FL to CT - Day 20
Brunswick, GA to Walburg Creek,GA


We left Brunswick Landing Marina later than planned at 0845. Our alarm clock "Lily" slept in. Normally, she wakes us up at 0600 to 0630... not today... we had to wake her up at 0800... it was one of those gloomy days out... YUK!

We headed back toward the ICW past the ship docks and under the Sidney Lanier Bridge... it's huge! Takes about 45 minutes to get back to ICW. At least we had the current with us out and to the inlet... pushing us along at over 8 knots... bad part was the current would end at the inlet and the wind was blowing over 30 knots out of the NE. Ready for this wind to stop!
We passed one sailboat and had three power boats pass us... other than that we did not see another boat. Guess when it's raining, wind over 30 knots most people stay docked. We wanted to get to a grocery store soon and tried all day calling marinas to get a slip... every one was full... we did mange to find one in the Savannah area... Delegal Creek Marina located at the moth of the Vernon River just past Ossabaw Sound. They provide a golf cart and Publix is just 10 minutes away... NICE!
We can't make it that far today so we decided to anchor in Walburg Creek just south of St. Catherine's Sound. we have anchored here before and it's a nice protected area from the NE winds that never let up today... saw gusts to 40 knots.... very nasty day!

We arrived and anchored for the night at approximately 1730. Our location Walburg Creek at
N31°40.601', W081°09.558'. We traveled today for 8 hours and 45 minutes covering 56.03 nautical miles averaging 6.4 knots.


Posted at 5:25 PM
FL to CT - Day 19
Jacksonville, FL to Brunswick, GA


We left Sisters Creek this morning at 0800 and headed north on the ICW... destination planned for today is Brunswick, GA... Yeah! we will finally be out of Florida.
It was a little foggy when we left but cleared quickly... visibility was never an issue. Tide was gong out so we had current against us as we left and it would be near low tide when we hit some of the trouble areas before Fernandina Beach.
Virtually, no boat traffic today... guess the weather kept most people at the dock... cloudy with the clouds hanging low and very windy... 20 to 30 knots all days out of the NE. This meant we would not be doing St. Andrews Sound/Inlet... we took an alternate route that takes a little longer but would calm... we heard a report over the VHF that the waves in the inlet were 7 feet... NOT DOING THAT!
The alternate route takes you off the ICW about 11nm from St. Andrews at Floyd Creek... Satilla River... Dover Creek... Dover Cut... Umbrella Creek and dumps you into Jekyll Sound about 8nm north of St. Andrews. It was a rising tide and most of the route we had good water... couple of places we would not of made it at anything but high tide... The center of Dover Cut we hit a spot less than 6 feet deep and exiting Umbrella Creek we ran at idle speed and drug the bottom for about 1/8 mile... was not sure of we were gong to make it through this past spot... but, luckily we did... :)

We did see a lot of wild pigs and eagles... the pigs scurried away before we could get close enough for a photo... but did manage to get one photo of two eagles perched on a stake before they flew.
Jekyll Creek which is always an issue was a breeze at near high tide... typically we hit Jekyll Creek at near low tide and push through the mud in a several places.

We arrived to our destination for the night at approximately 1700. We docked at Brunswick Landing Marina right next to the office at
N31°09.622', W081°29.991'. We traveled today for 9 hours covering 60.5 nautical miles averaging 6.7 knots.
After docking we fueled SAILS taking on 1035 gallons of diesel... took an hour to complete... very slow pumps... :(


Posted at 6:26 PM
FL to CT - Day 18
St. Augustine, FL to Jacksonville, FL

We dropped the mooring this morning at 0800 and headed north... destination undetermined. Weather was on the cloudy side and wind was below 10 knots all day.
There were tons of boats moving north today... we are definitely within the north migration that takes place each spring. Today was the day of sailboats... we must have passed a dozen or more... some answer the radio when you hail them to pass... others do not... most wave as you pass them... others totally ignore you... :)
We had a mix of current both helping and slowing us down... lowest speed I saw was 5.1 knots.... highest was 9.1 knots. It normally balances out and we end up averaging between 6.5 and 7 knots... I try to figure out best times to leave areas based on tide levels/currents but have only found a few places that really work out well to give you boost all day.
I received a ton of emails requesting work today so we opted to stop early in Jacksonville at Sister Creek at the free city docks. It is a very nice concrete floating dock and they even have water... no power... :)
We arrived to our destination for the night at approximately 1315...
N30°23.890’, W081°27.466’. We traveled today for 5.25 hours covering 34.3 nautical miles averaging 6.5 knots.

The docks were empty when we arrived but soon we were joined by four other boats... Two power boats and two sailboats. The power boats were MTOA members. We also had another MTOA couple stop by car and visit us... they had seen us arrive and came to say hello.


Posted at 7:20 PM