2020: Georgia

7 May 2020
Depart: Cumberland Island Anchorage, Georgia, 9:50
Arrive: Brunswick, GA for fuel 2:10
Depart: Brusnwick 3:00
Arrive: Wolf Island Anchorage 7:00
Distance: 61 nm

Around 11:00 last night, just before I prepared for bed, the anchor alarm went off to indicate that the boat anchor was not holding. It held fine until the tide changed. Thus, Clark decided we needed to reset the anchor. We did a role reversal as usually when we bring the anchor up, he is on the bow and I am at the helm. However, given that he needed to probe around for a better place to drop the anchor, he took the driver's seat.

I went out to the anchor pulpit armed with my headset, so I could hear the captain, and a flashlight so I could see the anchor line. When we got it pulled up, I could see that thick mud coated the entire anchor. Clark came up to the bow and repeatedly lifted the anchor out of the water (I can't do that) and dropped it back in to shake off the mud. Being tenacious, the mud refused to leave without a fight, but Clark finally got it clean. Then he went back to the helm to look for a new spot to drop the anchor.

Anchoring styles are, in my opinion, like religions - everyone has their own belief regarding what works best. Debating the issue never seems to change anyone's mind. It is a subject best left not discussed. Clark's approach is a combination of chain and nylon rode; we practice the 7:1 scope rule religiously. Others prefer all chain and less scope. Each to his own!

Given the depth of the water at Cumberland Island and the 8-foot tide change, we put out 200 feet of chain plus line when we anchored upon arrival. We did the same when we reset the anchor. Even so, as Clark watched the distance numbers on his anchor alarm application, he could see our distance from where we dropped the anchor continuously increasing. To get more precise positioning data for the anchor application, Clark had me pull in all the anchor line (not chain) by hand and coil it neatly on the deck as he pulled the boat up close to the anchor. Once we had the boat pulled up, he reset the anchor position on his app, and then I let the line pan out as we backed away.

Clark continued to watch the numbers for a while after that and finally decided that the anchor would hold. We would know for sure if the alarm went off again. I wondered if we would be pulled out of bed in the wee hours of the morning when the tide reversed direction yet again!

When I climbed into bed, I could hear the water rushing under the boat like a waterfall. The wind howled. Between the rushing water and the howling wind, we had a rocky night onboard. Clark said he expected the winds to calm down during the night, but that never happened.

I understood Clark to say that we did not have to hurry out of the anchorage in the morning because we were going to Brunswick for fuel and today would be a shorter day. He even let me sleep in a bit longer than usual. Before we left the anchorage, he said he had more battery tweaking to do, so I got to eat my breakfast at my leisure while reading my book.

Finally, at 9:30 he was ready to pull up the anchor, and we were underway 20 minutes later. As we left the anchorage, we had 24 knot winds on the bow. 30 seconds into our trip, we had salt water splashing up over the pilot house windows. So much for washing them all off the other day!

We traveled the ICW from Cumberland Island to Brunswick, Georgia. As we crossed St. Andrews Sound, the current was brutal. Normally, we get a speed of around 8.5 to 9 knots at 1600 RPM. Here we saw a whopping great 5 knots at that speed.

Wicked current at St. Andrews Sound
made the buoy tip over sideways.

Company on the ICW this morning

Out on the ocean we do not find lots of things to look at besides water. On the ICW we get lots of opportunity to be entertained. As we approached Brunswick, Georgia, I looked at the bridge and asked Clark, "Do you think that is a person hanging off the side of the bridge structure?" The answer was yes but in a bucket. We saw another bucked setup even higher up on the bridge, but it appeared to be unmanned at the time.

Dark spot up in the wire supports
is a man in a bucket working. Yikes!

Clark had called around for fuel prices while in Florida and found Brunswick to have the best price for diesel that he could find. Besides fuel, I thought we should top off the water tank, and by all means dispose of the garbage onboard. The approach to Brunswick Landing provided almost nothing new to us as we have been here a number of times. The only difference this time was that we did not plan to stay the night.

Old Pilings

Fish Processing

Fishing Boat Fleet

View on opposite side of waterway from trawlers, etc.

Tug and tow
passing in front of Brunswick Landing Marina

This one I don't remember seeing before
docked at the park next to the marina

Historic Sailboat that we have toured in the past

When we arrived at the Brunswick Landing fuel dock at 2:10, we were met by Trish - a very pleasant young lady who respected our desire for social distancing. She handed Clark the fuel nozzle, took the garbage from me, told us where we could get water, and accepted payment at the end. Otherwise, she left us to take care of our own needs.

We took on 378 gallons of fuel. They quoted $2.05 per gallon over the phone, but when we got there, they said that they gave a discount for Boat U.S. members  and an additional discount for checks as opposed to credit cards. We ended up paying about $1.90 per gallon when all was said and done!

At 3:00 we pulled in our lines and continued on our way. Clark decided that our best option for the night would be to anchor at Wolf Island to be positioned to travel on the ocean tomorrow. As we traveled through St. Simons Sound, I pointed out the wreck of the Golden Ray ship that toppled over back in September.

Looking at the keel of the Golden Ray 

Work site for the removal of the Golden Ray
with Class 230 Lift Boat

I decided to do some research to refresh my memory on this wreck and see what I could find in terms of updates on activity. I was reminded that the vessel has a length of 656 feet and was carrying approximately 4200 cars when it ran aground. Although most say the reason for the accident is unknown, one article I read stated that the reason the boat wrecked was due to the cargo shifting. Clark said this is what happens when the center of gravity is over the center of buoyancy.

Although the rudder and propeller have been removed, all 4200 cars remain on the vessel in the inaccessible cargo holds. More than 320,000 gallons of oil and water have also been removed. A containment area consisting of 80 pilings has been built around the wreck to protect the environment.

The ship will be cut into 8 pieces with each section weighing between 2700 and 4100 tons. Each cut will take 24 hours to complete and must continue until complete, so cutting will continue through the night. People have been warned that noise made during the work on the site will be loud and unavoidable.

The work is being done using a lift boat that serves as a storage deck and hotel. Twenty workmen live on site. They continue to work in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are hoping to have the bulk of the work done by August 1st - the start of peak hurricane season.

More information and great pictures including ones of the cars trapped inside can be found at the gcaptain.com website.

After that, the remainder of the trip to the anchorage offered no more excitement. What it did yield was green head flies. Clark got tired of trying to swat them away with his hat, so he gave me the hat and had me stand guard duty over him. I had to keep the flies off, so he could watch where he was going and not run aground. Sounded fair to me!

As is typical with bug season, as the green head flies tapered off, the gnats swarmed in. Being outside for any length of time was totally unacceptable!

Somehow Clark did manage to get sunset pictures while jumping away from bugs!

Sunset at Wolf Island Anchorage in Georgia