1/23/08 Isle of Hope, Savannah, GA

WHEN YOU GET TO THE END OF YOUR LEASH, JUST JUMP IN THE NEAREST BASKET!






Fog held us another day in Beaufort, not that we're complaining. Turned out to be a great day that we would have missed had we moved on as planned. (Sound Familiar?) Once the fog lifted we took one more stroll around the harbor, had late lunch at Plums on the porch, took another turn on the swings, then off to coffee shop for dessert.


Pretty easy......just as we were getting all tucked in for the night I heard the bridge whistle sound for an opening. That's unusual so we popped out to see a light shinning on us from a tug & 250' of what looked like 3 sections of a pontoon bridge docking at the town wharf. Pretty impressive since the captain was just pulling in to see his wife for a few minutes. And to think, we get nervous about docking our 34' sailboat.
Bob talked to the crew of one, I took some pictures.
Then they pulled off into the dark night.
We watched the lights disappear in the direction we hoped to go tomorrow.




The next morning we visited with Jody & Mike on Hermione, a 57' wooden Elco




Pulled in our lines and








Said good-bye to another beautiful town of the ICW.



We ventured back into the Beaufort River making our way to the next bridge when we were hailed by the Coast Guard who requested permission to board for a Security ID and Safety check. This was a crew from the 'Yellow Fin' out of Charleston that was now docked in Beaufort. They made a very professional, polite inspection, completed the always present paperwork; while Bob held our course and their tender followed behind. We are now the proud owners of a golden paper stating we passed the inspection. Good girl, Hakuna Matata! It's nice to know these professional men and women are out there should we need them in an emergency.

We passed Parris Island, crossed Port Royal Sound...took an unplanned detour to Atlantic Ocean..oops!...back on course to Skull Creek & Hilton Head where we begin to see sandy beaches


big homes

Lots of Big Homes!

We turned into Bull Creek near Haig Point to anchor for the night.

Toward the late afternoon private boats started coming in with what appeared to be commuters aboard. The next morning as we hauled anchor the boats passed us going the opposite direction, to work with everyone all tucked in from the morning chill. Made car commute look pretty wimpy!!

The word for the trip ahead was cautious...
"follow the magenta line" on the chart and watch for shoaling.

Often we see powerlines going somewhere??

Trees are down possibly from previous storms.

Interesting houses tucked in the trees.

We find the birds along our way very entertaining.
Here's a private dock ... guess the birds couldn't read!!

The day's a little dreary and the cuts can look threatening, but all went well for us

Yet once more we became anxious. As we approached the Savannah River we could hear the commercial traffic announcing their crossing of the ICW section of the river. We crossed with caution and re-entered the ICW just ahead of a container ship that looked very big coming at us as we crossed. We're not even as large as just one of his containers. All went well.

This is a shot looking over the marsh into the Savannah with the ship to the right and a C&G terminal & tanker to the left. Yes, I know...they look pretty small now - but take my word for it...they're huge.

Yes, there are still bridges to go under.

We wind our way down the Wilmington River and pass The Bonaventure Cemetery,
made famous in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

We pass Thunderbolt Marina that has changed, as most other things have since Bob made this trip 22 years ago.

The next couple of days are spent dockside at Isle of Hope Marina. We're on the face dock so we get to enjoy the waterway traffic and sunsets.

This tug is making a tight bend just before the marina and is pulling a dredge.

Isle of Hope is a charming village of winding roads and old houses scattered among the tall pines and oaks .













The marina has a large pavilion that held someone's Birthday Party while we were there. From the sounds, it was fun, from the remains...they had shrimp.






You can tell the weather is warmer here with only occasional cold spells as the colorful kayaks were still on their racks.




This little guy is 'Sport'. He belongs to Ephraim & Carol Botnick, who we met aboard Finely.















BOB'S MAKING THE BOAT READY TO LEAVE.
BETTER HURRY DOWN THE DOCKS
AND JUMP ABOARD HAKUNA MATATA.