Savannah City Dock, Savannah, Georgia

Wow! We've returned to civilization. Much of yesterday and this morning were spent going through very lonely areas on the ICW, nothing in sight but marsh, with some trees in the distant background. Cell phone coverage was spotty at best. Then we came past suberbs of Savannah, beautiful areas with historic homes, nice docks and boats. Travelled through some narrow shallow places, with names such as Hell Gate, Skidaway Narrows, then turned up the Savannah River to the city of Savannah. It is a busy seaport, and certainly we passed industrial areas and big ships on the way in. There must be more loading docks further up the river, because we have tugs and container ships, tows, etc going past us frequently. Two large ocean going ships met just beside our boat a little while ago.
Our travels today were uneventful; we had two engines working all the way. Wayne changed fuel filters and drained lines last night, and whatever he did obviously worked.
Our dock here in Savannah is right downtown in the historic district. The waterfront is a busy place with shops, restaurants and bars. Lots of people walking about, enterainment along the street. We went for a walk this afternoon, then came back and cleaned the boat. Went for another walk after dinner, got an ice cream cone at one of the many places just up the street. Sitting on the boat it's hard to know whether to watch the crowds on the riverfront or the boats going by on the river. Busy place.

Sun shining on the marsh in Georgia

Entrance to Moon River, made famous by songwriter  Johnny Mercer and singer Andy Williams

Container ship with tug boat going by our dock

Also went by our dock

We will stay here tomorrow anyway, move on either Sunday or Monday.

Kilkenny Marina, Kilkenny Creek, Georgia

We decided to leave Jekyll Creek this morning; it was a beautiful day and just too nice not to travel. This next stretch involved crossing several sounds or open areas to the Atlantic, and it seemed wise to travel that section on a day with little or no wind. It turned out to be a good decision, the day was beautiful, and St. Simons sound right up to St. Catherine’s sound were calm.  We did hit one section at low tide that left us with not much water to spare. Little Mud River is known to be shallow. As we approached it, another  boat (Winndecks) passed us and ended up then leading the way through. We did not have a lot of water under us, but we didn’t go aground.  Two sailboats with deeper drafts were waiting for higher tide to try it.  Just after Little Mud River, our port engine shut down on us. Acted just like last summer when we had so many problems with dirt in the fuel. Wayne tried bleeding the system as we moved, but couldn’t. We got to Kilkenny Marina and he has changed fuel filters and drained some of the lines, and the port engine starts OK. We’ll have to see how it works under load tomorrow.  The little bugs they call noseeums are out in full force again tonight, so we are staying inside the boat.

Jekyll Harbour Marina, Jekyll Island, Georgia

The gold burgee flying proudly from Finally

We are in Georgia!! Seems like we have been in Florida for so long, but we left Florida just after we pulled away from Fernandina Beach this morning. We went through the Cumberland Sound, very calm seas so no problem. Followed Crawdad up by Cumberland Island for a good look at the island. Cumberland Island is one of Georgia's largest barrier islands.  There were both  Spanish missions and British Colonial forts on Cumberland Island, plus some plantations and "The Settlement", which was established at the north end of the island for the black workers. The first African Baptist church was established here in 1893,  rebuilt in the 1930's, and is one of the few remaining structures of this community. Because the part service now owns 80% of the island, there will never be more building on the island, or bridges or causeways built from the mainland. A leftover from the original plantations is a herd of wild horses, and we were thrilled to see one of the horses grazing on some grass along the shore of the island.
Just after we exited the channel into Cumberland Island, we passed by the Kings Bay submarine base. Submarines enter by Cumberland sound, and we understand that if one is coming in, there are plenty of patrol boats to warn recreational boaters away. We had a very quiet trip up past the base, there was what looked like a patrol boat in the entrance channel to the base. Wonder what would have happened if we had taken a wrong turn? We also passed a degaussing range. This apparently is a way of reducing the magnetic charge of warships. We heard one boater tell a story about passing one and his eletronics all went haywire. Some of them worked afterwards, some didn't. Luckily we passed by without incident. 
Our next challenge for the day was St. Andrews Sound, one of the larger openings to the Atlantic that we go through. If the weather is bad, it can kick up pretty roughly, but today was nice and calm so our trip across it was very pleasant.

One of the horses on Cumberland Island

Arrived at Jekyll Harbour Marina on Jekyll Island, a very pretty place. This is Finally's home marina, and Finally is docked here, having crossed her wake on Monday. However, Jill and Richard went home this morning, we are sorry to have missed them.
Went for a walk this evening to the historic area of the island, well worth a repeat visit tomorrow. We have discovered, or been discovered by, a small bug called noseeums. The lady here at the marina called them mouths with wings, very small biting things that drive you crazy at dusk and dawn, and in between if you are out of the breeze and/or in the shade. Tonight we cooked and ate indoors, no way we could sit out on the back deck. Apparently the hot weather will send them away, so we need to hope for weather above 80 F. We will stay here for another day, then move on.






