11/21/15 To 31 47.528N, 81 11.933W Kilkenny Creek Anchorage 29.8NM
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| One of Hogan Marina's lifts at low tide - an overhead host system |
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| The other, an elevator, for the stack and store boats - at low tide, it's a big drop! |
We wanted to wait until after low tide before departing to have rising water 2 hours later to past through Hell Gate, a short, man made cut between the Vernon and Oceehee Rivers. Once through the Skidaway Narrows, we ran out the jib and shut down the engine. We found ourselves in the midst of the regatta heading S, albeit somewhat more strung out than they had been on Thursday. There was a lot of chatter on the VHF about how to run Hell Gate, with depths being reported. What was interesting was no one we saw so much as ran out a jib in spite of a 10-15kt NE breeze, about as good as you get, and in an area of the ICW where it's possible to sail and not go aground if you misjudge the channel.
We did motor through Hell Gate. The current was strong enough to easily get taken out of the channel and into trouble. The shallowest reading we saw was about 9' (MLW 6'). Once beyond R 92 on the Oceehee River, we ran the jib back out and sailed all the way to the anchorage, up Kilkenny Creek a couple of miles, just past the town. We were joined by 1 other boat who anchored nearby, while 3 others chose to tie up at the marina.
Apparently another red hulled sail boat, not part of the group, sailed too - we heard folks complaining he was messing them up by going through Hell Gate under sail. I don't understand why so few boats don't at least motor sail when the wind is fair. Conditions were nearly perfect for Antares, fairly consistent wind and flat water (asking for a current boost would be too much).
The day after beginning mostly sunny turned gray and dreary. While it didn't rain, it looked like it might be at various points on the horizon. Along with the gray skies, came cooler temperatures which had us back in fleeces and jackets. According to NOAA, frost would be likely Sunday night many places further W than the immediate coastal area. The wind would stay out of some northerly quadrant for the next few days while a gale developed offshore and headed up the coast. There was mention of seas from 11 - 17' and gusts well into the 30's offshore. It doesn't appear to be a threat to us in the ICW, a good reason not to venture offshore until things calm down. At any rate, it was dreary enough to offer minimal photo ops during the day. However, the moon, growing nightly, shown brightly after dark.
Some of the group were headed to Walburg Creek, one of our favorite anchorages, while others who departed at first light, anchored further S. From the chatter, they appear to be heading to Jekyll Island next, stopping at St. Mary's for the Thanksgiving feast and on to St. Augustine by 12/1, so we're hoping to have less traffic on the ICW soon.
11/22/15 To 31 18.679N, 81 24.516W Broughton Island Anchorage 46.3NM
The shoal of the day was the Little Mud River, about a 3 mile, man made cut, running between Doboy and Altamaha Sounds, about 40NM from our anchorage in Kilkenny Creek. Ideally we'd do it on a rising tide. With that in mind, we headed out just before 0800, hoping the current wouldn't run uphill all day to prevent us from arriving at the beginning of the cut around 1400. It didn't - we shot down to St. Catherine's Sound, running under the jib in the N wind. Needless to say it was uphill once we crossed the sound! As elsewhere on the ICW, it's difficult to predict when and where the current might switch.
We watched as a sail boat make its way N out of Wallburg Creek, into the sound before turning to head S on the ICW. Apparently they were concerned about attempting the 7NM shortcut at the other end of Walburg Creek. Not sure what their draft was, but we heard them on the VHF much of the day, checking on the depths as they headed S. Their plan was to do the Little Mud River at 1500, almost high tide.
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| An interesting current rip line along the ICW where Walburg Creek exits heading S |
There was a lot of chatter among the regatta folks about when the best time would be to transit the shoal. Most of the boats were ahead of us,and it was interesting listening to them plan a strategy when they arrived at the shoal. The boats with shoal drafts were urged to the front of the line so they could pass through and call back with depths for the next batch. For a while it sounded like each boat was tiptoeing through, one at a time, leaving me wondering if they'd still be there when we arrived. Fortunately they weren't, and when we passed through around 1430, there was no problem with the depth (7' of tide does make quite a difference).
