A Day on the Beach

** Jacksonville, FL to Beaufort, SC **

This leg of the journey we cruised 250 miles from Jacksonville, FL through Georgia to Beaufort, SC. All through some of the most beautiful coastlines of our journey and some of the most treacherous waters. The crew even got some beach time in. The tidal swings are huge, with 2 highs and 2 lows each day averaging 6 to 8 feet, resuting in a crazy and confused current and tremendous shoaling that can shift daily.

Jacksonville, FL to Beaufort, SC

At high tide in the Georgia and South Carolina marsh lands, water is pushed by the shape of the coastline from North Carolina and Florida, forcing water to gather on top of itself. This creates the 6 to 8 foot tidal change on the Georgia and low country South Carolina coast at the center of the funnel. The sides of the funnel on the central Florida and North Carolina coasts experience 3 foot tides. Interestingly, the coastline of Georgia and Southern South Carolina are about as far west as Cleveland, Ohio. We came accustomed to virtually non-existent tides in Melbourne as Melbourne is situated in the middle of two inlets that are quite a distance apart, making the tides there only about a foot. We were on fixed docks and didn’t notice the change at all. This area we are cruising is a real eye opener.

We spent the morning having our battery system checked at Lambs Yacht Center in Jacksonville. The captain had noticed our battery monitoring system for our primary bank reading 93%, but the voltage was much lower than it should have been indicating that the batteries were in a state of deep discharge. All of our batteries in this bank operate in parallel, and we had to isolate them to determine which was failing. The test showed one failing, the other three were performing within specs. At 143 pounds each the captain said that he was done carrying them up from the engine room and decided it was time to hire that duty out. Lambs could not get one sooner than a week. One week in Jacksonville was not in our plans. Identifying the issue was pertient, but one failing isn’t crucial to continuing to cruise north, we will look to find a battery and a strong back further up the Eastern seaboard.

We were off mid-afternoon hoping to score space on the Friendship Dock in downtown Jacksonville to view the Fountain Light show that evening. To Tasha’s dismay, the dock was full of three looper boats. The week prior we had docked there for lunch with no other boats in sight. Disappointed, we moved to plan B and anchored 15 miles east at Blount Island near the Intra-coastal Waterway (ICW) and our route for the following day. The following morning our disappointment turned to relief. Extreme relief.

Our understanding of the situation at Friendship Park the night prior, includes only one boat staying overnight after the fountain light show, the boat being harassed by thugs in the middle of the night, turning to a couple of thugs boarding the boat, a flare gun used as a deterrent and defense, the boat pulling off the dock in the middle of the night, and the captain indicating it was the worst night of their lives. Happy to hear the crew and boat were physically ok and very happy we weren’t in the middle of this incident ourselves. The Friendship Park fountain light show could have been our nightmare.

Following, we made our way 36 miles to St. Mary’s, GA, arriving at a new town dock that recently opened. St. Mary’s in on the Florida/Georgia border three miles off the ICW on the St. Mary’s River. We toured our way through town, visiting several eateries, and catching up with looper friends Karen and Danny, whom we first met in 2021 in Clearwater, Fl. Quiet, quaint with a very attentive dock staff it was a nice port to be “stuck” at waiting out weather.

St. Mary’s, GA

We left St. Mary’s on a sunny, windy day and headed toward Jekyll Island, GA, a favorite port. With a short cruise of 32 miles, our hopes were to be on our bikes by noon to explore the island on their incredible trail system. Winding slowly through the shallows of the ICW, we envisioned a three hour cruise. We didn’t realize we were in for a day on the beach. On the ICW the biting flies were back with vengeance. Last cruise through Georgia the bugs were horrible too. We went from biting flies to no-see-ums that are still following us through South Carolina. While Georgia has some of the most beautiful landscape and a few of our favorite ports, we are not fans of their bugs.

The cruise would take us by Cumberland Island. Tasha wanted to anchor at Cumberland for a night, but the winds were still too strong to launch the dinghy from the aft roof and it might make for an uncomfortable night. Cumberland Island is Georgia’s largest and southernmost barrier island, full of pristine maritime forests, undeveloped beaches, and wide marshes. There are more than 17 miles of secluded white, sandy beaches including one along the intra-coastal waterway. Wild horses and other island wildlife roam freely throughout the ruins and along the beach. Cumberland Island was designated a national seashore in 1972 and became widely known after the wedding of John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette in 1996.

