First, the storms: they caught us just south of the railroad bridge that had been closed most of the day for a week for painting. We had to be at the bridge after 5:30, but the storms were moving fast. So we (with Carolina Moon who we are traveling with) turned around to go to a less open place. But that didn't quite happen. We got to a turn in the ICW and the winds and rain hit. And what wind! We saw a gust of 35 kts. at one time. It was blowing us both sideways at times. We tried to drop anchors in shallower waters, but wound up in 26 ft. with only 100 ft. of anchor chain out. 4-1 scope at anchor is not good. But the anchor held and with Elden at the helm and the engine running, we waited out the storms for about an hour. We pulled up and headed through the bridge and into Fernandina around 7 pm. As we pulled into the harbor, there were more storms moving in where we had anchored. (Sorry, we were so busy with handling the boat, we didn't get to take photos.)
Next was Alberto, the first of the tropical storms to waylay us. We were only planning on staying a couple of days, but the weather outside was way to rough to even try it. So, we upped our stay to a week, and explored Fernandina Beach.
Aftermath of Alberto: a really great sunset
Tall ship visiting Fernandina Beach. Belongs to a religious group that trains their youth in sailing basics. No not Mormons.
Surprise visitor at the docks. Stayed around for days before we finally got a good shot.
Ft. Clinch at St. Mary's inlet
Offshore stories are up next from St. Mary's Inlet to Port Royal Sound and Callawassie Island. We headed out around 8 am to the inlet to start our offshore trip. Winds were SE at about 5-8 and building. We had a double reef in and were glad we did. The winds upped to 10-15 and gusts to 18 kts. We were making such great time we had to slow down so we didn't get to Port Royal Sound too early. Elden was thrilled to be able to sail without the engine. After about 2 hours of sailing, we reached the inlet and motor sailed the rest of the was to Callawassie Island. I had made the mistake of taking my vitamins that were oil based and started feeling a bit queasy. Gingersnaps weren't working, so I had to pull out the Sturgeron pills. They worked great! No more fish oil before we go offshore!
Carolina Moon heading out
Offshore heading to South Carolina
Callawassie Island, SC
If you wanted a place to wait out a storm, this is a great one. Far enough inland with good protection. Also having friends along who have a place there doesn't hurt either! We made it to Callawassie Island after a calm overnight offshore trip and tied up for what we thought was going to be a couple days rest and then Beryl decided to join the mix. We spent a week waiting for her to move on, enjoying the area and company of BeJay & Mike. Got to catch up with Sami & Barry (Deja Vu) and Chick & Dorothy (Illusion) to share MTD games and great food.
Part of the ambiance of Callawassie Island
Low tide from Beryl
High tide from Beryl
Sunsets were beautiful and plentiful
BeJay, Mike, Sami, me and Elden after MTD. Barry was MIA afterwards, doing work on Deja Vu.
Next post Toogoodoo Creek and Charleston.
And hopefully no more named storms!