Savannah walkabout

Had a nice time in Savannah (one short day, January 8th).  Here are our belated photos (poor to non-existent wifi since then).  We spent two nights at Thunderbolt Marina a few miles away and had very peaceful nights.  If we had stayed in Savannah, we would have had to tie up along the Savannah River right next to round-the-clock ferry, tug, and freighter traffic.  No, thank you.

Golden dome on Savannah's City Hall

Too much traffic on the Savannah River to have a comfortable night of sleep

This gem (the boat, not David :) is for sale, if anyone's interested.

Don't let the sunshine fool you, it was 30*F with a stiff wind!

We crossed the Savannah River (on the ICW) in less than 10 minutes.  We saw SEVEN freighters!

Love that they offer water fountains for pets.  I miss my Dekey!

This huge shrub almost looked like a rose bush, but not quite.  It was beautiful!

Lots of pretty churches and squares/parks throughout the city

City Hall, again

I would have loved to walk around the top floor of this building.

Charming homes

Lunch at Crystal Beer Parlor which reminded us of Sleder's Tavern in Traverse City.

An independent bookstore!

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

You're a grand, old flag!

Riverfront trolley

Riverboat with the stern of a freighter in the distance.

Connectivity issues

Our on board wifi booster has bitten the dust, so until we get our new gadget in place, posts will be light!

We've had two short days in the ICW. We anchored in the Cooper River two nights ago so we could catch high tide yesterday morning through three notoriously shallow "cuts" leading to Savannah. All went well. We scooted across the Savannah River as quickly as possible. In our short time in that region, we saw no less than seven freighters! We found a local seafood joint for lunch and then tidied and washed the boat again. Salt water everywhere!

We were hoping to leave the ICW and get out in the ocean later this week, but the weather is forcing us to "stay inside." The ditch, as David calls it, gets shallower and more shoal-y in Georgia and Florida, and we want to hoist the sails and get moving!

Hope all of our friends and family are hunkered down and keeping warm!

Two pelicans chatting on a dock along the ICW

Teeing off on the ICW

Sunset on the Cooper River...Savannah in the distance

The grill was a GREAT addition to the boat! 

Moonrise on the Cooper River

Bonaventure Cemetery from "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

Bonaventure Cemetery

These beasts move quickly along the Savannah River!

Beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina

Nothing exciting to report, just a few pictures from our walkabout town today.  We're heading south again tomorrow.

Sometimes Virginia Dare looks like a toy next to the huge power boats

She got a big bath this morning!

Spanish moss and pretty houses

Hearts <3

Charming architecture

Sadly, the yarn shop is closed on Mondays

St. Helena's Episcopal Church was stunning on the inside

St. Helena's cemetery dates back to 1712

Beaufort waterfront park (and oodles of jet trails)

Scenes from Charleston

When we weren't at a bar watching the MSU game (O.M.G!!!), we were walking all around town.

Beautiful church spires all around town

Yesterday afternoon: tour the aircraft carrier or watch the Cotton Bowl.  Hmmm.  No brainer.  There will be other aircraft carriers that we can tour in other cities.

Bridge over the Cooper River

So many horsedrawn carriages

Thanks for the recommendation, Gary!  

Last night's sunset walking back to the marina

Southport, NC, to Charleston, SC

After listening to the forecast on Monday morning (12/28), we decided to leave the ICW and sail from Southport, NC, to Charleston, SC--an estimated 20-hour trip across Long Bay.  This would save us 4-5 days on the ICW (slow going).  Well, the forecast was pretty accurate, but the timing of each wind event was way off.  So, we motored until 8pm when the winds finally came off our nose and moved to the northeast, as we had thought would happen much earlier in the day.  The headsail went up and the engine went off.

If dozens and dozens of dolphins were the highlight of our first ocean passage, my seasickness was the low point.  The seas were sloppy and confused, making me feel like a ping pong ball in a Jacuzzi.  Ginger ale and pickled ginger be damned.  I was seasick.  David sailed us through the night, with winds topping out at 23-25 knots.  With only 4’ of sail out under the high winds, we were scooting along at 6.5-7.5 knots.  Happy to see the light of day, we entered the Charleston channel early Tuesday morning and tied up at the City Dock around 11am.  Neither of us had slept that night, so we tidied up the boat, took a 2-hour nap, showered, heated up leftovers, and went to bed at 7:30!  We have slept long and hard here in Charleston and have loved walking miles and miles through this beautiful, historic town. 

Our sights are set on Savannah via Beaufort, with some motoring on the ICW and hopefully more Atlantic sailing……weather being our guide…….

For now, here are some pictures from our first ocean passage:

Lighthouse on Bald Head Island

Bald Head Island Light after the fog lifted

A shoal at the mouth of the Cape Fear River.........birds sitting on it.........good for birds, not for boats

This boat was zigzagging back and forth collecting depth readings

Four freighters waiting to be piloted up the Cape Fear River

The dolphins!  At one point we estimate there were a hundred swimming with us!