Rustic Cumberland Island

Encountering a dredge boat, in a heavily shoaled area, the captain radioed and shared our intended passing route. The dredge captain aknowledged our path and our captain slowly navigated us around the dredge, its boom with cables, and the anchor on the other end. But we swung just a little too wide, not wanting to catch the cable in our running gear.

Rut Rho – the channel shouldn’t read all red!

The captain of Now or Never watched as the depth creeped shallower and shallower and when realizing it was too late, Dave slipped the engines in neutral and it just happened. With over 7000 miles beneath our keel, we were grounded in the channel on the ICW. Hoping we could wiggle off, the captain tried with each engine, but they each stalled repeatedly, it wasn’t working. We were stuck. Our first hard grounding.

It just happened so fast. At first, knowing it would be a tricky pass, the captain had to keep watch of the dredge and all their equipment, the chart plotter, while trying to watch sonar. The sea was in a state of confusion from all the sand the dredge boat was kicking up and what they are purposely moving, and the fast current that was moving through the area. The channel was narrow, the dredge boat in the center and there was just so much to monitor. Guess there was a good reason the dredge was there.

But wait, we would have company for the afternoon. In the midst of chaos, another cruiser came at us moving fast, we believed he was going to go out around the boom and then cut back in between us and the dredge, we were preparing for a close pass. Instead of going between us and the dredge, he cut to the back side of us and just like that, he was stuck too, feet from us. Their first mate was stressed and as we were both moving around some, she put every fender they had on the port side in case we might collide. It looked silly once the water disappeard and one could see the beach below, but in the heat of the moment, she was trying to protect both vessels.

The dredge was in the middle of the channel and had a boom that swung out to the side we needed to pass on. This boom had three cables hanging from it slanting into the water (channel) with another cable crossing along the bottom of the channel which hooked to an anchor that was on the opposite side of the channel from the dredge. We needed to navigate close to the boom but not too close as to snag the cable that we could see above the waterline and skirt the cable from the boom that ran underneath our keel. Fearful we would get too close and snatch the cable with our running gear, we ventured just a few feet too far and got caught in the shoal. In hindsight, we should have asked for more clearer instructions from the dredge captain. We were one of the first through that day.

Boom with cables across bottom of channel to anchor – lifting the anchor so the white boat can pass

This happened in about 4 feet of water and we could not see the shoal.  The tide was on its way out, dropping quickly with 3 hours to go before it was at its lowest. All we could do was call a tow, wait, and try to enjoy a day on the beach.

With two boats running aground in the channel, the dredge boat moved further East creating more room for others to pass. He radioed indicating he was sorry he didn’t give better directions and he was much clearer to those who came after us. We learned that at least 8 boats had grounded in the same general area in the past week, plus the two this day, and our dockmate the following day. We were not alone.

The two boats grounded made for an easier path for others who followed. However, one motored too close to the boom which grabbed a cable on their dinghy cradle and ripped the dinghy right off the back of the boat. Their captain left the helm to assess the damage and was drifting right towards us. All of us yelling at him, he finally returned to the helm right before hitting us, and grounding too. Several other close calls, it was a day on the beach with the circus thrown in!

No words

With hours to wait for the tide to go out and then come back in so the tow boat could help pull us off, we spent the time warning others on our tracking app of the treacherous navigation ahead, waving to all who went by, flying the drone, taking pictures, and hanging out on the beach. At low tide, we had a small island 50 yards squared that we could walk on. In hindsight, we wished we would have taken our dock tale chairs and table and sat on the beach with an umbrella drink to wave at all. We watched a couple of dozen boats navigate along our beach that afternoon.

After waiting out the tide, we were assisted by a Tow Boat US who pulled us off the sand bar. He was very familiar with the area having been called out to this area dozens fo times the past few years (job security). There was no damage to either boat or injuries so we consider ourselves very lucky. Once afloat we had more than half of our journey to go. It was a long, cautious cruise. Arriving after dinner hour and 12 hours after we left St. Mary’s, we were tired and defeated. The docks were packed with fellow loopers that had passed us on the beach. With a choppy sea and no marina staff, they all came out to assist us get tied up and hear our tale. We were now famous whether we wanted to be or not. A quick dinner on board and early to bed, it would be a new day when we awoke.

