowBoat US (for non-boaters that's like AAA for cars).  They said they could be out in 30 minutes so an hour later the tow boat turned up.  He was a good sport, handling the rescue mission efficiently and with good grace.  But we still had to endure the 'Tow of Shame' back to the same marina we had just left.

Thank goodness we had towing coverage it would have been very expensive without the insurance.

 We spent the rest of the day on the dock, washing out mud that had become packed into some of the Belle's innards. Our fellow boaters were understanding and kind, they stopped and commiserated with us.  They all wanted to know exactly where this happened so they could steer well clear.

As were we doing this. I again admired Kerm's mechanical skills.  We were finished in five hours.  A regular repair facility probably would have taken two days and lots of dollars to do the same job.  When we fired her up again, she ran well...even a little cooler than before.  Hooray for us.


Friday, 3/25

The day dawned with very little wind, a nice change from the previous gusty days.  We hooked up with two other boats going north, Sunset II and Negotiator. We all waited until 11:00am to leave.  We let the boat with the deeper draft go first...everyone cleared Red "19" with no trouble.


Negotiator is owned by a couple from Michigan who are doing the Loop with their 3 children.  They left 7 months ago on this adventure and all of them seem to be having a wonderful time.  What an experience to share.  Sunset II is solo-captained by Jack whose wife prefers horses to boats.  He's going to put his boat 'on the hard' pretty soon and go play with the horses for couple of months.

We were moving slower than the others so we eventually lost track of them with hopes that we'd meet up again somewhere down the line.  Today's travels took us through mile after mile of marshy lowlands, winding back and forth with the rivers.  No sign of civilization...a good place for birds.  Even when we were crossing the St. Simon, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapelo and St. Catherine Sounds (entrances to the Atlantic Ocean) it was very isolated.

We realized that we were going to have to anchor out for the night since no marinas were within range.  We consulted the trusty Skipper Bob's guide to anchorages along the ICW and located a suitable spot about two miles up the Wahoo River.  We set two anchors and went to bed after a good dinner.

Kerm appreciating the sunset on the Wahoo

 At 2:00am the anchor drag alarm went off.  We donned our life jackets (a rule if you are going out of the cabin after dark). We made sure that we didn't swing into another boat that had moored in the same area or into the banks of the river.  It was cold, buggy and pretty miserable.  Kerm took the brunt of the torment...he sent me to bed after setting another anchor and took anchor watch for the rest of the night.  The no see 'ums were ferocious.  We were glad to get out of Wahoo River as soon as the sun rose.

Anchoring out can be tricky in these waters because of the seven foot difference between high and low tides and due to the speed of the current.  Kerm said that he learned some good lessons for next time.  Please note that Warren is not in sight during any of this... I think he's a fair weather parrot!!

Anchor watch is not pretty

Saturday, 3/26

We need an easy day and some down time.  We decided to go to Isle of Hope Marina, which is outside of Savannah and less than 40 miles from the Wahoo.  The marina is said to be a nice one so we made reservations and steamed there with no delay, arriving at 1:50pm.  We had just finished securing all our lines when who should show up???  Sunset II and Negotiator.

Rest and relaxation is on tap for now.

Love to all friends and family,
Christie