Voyage 2002-2003: Chapter 7

22 Apr 2003, St Agustine to Wally's Leg GA, 31 15.200 N/ 081 20.050 W

Yesterday, we opted to go on the inside to Fernandina Beach FL as the weather was not good for an 'outside' cruise. We were hoping for a window so that we would not have to do the dreaded GA ICW. They were calling for possible thunderstorms and we are wimps. The T-storms never materialized and we didn't get to Fernandina Beach. We anchored 10 miles south of Fernandina in Alligator Creek. By nightfall we had four boats (including Jule III) at anchor. The trip was long and we were tired.

Next day, we left Alligator Creek for the GA ICW. The winds were out of the N/NE at 15-20 kts and that is the way we were headed. Inside better than outside. Seas from subtropical storm Anna were still kicking up 5-7 ft swells: inside better than outside; well maybe. We entered St. Mary's River at 0915 and headed up the shipping channel. We encountered a large dredge operation near King's Bay NAVSUB and had to exit the channel into shallower waters. No problem, thank goodness. As we were leaving St. Mary's for the ICW a one mile tow of dredge pipe blocked our way. We had to divert into restricted Naval waters. The local homeland security forces were not happy with our encroachment but they understood. They escorted us for the 30 minutes we waited for the tow to pass us.

GA ICW is as miserable as we remembered. Lots of current, poor nav aids, and lots of zig-zaging. The sounds were miserable as the winds were still blowing 15-20 kts. St. Andrews Sound was especially uncomfortable. We wanted to make Beaufort SC by Thursday so we really wanted to make progress. We decided to anchor here at Wally's Leg and dropped anchor just before dusk. Wow, S/V Butthead has anchored here also. Did he have an anchor light. Absolutely not. Things don't change much in this community.

25 Apr 2003, Finally in Beaufort SC, 32 25.780 N/ 080 40.439 W

Darn, it's cold. Temperature after leaving Wally's Leg was 58 degrees. What a change from George Town! We had two long days to Beaufort SC. The first day was over 70 miles to the Herb River and the second was nearly 50 to Beaufort. During these two days many 'fun' things happened: We were with 15 feet of being run-over by a mega yacht; we had to refuel underway, we had many close encounters of going aground; continued poor nav aids, and really long days. Nevertheless, we prevailed! We reached the Herb River an hour before dusk. We were happy!. Yesterday, we left the Herb for Beaufort SC. We were in a rush as a nasty weather system was approaching the Carolinas. We are good! We got to Beaufort 2 hours ahead of schedule (actually, the tidal current gods were kind to us)

Today we are relaxing and doing some mandatory boat chores. We changed the oil and fixed a hatch leak. Ann did some window shopping and we went to Luther's for lunch. We chatted with other cruisers in the marina but it appears that we were the only ones that went to the Bahamas. We heard on the VHF that S/V Butthead is nearby. We will probably stay here until Monday or Tuesday and then head on the 'outside' to either Southport NC or Beaufort NC depending on weather. Will not be too long until we are back at homeport!