Sunday, October 20, 2013

Thunderbolt Marina at Savannah - at a dock


The area is known for its shrimp boats
We only had 23 miles to go so we had a leisurely breakfast before casting off from Hilton Head. We made sure we had the tides with us since we had Fields Cut ahead of us, one with a very bad reputation for shallow water. A long time ago (dark ages?) it was once dredged but no time in recent memory and as a result it has filled in. Now the charts bear no relationship to the actual depths nor where the deepest water is at. I came through with an 8 foot tide so I had plenty of depth in trying to find the deepest route through.

Who would name a ship, "Who Cares"?
I tried one bit of advice in going out of the channel to the green side on the northern entrance and out of the channel on the red side at the southern exit. It worked like a charm and I had 10 feet of water even at low tide in a place where many boaters were plowing mud when they followed the chartered channel. I made an entry into Active Captain so other boaters would know the deepest path.

Just another ship in the marina
Surviving that bit of trauma, the rest of the trip in was calm. We're at a dock presently at one of the big yacht marinas, big as in size of yachts they service, not in the number of slips they have. These are true ocean going ships that are undergoing maintenance by the yard (see photos!) We feel rather puny here, we're the smallest boat in the marina. Later that afternoon we had a visit from Jack Cothen who also brought wine and cheese and good conversation. Jack's from the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club and we always try to get together when we're in Savannah. It's great fun meeting friends along the way south.

And lastly, this monster
On Monday we're headed to Wahoo Creek to anchor out. It's out in the boonies with nothing around but it has good holding and protection with a nearby beach for Hoolie relief. It's just an overnighter before our next stop at the Jekyll Island anchorage.

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