November 27-28

One of the very best parts of ‘cruising’ is the conversations and great tips we get from fellow cruisers. Without the suggestion that we stop at Jekyll Island, we would have missed out on one of the highlights of the Georgia waterway.

‘Jekyll Island was the … winter club for the rich and famous. In the 1880s this group, including the Rockefellers, Goodyears, Morgans, Pulitzers … built what they called cottages.’ To help understand the exclusivity of this community, we were told that these families controlled one-sixth of the wealth of the world at this time.

'Each estate was huge, but to promote social interaction none included kitchens. Members were expected to dine together at the club, where a staff from Delmonico’s in New York prepared meals. The restaurant’s 100-page menu included 370 dishes’.

The club still looks pretty nice, but they have shortened the menu somewhat – especially the one they gave us.

We were slow to get started on Thursday, as it had been a windy night and we were a little apprehensive about making our way through St. Andrews Sound. After watching a few other boats head out we decided to give it a shot.

It was a bumpy ride with the biggest waves we have seen, but a great learning experience. The most exciting part was hearing the Admiral yell, ‘Can’t we go any faster?’

Later in the day we passed by the Kings Bay Security Zone, where we had that ‘helicopter thing’ going again. Kings Bay is an active nuclear submarine base and a submarine was heading out to sea as we were in transit. Recreational boats in transit are required to stop and circle while maintaining a distance of 1 000 yards. The circling helicopter and gunboats reinforced the message.

We have passed into Florida and are anchored in the Fort George River. While it is not toasty warm, it certainly ain't snowing. I listened to the last half of the Grey Cup game the other night sitting in the cockpit in shorts and a fleece. I would never have thought of doing that in Winnipeg, at least not sober, I am sure.

November 25-26

People have said that one ought to think about going out to the ocean to bypass the Georgia section of the ICW, while others say it is not to be missed.

Georgia poses some challenges, but overall has been a fantastic part of our trip. We were up early Sunday morning in order to ensure that we could take advantage of the high tide for the passage through Hell Gate and the Florida Passage, which would have been impossible at low tide.

The tides in Georgia have averaged between eight and ten feet, which is by far the greatest range we have seen. While this can make for a comfortable passage through 'thin' water when you time it right, it also brings with it very strong currents which can make anchoring difficult and your progress either wonderfully quick or painfully slow.

We anchored in the Wahoo River and had a fun evening with folks from three other boats. It was good to see Steve, from LORCHA, who we have not seen since New York City.

On Monday morning the weather forecast said that with the approaching cold front there would be periods of fog until 9:00 am. While we pay close attention to the weather, we don’t always understand how it works, and sometimes wonder if the forecaster does either. It was rather hazy until 9:30 am, and then it really socked in. We actually anchored for an hour on the side of the waterway and sounded a horn whenever we heard a boat approaching.

When we convinced ourselves it was beginning to get better, we joined with a couple of boats that were carefully moving along, and ended up anchored out from Fort Frederica on the Frederica River.