Fernanadina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida

Coast Guard Boat, note the gun on the front.

Wayne and the coast guard guy examining the engines of the boat

Warm and sunny this morning, breezy though. As the morning went on the winds came up and the clouds rolled in. Storms were predicted, no thunder or lightening but lots of wind and rain. This afternoon the skies cleared and it is now a beautiful evening. A coast guard boat docked across from us during the wind and rain, Wayne got talking with one man on the boat and ended up getting a tour of the coast guard boat. Very interesting. He asked what one set of controls were for, the man said "I could tell you, but then I would have to shoot you". I hope he was kidding. They said they were here on a training mission. Jim and Gloria from Crawdad came in this afternoon, and we went out to dinner with them this evening. Very nice to see them again. Have met the people on 2 other looper boats here at the dock, Muddy Waters with the Samway family, and Moon Struck with Judy and Doug. Weather looks good for tomorrow, so we will move on as far as Cumberland Island, then decide whether to go further.

Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island,Florida

Got up this morning to the smell of coffee, our marina was just past the Maxwell House Coffee plant. Another beautiful day, sunny and warm, and a little less humid. As we left Jacksonville on the St.Johns River, came past the stadium,  then passed under another bridge. After the bridge it was the Port of Jacksonville, with containers, heavy equipment, tug boats, for miles and miles. We passed by the Toyota Southeast Distribution Centre, lots of cars in the lot. Met ships, tows, all of a sudden we were in another world, quite different from the peaceful waterway we had been on in the St Johns on the other side of Jacksonville. Even saw a Coast Guard Boat with a gun mounted on the front of the boat, first time we've seen that. As we turned off the St. Johns into the intercoastal, saw dolphins playing in the water, realized we have not seen them for the past couple of weeks.
Talked to Richard and Jill on Finally along the way, they were ahead of us, planned on crossing their wake at Jekyll Island today. Also talked to SeaMoore, they were just ahead of us. Heard several other loopers around, Dream Catcher, Quest were also in our vicinity. We seem now to be part of the spring migration north.


As we came north on the ICW, came by low marshy land growing nothing but swamp grass. The people who live here have extremely long docks to get from high ground where they live out to the actual waterway.



a tow passing a ship docked at the port

Got to Fernandina, a nice marina right off the intercoastal. As we arrived, passed by one of the two paper mills on the island. Got docked and then went for a walk up to the Fernandina Historic district, very nice with many original buildings. Walked across the island to the beach on the Atlantic side, then back to the boat for dinner. Walked up the street for ice cream after dinner, a nice treat. We plan to stay here another day to get some chores done, besides the forecast is for the possibility of thunderstorms and rain tomorrow, so good time to stay put.

Met this tug just outside of the Port of Jacksonville

The beach at Amelia Island

Jacksonville Metropolitan Marina, Jacksonville, Florida

The city at night along the waterway, view from our boat

Jacksonville Landings

Statue of Andrew Jackson, for whom the town was named





Came up to Jacksonville this morning, docked at the Landings for a few hours. The city of Jacksonville has a dock along the waterfront which is free for boaters; we tied up and went for lunch and a tour of the city. The Landings is a busy place, lots of people, restaurants, cafes. It seems to be built around a center stage, where there was live entertainment all the time we were there.
 Met a couple of gold loopers also docked at the Landings: Blue Angel and Sea Estate are both doing the loop for the 2nd time. We have spent the past couple of nights without power, and the batteries don't seem to be re-charging as quickly as they usually do, so we moved over to the Metropolitan marina where there is power for the night. This marina is actually located in front of the football stadium. As long as there is not an event going on at the stadium, you can tie up here for free. You do pay a nominal fee for power. There are only 2 boats here tonight, which is a shame because it is a nice facility. Chatted with the people on the other boat here, like us they are just passing through but they are heading into the St. Johns river. Hot day today, we will be glad to move north to a little cooler weather. Oh well, a cold front is expected to come through on Tuesday, so the heat likely won't last.

Outback Crab Shack, Six Mile Creek, St. Augustine, Florida

We have returned to the Outback Crab Shack, their dock is so pretty, good place to tie up for the night, and just for the cost of your meal. You can't beat that.
Walked up to Shrimps 'r' us in Welaka for breakfast, then headed off. It is Saturday, so lots of people on the water in every size of boat, lots of pontoon boats out for cruises, as well as smaller fishing boats and cruisers. Very calm, almost no wind, weather hot. This area is hitting record highs for this time of the year. It is making we Canadians think it is time to head north.
The Crab Shack is a very different place today. Last time we were here, it was during the week and it was raining. Today is a beautiful weekend day; lots of boats coming and going at the dock here. Still lots of place to tie up, but apparently in the summer it can fill up and boats are rafted up to 5 deep. The restaurant was busy too, they have a lot of outside seating and it was full.
We have been hearing loud noise from some kind of wildlife beside the dock, a gentleman in a sailboat just down the dock said it is little frogs. They can make quite a racket. Plan to move on to Jacksonville tomorrow.