TwoGether

Wednesday 12/14/11.         Heading south out of Thunderbolt you come upon Moon River.  While this one wasn’t “wider than a mile”, it was lined with nice homes and there were shrimp boats moored there.

Hell Gate.  There are numerous narrow water ways called Hell(s) Gate around the country.  One of the most notorious is in New York City on the East River.  But GA also has a Hell Gate located between the Vernon and Ogeechee Rivers.  This ¾ mile stretch is narrow, shallow, has a dogleg in the middle, and can play havoc with boaters, especially sailboats which tend to draw more water.  Both ends have cross currents and the through current can be very strong when there is either a half rising or falling tide. All of cruising guides encourage you to pass through at high tide. There is even a page on the “Waterway Guide” website devoted to information for Hell Gate.  The alternative would be a tricky four mile ride out the Ossabaw Sound’s North Channel; then into the Atlantic for a four mile ride south; then back the Ossabaw Sound’s South Channel. 

 

On the chart you can see the narrow passage and the shoals between Little Don Island and Raccoon Key.  The marked channel is about 80 feet wide and the buoys are often moved to show the changing shoals.  Going through at high tide the shoals are covered with water and it appears wide open so it’s easy to wonder out of the channel.   The tide in this area is about eight feet.  At low tide there will be exposed land on both sides and banks about six to eight feet high.  This means the 12 feet you had at high tide becomes 4 feet.   Not good deep draft boats.  Fortunately we got there just after high tide and the main concern was staying in the channel.  There was a slight push to the side entering but not enough to cause a problem. 

St. Catherines Sound was rather calm with just the gentlest of a roll coming in off the Atlantic.  It would lift TwoGether’s bow ever so slightly and release it back to kiss the next wave.   It had the rhythm of the anthems you hear in the movies when they show the bow of an old square rigged sailing ship out on the open ocean.  I love that feeling.

Tonight’s port of call will be Cattle Pen Creek where we will get a good night’s rest and prepare to take on Sapelo Sound, Doboy Sound and Altamaha Sound tomorrow.

Hell Gate:                  N31° 51.757  W81° 05.010

Cattle Pen Creek:    N31° 38.555  W081° 11.067 

Thursday 12/15/11.  Just before sunset last evening, a sailboat came up Cattle Pen Creek and anchored about two hundred yards up stream.  This morning, while we were making ready to get underway, they pulled anchor, passed by and exchanged good mornings.  Then we recognized each other.  They were aboard “Savannah Star” the sailboat that was behind us at the Deep Creek Lock on the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal.

While we were preparing to enter a cut we heard this strange whoosh.  A few seconds later whoosh the sound seemed to becoming just outside the door at the helm station.  Linda looked and it was a dolphin swimming two feet from the boat.  She ducked back in for her camera and it was gone.  We have seen dolphins every day for the last month.

It seemed that we were the only cruisers on the ICW today.  Sometime we would go for over an hour and not see another boat.  We did pass several commercial vessels along the way. 

With almost calm air we cruised through the three Sounds with no problem.

Except for a couple of marinas along the way there weren’t any No Wake Zones.  That, plus favorable currents God gave us, we actually made it to our intended anchorage by noon instead of our planned 3:00P.             I was a little bit disappointed we stopped early but tomorrow had St. Simons and St. Andrew sounds and there weren’t any planned anchorages that suited.  Wallys Leg was our planned stop over.  Good thing… Linda said she thought she smelled oil.  At first she thought I had spilled some on me but a few sniffs and it wasn’t me.  So we checked the engine room and found a loose fitting on a remote oil filter adaptor.  It was an easy fix but six tablespoons of oil can rally make a mess. 

Wallys Leg: N31°16.157 W081° 24.532          

Friday 12/16/11

Wow this was a day packed full of events!  Normally we are up at 6:00A and start our routine for the day.  Usually we are underway around 8:00A.  This morning was no different……sunrise in a crystal clear sky. Breakfast, devotions, weather check, review the charts, pull up the aft anchor, turn on the engine room blower, wait five minutes, start the engines and let them warm up.  Whoa!  In the five minutes it took to pull the aft anchor the crystal clear sky filled with pea soup fog.   It was burned off by 9:00A so we resumed our chores and weighed anchor.  As we started out Wallys Leg there were several dolphins in the creek with us. 

You Done That On Porpoise!           As we idled our way back to the ICW the dolphins were chasing fish for breakfast.  One even went part way up on the bank chasing its prey.  Then one rolled so close to the bow of the boat I never saw it …what I did see is the spray from its blow-hole splash over the railing!    A few seconds later I felt the boat push sideways as if I caught a cross current or would have touched bottom. We’re in a creek that is dead still and have 12 feet of water beneath our keel.  One of the dolphins must have decided to give us a slight nudge to let us know we were in his territory.  I had never heard of this before but later again while making 8 mph and dolphins surfacing around us it happened again.  Linda and I looked at each other and said “Did you feel that?”

St Simons Sound went pretty smooth.  It looks like you’re headed to Portugal but you turn south just before entering the Atlantic.  St Andrews Sound is more exciting (Linda says intimidating).  You actually are headed past the buoys for the inlet and are about as close to the Atlantic as you can get without being able to say you were on a sea cruise.

Trivia…After cruising around for a year in you nuclear submarine where do you go for a tune up??    In midafternoon we could see the huge buildings at the Kings Bay Navy Submarine Base.  It’s a bit scary coming into a channel that has you headed for the entrance of the base knowing it’s off limits and there sits a patrol boat with his flashing blue light.  But we passed by with no shots fired and continued on to our destination, St. Marys, GA.

Degaussing is a process started in WWII to reduce the magnetic signature of a ship so it would not attract mines. It is accomplished by using  electric coils within the hull of the ship.  The range tests the effectiveness of the onboard equipment my measuring the magnetic signature.

 St. Marys is the second oldest town in the country after St Augustine, FL.  Here is “Southern Charm” at its finest.  I have flown over it, drove Interstate 95 near it, but never stopped.  This little town is spotless with brick sidewalks, a beautiful waterfront park and the absolutely best seafood we have ever devoured.  The name Lang pops up several places.  There is Lang’s Marina and Lang’s Seafood Market/Restaurant.  The seafood is fresh off Captain Lang’s own boats.  It only a few miles out of the way but it’s more than worth the trip.  I’m sure it will be a destination on the return trip.  (Even if it’s to just get the Hush-Puppies)

St. Marys, GA:   N30° 43.166  W081° 32.861