The weather was a bit crummy, quite cool and gray, looking like it could sprinkle any time. Then, when it looked to be clearing, it sprinkled lightly. We hadn't decided on where to stop for the night, but once past the shoal, stopping at Broughton Island looked to be a good choice. Over the years, we've sat out a blow there, so we knew the holding was good, and there was plenty of room to anchor. Two boats were already anchored when we arrived, one of which looked to be in the channel. Sure enough, they relocated after we had our anchor set as the creek is used by the local fishing fleet.
I was a bit surprised to see the sky had completely cleared shortly after we'd settled in for the night. With a fairly stiff N wind blowing, it promised to be a cold night, and it was, one of the colder ones this trip, with frost forecast inland. Just before sundown, another boat arrived to join us.
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Sundown at the Broughton Island anchorage
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11/23/15 To 31 13.319N, 81 23.630W Ft. Frederica Anchorage 7.0NM
Since we had time and not far to go before reaching Tiger Point, we planned to stop at Fort Frederica on St Simins Island. It's an interesting place with a lot of history. and a nice anchorage. We heard a number of other boats planning to stop there Sunday night, and figured they'd be heading further S Monday, freeing up the anchorage. We'd noted a shoal at low tide on the river last April, so planned on taking advantage of the higher water early in the day. Unfortunately that would mean a low tide around 1300, and we knew from past experience the park dock was inaccessible at low tide. With luck, we might get ashore before the dock area became a mud flat, and could set a stern anchor to prevent the dinghy from wedging under the dock (and oyster shells) when the water rose.
We were surprised to find 5 boats still anchored when we arrived a bit before 1100. We'd expected they would have taken advantage of the higher water during the early morning hours to cleared the shoal at the other end of the river and behind Jekyll Island. We decided to go ashore while we still could and spend the day, rather than wait until mid afternoon. and only have a few hours before dark.
With lunch in the back pack, we headed to the dock. Well almost to the dock, stopping in the mud just short of it. I managed to grab the ladder and get up, giving Leonard a bit less draft to drop the stern anchor and work his way ashore. It wasn't the most graceful of landings, but other than Leonard getting muddy hands, we'd made it. The park ranger watched as we tied up, giving us a warm welcome to the park. She'd been expecting some the others to come ashore too, but with their dinghies stowed, it didn't look likely. She mentioned plans for a floating dock to make the park much easier to access from the water, the current ladder is steep and one of the lower steps cracked.
Checking in at the office, we met fellow Vermonters, the Vahlins from Jeffersonville, who volunteer at the park, and for once, although we didn't know them, we have a number of mutual acquaintances. They are RV liveaboards since retiring, and have been at St. Simons for several months. They graciously offered to drive us to the store or to do other errands if needed. We thanked them, but not needing anything but some exercise, we went for a walk.
While on the walk, we heard and saw a number of birds. Several were pileated woodpeckers, but they were too quick to catch with the camera. A flock of blue birds were busy catching bugs in the grass - haven't seen many of them since I was a kid. I'll include photos of a few did get.
Red-bellied woodpecker
One of a flock of blue birds
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| Belted kingfisher |
We discovered a nice loop, about 5 miles through the Sea Path golf community on an earlier trip, and with a tour of the park on our return, the dinghy would floating nicely by 1530 or 1600, and much easier to access. It was, although it took some work to remove the mud! Apparently the other boats departed on the rising afternoon tide, and were gone by the time we returned. With no one else arriving, we had the anchorage to ourselves.
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| Panorama looking N from the dinghy dock |
We spent about an hour walking around the fort and remnants of the town founded by James Oglethorpe in1734, after he founded Savannah. His plan was to provide both a settlement and a fort to ward off the Spanish who were in St. Augustine. This settlement, like others he designed, was laid out in neat lots along a series of streets and alleys. Once the threat from the Spanish was removed, the fort was deactivated, and without the soldiers, the settlement declined.
We made reservations at the marina in Brunswick for Tuesday night. We plan on an early departure to take advantage of the high tide and to have more time to spend in Brunswick. It's been quite a few years since we stopped there. A check on Active Captain indicated they had the best fuel price in the area (and was confirmed when I made the reservation) - a $.30 - $.50/ gallon savings is worth it, even for our small fuel tank. The marina has free laundry facilities, nice heads and is the same price/ft as the others in the area
