Everyday is a New Adventure!

One of the best things about cruising it that you never know whats going to happen each day ... good or bad.

After a great time in Beaufort, and since we were now experts doing overnight passages (having done one) it was decided that we would jump down from Beaufort to Brunswick, Georgia. Avoiding the ICW, with its bridges and shoaling is always a good idea, especially to us. And luckily we are travelling with boats who are very open to our suggestions on these crazy ideas. 

And then there were three ... Trekker, Her Diamond and Aquila.

We left Beaufort at noon, having to go under one 65ft bridge while going out to sea.  Timing is everything, and now that the tides are running anywhere from 5-7 feet we can get under a bridge without any problem. In fact Hugh is getting so bold that he isn't even slowing down when the bridge-board is reading 66 feet or more.  We have lots of room (even though it still doesn't look like it). Unfortunately we were going against the current as we made our way out of the extremely long inlet , and it took us about 3 hours to get to the point where we could turn right (south!). The ride out was not very nice, and the waves were bigger that expected and the wind was less than expected. Not a good mix.  The hope was that once we turned right everything would calm down and it would be a nice ride. I had prepared a pasta casserole in the morning and was quite pleased with myself that I was better prepared for the night than last time.  However, once we turned, the waves did not calm down, and with hardly any wind to push us through these big, confused waves it was quite clear that this was not going to be a nice night. I won't bore you with all the ugly details, but in summary we motored the whole way while rocking and rolling. The sails were not helping and because the wind was coming from behind us the main kept crashing from one side to the another ... not a good thing for the equipment, so we took it down.  I did manage to heat up dinner in the oven, the door has a  lock on it so I shoved it in and locked it while it heated up, but by the time we ate I couldn't face it. I don't usually get sea sick, but this was really brutal. BUT, we made it to the inlet for Brunswick at 6am, just before sunrise, and again it took us 2 hours to go into the inlet and to the marina.  I have learned that the shores of the Atlantic down here are very shallow for miles, so every time you go out to sea you have to go beyond these shoals to get into deep water. I hear it is better down in Florida. (I sure hope so).

So Wednesday was spent recovering from the overnight, (nap, food, shower) which everyone agreed was not nice, meaning most of us did not get much sleep.  

Brunswick Landing Marina

The Brunswick Landing Marina where we were staying had a happy hour that evening with FREE beer and wine, just bring an appetizer.  Well, how can you refuse that! So the six of us went up and enjoyed happy hour, meeting lots of fellow boaters who are either living here for awhile on their boats, or transients like us heading south. We were very impressed with this marina, as it does its best to make everyone feel at home and welcome. Free beer, wine, laundry, bikes  and wifi ... who could ask for anything more! Some people never leave!! After dinner we walked into town for a much deserved dinner out and found a great Thai place. 

And we all had a great nights sleep!

We had decided  to meet at  9am to  have a "skippers meeting" to discuss the plans for the next couple of days. With coffee/tea in hand we all met on Her Diamond and decided (after much discussion) that we would stay for another day, then leave early the next morning and go to Jekyll  Island. So Thursday was discover Brunswick day.

We were told the there was a farmers market near the marina on Thursday mornings, so that was our first stop. It was not much, with only one table with produce that was mostly imported, except for some local corn and collard greens (yuck). Then up onto the main street of town where we found the old City Hall, which among other things was the Courthouse. There was no court in session that day and we were told we could go up as see the courtroom, which was very old. I felt like I was in a Grisham novel, with the old split wooden staircase leading up the the courtroom with the wooden benches and judges bench.

Old City Hall

Brunswick has a beautiful Historic section with old homes dating back to the 1870s, and with a self walking tour brochure in hand we strolled among all the houses and read about the history. There were also park squares every few blocks, some quite beautiful with fountains, statues and magnificent live oak trees that grow wide not tall with twisted and gnarled branches. We even found the historic Lovers Oak that is said to be 900 years old.

Lovers Oak. 

While strolling down one of the streets we saw this beautiful mansion called Brunswick Manor that was being decorated for Christmas.  After checking it out on line we discovered that it was a B&B, so Sheila went up and knocked on the door and asked if they would mind if we came in and looked around. What a find! They were just finishing the Christmas decoration inside, and in the living room was a huge Christmas tree decorated with thousands of hand blown glass ornaments  by Christopher Radko. Quite the sight. 

Brunswick Manor

Christmas Tree

The owner gave us a tour of the main floor and a bit of the history of the house. Apparently when  the original owners divorced, the wife got the house and the husband got the silverware (apparently worth a fortune). But the night before the papers were signed the house was broken into and the silver was stolen. For years it was a huge mystery what happened to the silver, and when the current owner bought the house he had to sign papers that said if he found any of the silver pieces he had to give them back to the original owners. It was rumored it was buried in the garden. But when the wife died, the daughter called the current owner and told him  that the silver had been stolen by the wife, hidden in the island of the kitchen all those years, and that she had slowly sold it off piece by piece to keep up the house. No pieces were found in the island when the current owner renovated!
We had a great day exploring this lovely town. Happy hour on Aquila and laundry ended a great day.
This morning we were off the dock at 8am. Timing was critical today as Jekyll Creek is notorious for its shoaling and one section is only 3.1 feet at low tide. So since high tide was at 6am we had to get going to have enough water to get to the next marina on Jekyll Island, which was only 7 miles away.  Despite following other boaters instructions as to how to avoid the shallow spots we managed to find the bottom and plowed through the mud to get through the shallow spot. I'm still not quite sure how we got to be the lead boat, as the other two have shallower drafts, but they were thankful for us dredging a channel for them!! We also had one 65 foot bridge to get under, which was no problem with the falling tide.
Once settled, we borrowed free bikes from the marina and headed out to explore the island.  
First stop was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where we tagged along with a "meet the patient" program being given to a class of high school students. The centre takes in injured turtles and rehabilitates them so they may go back to their natural habitat. They have a Wildlife Veterinarian on staff that does surgery on turtles and other wildlife. 

Rescued Sea Turtle with a missing front flipper

Next we took a tram tour of the historic area of Jekyll Island.  Jekyll Island was known as the cottage playground for extremely wealthy Americans in the 1880's when the island was bought and The Jekyll Island Club created. Some of the mansions still stand today and during the tour we were able to visit two of the homes and learn about the history of the homes and the owners, such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Pulitzers and Goodyears. Very exclusive!

Jekyll Island Club

Tram tour

The island is one of the barrier islands along the southern part of Georgia and has some beautiful beaches and several golf courses.
Over the next couple of days we will be heading further south, and will be at the top of Florida! It's so hard to believe we have made it this far. When I look back I am amazed at how much we have accomplished and how far we have come over the last five months. The best part is we are taking our time and exploring places we never knew existed. 
I always remember driving to Florida for March Break when our kids were little,to visit my parents, and being so excited when we crossed the Florida border, only to drive several more hours to get to where they were staying. That's what this is like. Florida is a long coastal state and it will take us a while to get down to the point where we can jump across to the Bahamas.
But that's ok, more exploring to do ... one day at a time.

Sunset at Jekyll Harbour Marina