We
spent 5 days at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach visiting Debby’s family,
provisioning, and finalizing a few minor boat projects. We got to spend some quality time with Debby’s
mom, sister and nephew, but unfortunately her brother-in-law was out of town.
On
Wednesday, May 21 we traveled offshore to Brunswick, GA. Traveling the Georgia Intracoastal is a real
pain with many switch backs and several shallow areas that can only be
traversed at mid tide or above. We
wanted to avoid the entire length of the state, but windy weather only
permitted this section to be done off shore.
It was a perfect day on the ocean.
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| St Simon Light from the Sea |
On
our last visit to Brunswick in 2008 we were underwhelmed . This time things were different. Brunswick Landing Marina was a treat: Free
WiFi, Free Laundry and can you believe it Free Wine! The marina has built a very nice club house, with
library, lounge and excellent laundry facilities. On Mon. Wed. and Fri. they host free wine from 5-7 for slip
holders. Like Titusville and Daytona,
Brunswick has spruced up the Old town historic district and revitalized the
shops, clubs and restaurants keeping the old architecture, but adding trees and
landscaping. They have interesting
things for sale at the local market!
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| Quite a Menu |
Hernando
de Soto first planted the Spanish flag here in 1540, the French established a
colony after that until 1565 when the Spanish reclaimed it. The British flag flew in 1735 until after the
Revolutionary War when the American flag was raised. The Confederate flag flew during the Civil
War.
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| You can picture Matlock at this Court House |
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| Impressive Live Oaks |
We
had a great lunch at Indigo Coastal Shanty recommended by a woman we met at the
bar at Tipsy McSway’s.
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| Live Oak in the patio at Indigo |
It
is about 100 miles on the Intracoastal to Savannah from Brunswick with two
areas, Little Mud River and Hell Gate, that require mid-tide or better to traverse. For us this is a two day trip. Day 1 May 23 was very windy (15-20MPH) making
for uncomfortable crossings of the several sounds that are exposed to the ocean. We anchored that night on the Wahoo River. The tides at this location are 10 ft which
provides a strong current, but the holding ground is good. Day 2, May 24, we pressed on to Thunderbolt, a
small town just south of Savannah. The local watering hole and restaurant is a
short walk away. Interestingly, the live
oak trees grow in the middle of the street here.
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| Live Oaks in middle of road at Tubby's Tank House |
Enroute
to Thunderbolt our engine synchronizer failed.
Decided to get it fixed here.
Parts had to be ordered and made, so our planned one day stay in Savannah
turned into four days. The saying that “boat”
stands for “break out another thousand” is proven once again. Nice thing about
this marina they provide free Krispy Kremes delivered to your boat every
morning.
We
have been to Savannah several times over the years both by car and boat. Decided to take a tour this time which proved
to be interesting. Had cocktails at
Debby’s favorite place, the 17 Hundred 90.
Great old building with lots of atmosphere and always interesting
people. Also had dinner one night at
The Old Pink House. Ate at the bar in
the basement and listened to a good “open mike” session with piano accompaniment
done by an older lady with large straw hat, evening gown and long black gloves.
On
Tuesday Malcolm Farrel on First Light
from LYC hailed us as he went by. He too
had equipment problems that he was going to get fixed at the next marina down
from us. He invited us for wine and
cheese Wednesday night. All-in-all we
made the best of our extended stay.
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| Malcolm and Jim at Thunderbolt |
