St. Augustine

Jumping out into the Atlantic Ocean was delightful!!  Kinja was glad to stretch her canvas.  We did not have a lot of wind, but it was sunny and warm and we even saw a whale ...very cool.

We motored on  down the intercostal and arrived in St. Augustine on Thursday Jan. 29.  What a great place to spend a few days.  The city has retained a very Spanish heritage and old world charm.  It is a town with many historic landmarks.  In fact, it is the oldest continuously occupied city in the U.S.!   To give you an idea of how old the city is--it was founded the year after Michelangelo died and the year before Shakespeare was born !!  Many fun and unique restaurants (our favorite pastime).  Here are a few shots of St. Augustine....

We tied up at the Conch House Marina

Shots from around town

The oldest wooden school house in the U.S. !!

The Cathedral of St Augustine

Leaving Brunswick, GA.

The weather finally improved on Wednesday Jan 27th.  But, did we really want to go down the ICW.  Jekyll Creek and the Cumberland River are well know for shallow water.....much less that 6 feet .  I studied the charts...

I HATE the Intercostal Waterway, or as they   say... the ditch!!!!  But, the weather was good and we could jump out and sail down the coast.  So we left Brunswick in the fog and headed out to sea.

The bridge at Brunswick.

Heading out the bay there was a lot of traffic.  These big ships cannot stop or turn quickly so you have to make sure you stay clear of them.

Ah, finally at sea with no worries about running aground!!!
We had a beautiful day with very calm winds and seas.  The only bummer is that there was not enough wind to sail.  So, we motored on to The St John's inlet and Jacksonville Florida.  What we did in one day on the ocean would have taken us three days on the ICW!!

Our Next Passages

On to Jekyll Creek and the Cumberland River.  Both areas have heavy shoaling and it is best to plan your passage for mid to high tide.  So, between 30 plus mile an hour winds and high tide happening at 6pm it will be a bit tricky!

We are still in Brunswick, GA docked with the pulp mill on one side of the river and the sewer treatment plant just down the river.  How can you beat that!


The ICW in Georgia is especially challenging because they do not have the funds to dredge the waterway like many of the other states and we have a draft of 6 feet.

Wednesday looks promising.  The winds are supposed to calm down for a few days...
finally!

 Thirty knot winds on Tuesday!

SUE AT THE FARMERS MARKET

THE FRONT LEAVING.......YES!!!!!!!!

Leaving Savannah

We left Savannah with fond memories and, hopefully, no ghosts on board!  We had a bit of a rough night anchored out the first night and then the weather Gods really turned on us again.  We had one of the most challenging and shallow stretches of the IAC ahead of us, Mud River.  Depth was only supposed to be  three feet at mean low water (MLW).  We draw six feet, so we had to make sure we went through Mud River at high tide and hope for the best!

Well, we made it through Mud River without running aground.  With gale force winds closing in on us we cruised for ten hours to make it to a safe harbor to ride out the next few days in Brunswick, GA., only 40 miles from the Florida border.  There are not too many boats on the ICW this late in the year.   Most of them have already made it to the Bahamas or further south.  But, we did have some very special company along the way...dolphins everywhere and a Pelican that hitched a ride.  Pelicans are huge birds with up to six foot wing spans...our friend did not seem a bit concerned about being close to us.

Brunswick was supposed to be a completely protected harbor from all winds.... NOT!  With  40 knot winds out of the south (which they say never happens here) it was not going to be possible to stay on the boat.  So, we opted for the luxurious Hampton Inn over another night in the washing machine!  It was a good choice!

Beside the rough weather, we had to watch out for KILLER, the dockmaster's dog

Lunch at the Olde Pink House

A national landmark built in 1771 the Pink House is a stately Georgian Mansion  facing Reyolds Square.  Built on land granted by the crown of England,  this wealthy planter's home held many secret meetings which helped to secure the independence of the 13 colonies from England.  It was also here that  General Sherman presented the city of Savannah as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln.

In 1992 it was turned into a restaurant.  But the ghosts of the past walk freely around the old house--just about every staff member has had an encounter with one of the many ghosts still living in the house.

Savannah ---America's most haunted City

One out of every three people living in Savannah have had an encounter with a ghost!  Whenever you ask someone here, they will tell you, very calmly,  that they or one of their friends have had an encounter... like blood on the bathroom floor, turing on/off of lights, showers, stoves... or, just someone breathing on them.

The Pirate's House, built in 1754, is one of the oldest buildings in Savannah and is well known for ghostly legends.  We took the picture of Tom there and were surprised to see the ghostly light that showed up behind him.  It was not there when we took the picture!  We do not have a flash on our camera.

Moving on!

OK, so the boarding was not a big deal.  We cruised on for several miles to another one of those perfect anchorages.... quiet, secluded and protected.  This is what it is all about for us!

BOARDED !!

What a difference a day makes.....really?  We saw a Coast Guard cutter as we cruised to our new destination and before we knew it there was a skiff  along side us.  As they pulled along side they asked "When was the last time you were boarded by the Coast Guard?"  I am thinking, "Are you for real?"  We said "Never".  They said, "Then be prepared to be boarded".    So we complied and two Coast Guard Officers boarded Kinja and we agreed to let them do a a complete search of the vessel. Your tax dollars at work!   Actually,  they we pretty nice guys.

Bad weather AGAIN !!!

After leaving Charleston on Friday January 15th we headed south and anchored off the ICW on the South Edisto River.  Beautiful calm evening.......which is now the picture on the front of our Blog.   Then we headed to Beaford and tied up at the Downtown Marina because the weather was supposed to get really nasty...and it did!  We spent Saturday and Sunday in 40-50 knot winds smashed up on the side of the dock and rocking and rolling.  We call it being in the washing machine!

But finally the weather broke, so we headed out Monday morning with calm seas and blue Skies.  What a difference a day makes!!

Leaving Charleston.......Finally

Kinja's canvas is done and we have pushed off!  The weather is great and our spirits are high.   The South Carolina Intercostal is peaceful and beautiful.   Yahoo!!!

Clouds reflecting on the water...amazing