Eager to make up for lost time, we got a few of our chores done early, and got the bikes down to ride the great scenic trails that we thoroughly enjoyed during our visit last May. Fifteen miles later, lunch, and the most beautiful scenery, we returned to the dock for respite.

A day at Jekyll Island

We ventured out one more time to get pizza and salad, tying it down to take back to the boat for dinner. It was a little smashed and stuck to the lid after our 4 miles ride back, but still tasty. Still feeling a little defeated and spent, the captain found his Svengoolie show and enjoyed a cold one on the aft deck. The first mate crashed after a great sunset.

Pizza Delivery and Sunset

Having the experience of running aground, the captain diligently planned our next several days through more of the most treacherous, shoaling waters of the trip, not wanting a repeat of the prior voyage. One such area is named Hell Gate, need we say more? We would be anchoring south of Savannah for the night after a 71 mile run. Departing with eight of our new friends, picking up more along the way, we had a flotilla of 13 boats migrating north on the Intra-coastal Waterway through the winding waters and vast marshlands. We were in very skinny waters for the first few hours, we stayed pretty tight, but by 11am all had set their own pace and we found ourselves the caboose of a six boat flotilla. Certainly, more comfortable bringing up the rear in these shallow waters. The strong current and chop from all the boats had us feeling like we were running through a washing machine at times.

Cruising sights following our beach day

The boats pulled off the ICW one by one finding an adjoining waterway or a couple of remote marinas to stay at for the night. We ventured a bit further than the rest and anchored in an area of the peaceful salt marshes of Georgia called Birthday Creek, away from the rush of the world on a sunny, calm, cool day. It was just what we needed. Insta-pot for the win and a great bowl of chili hit the spot. We slept soundly in the marsh with not a soul, sound, sight, or light around.

Relaxing Lowcountry anchorage

In planning our day’s stop in route, Tasha found through a variety of resources, that the downtown Savannah dock first come dock appeared wide open, so on a whim we made the 8.6 mile detour off the ICW and headed west up the Savannah River to River Street. SCORE!  It would be a quick one night stay, but felt so good to get back to this city we love. We arrived with plenty of time to walk River Street, grab a bite, a drink to walk around with, and view the partial eclipse from the River Street dock. The energy of the city was a nice change. The container ships were in abundance and we would encounter several while cruising the river, it’s always nerve-wracking, they are SO BIG!   

Savannah River Street – bottom photo – we are small white boat in middle right

We would also catch the eclipse in Savannah. Not much to see, a bit of a let down compared to what our family and friends at home were witnessing with the path of totality in our Indiana town.

Eclipse – a non event in Savannah, mostly haze

After a short visit, we left Savannah and cruised 49 miles to Beaufort, SC, passing Hilton Head and the iconic lighthouse, and Parris Island, home of the Marine Corp Recruit Depot. This area brings back so many memories for Tasha. Hard to believe it was almost 70 years ago when Kurt (Tasha’s Dad) came to the Marine Corp Recruit Depot and her parents lived on Lady’s Island and 50 years ago when her family bought a villa on Hilton Head Island. Good memories and a little bit of her heart is here in the low country.

This would be our third visit to Lady’s Island Marina, the most fruquented marina of our trip. We are trying to experience as many different places as we can on this journey, but something keeps calling us back to this favorite. It’s not the fanciest marina we’ve enjoyed, but one of the friendliest and has everything a cruiser needs. We returned to a couple of favorite eats, though not our most health conscious of meal choices. Just a short walk from the Fillin’ Station for $5 pork chop night and a trip across the bridge to get the best tomato pie ever (and Tasha doesn’t even like tomatoes), from Low Country Produce.

This was definitely a leg of favorites, even with our mishap. So much variety. We enjoyed a day on “the beach”, miles and miles of bike trails and nature at Jekyll Island, the sweet serenity of a salt marsh anchorage, the vibrance of River Street, and the low country vibe we love of Lady’s Island and Beaufort. What a journey!

Cheers!  David, Tasha,  

                  & Remy forever in our hearts!

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