2025 May: South of Savannah GA

 2 May 2025

Depart: Cumberland Island, GA anchorage 7:35

Arrive: Walburg Creek (south of Savannah) GA anchorage 6:05

Distance: 79 nm

Travel Time: ~ 10.5 hours

We backtracked this morning to go to Fernandina Beach in Florida for fuel at Port Consolidated. We arrived at the fuel dock at 8:05 haven eaten breakfast as we traveled south. The price quoted at the Fernandina Marina yesterday was $3.80 per gallon for diesel. Clark expected the fuel price to be much better at Port Consolidated. 

Often, when we arrive at Port Consolidated, we have a long wait for fuel. Given our desire to get north as quickly as possible, I worried that we would have to wait in queue this morning. We could hardly believe it when we saw no one at the fuel dock! Hip Hip Hooray! It was our lucky day!

When I asked the attendant the fuel price, he said, "Well, today is your lucky day! The price went down this morning!" He had to go and check his notes before telling us that yesterday the price was $2.90 a gallon and today it was down to $2.70 ($2.699 actually). 

We took on enough fuel that we saved almost $500 by coming in this morning for fuel instead of getting it yesterday at the marina. We paid by check, so we got the "cash" price for fuel. Also, we made sure he knew we were leaving the state. He had Clark sign forms when he paid stating he would not be consuming the fuel in Florida. Therefore, we did not pay tax on the fuel. Big savings!

As Clark did the paperwork to pay for the fuel, I chatted with the attendant and mentioned the nice weather and the lack of customers. He said two things were sure to bring in the boats - 1) he sat down and enjoyed the breeze, or 2) he decided it was time for lunch. Either activity, he said, is sure to bring in the boats one after another. He could be an hour with no boats arriving then do either of those things, and they show up guaranteed!

Outside the fuel dock, yesterday and again this morning, in Fernandina Beach, we saw a Stingray jump straight up in the air out of the water. It went up a couple of feet in the air and then did a "belly flop" back down onto the water and disappeared from sight. Bang and gone! Amazing!

Clark and I had discussed, but not planned, traveling on the outside, i.e. the Atlantic Ocean, today. However, looking at the current conditions, Clark could not resist! The only debate he was having with himself was which inlet in Georgia we would aim for. 

As we traveled the St. Mary's Inlet towards the ocean, I spied Fort Clinch State Park. The sun was shining brightly on the fort as we passed by. Two sets of cannons rested on the wall facing the inlet.

The fort was in and out of use over the years. Construction began on the fort in earnest after the War of 1812 to protect Georgia should another war happen. During the Civil War, it was first occupied by the Confederates and later by the Yankees. It came into use again in 1898 during the Spanish American War. During WW II, the fort was used for surveillance and communication purposes. The location is now a state park.

As we left the fuel dock, Clark did his calculations for today's destination. Since we left the fuel dock just before 9:00 a.m., the only anchorage we could reach before dark was off the St. Catherine's inlet. Clark knew from our trip south in the fall that the channel markers have been removed from this inlet. He decided that he could follow our track from our stop here last October, so that was the plan.

Below, the picture I took of the chart shows us (black boat at bottom) in the ocean near St. Mary's inlet and traveling north  towards St. Catherine's Inlet shown at the top of the picture.

We could reach the inlet at Savannah just before sunset. However, it would take an hour to get in to the ICW and even longer to get to an anchorage. Therefore, we would be traveling and looking for an anchorage in the dark. No Thank You!

The ocean was friendly today; even so, we saw very little traffic. I saw 2 or 3 pleasure boats that passed us by early on, 2 fishing trawlers over the course of the journey, 1 Poland Springs water bottle, 1 Mylar balloon, and 1 sea turtle. If there was anything else out there in the water with us, I did not see it. I did not feel like taking a picture of the balloon, and the turtle proved to be, like all his cousins and friends, camera shy and dove when Clark pulled out his phone to take a picture.

Fishing Boat off Georgia Coast

We spent many hours on the ocean. To pass the time, we listened to the end of the Audible book we had going yesterday. We also listened to the news on NPR and later listened to music on Pandora. My phone was the source of all of those apps, which meant that I really could not do anything else as most activities produce some sound or another and frequently involve ads running. 

As we listened to music, I got the fidgets. After hours of not having my phone to play with, I decided to dig into my latest novel and spent a lovely few hours off on a different type of sea adventure with the War of 1812 underway and Privateers active on the ocean. With that, the time went by much faster. 

About 5:00 we reached St. Catherine's inlet. I stopped reading and put my eyes on the water and the chart to assist Clark, if needed, on finding his way in to shore. He thought there should be one marker, but we found none at all. The current was against us, so it was a bit slow going in. However, should we "bump", the current would push us away, not pull us further on, so that was a plus. 

We had no issues. Clark followed his prior track successfully. The shallowest water we saw was 11 feet deep. Clark said that was fine today as we did not have big waves, but he would not want to use this inlet with high seas.

As we exited St. Catherine's inlet, we tucked ourselves into Walburg Creek for the night. Nothing new here, we passed the same scenery as in October!

Entrance to Walburg Creek

Shoreline of Walburg Creek at entrance

2 docks with 4 boats here

Different view of docks above

We anchored at near low tide in about 16 feet of water with a 7 foot tide change. That means we put out a lot of anchor line!

Clark intently listened to the weather report tonight and checked the charts. Perhaps we will go back on the outside tomorrow, perhaps not.  Having weighed the pros and cons, Clark generally proposes the day's travel plan in the morning. I am generally "game" for whatever he decides. Tomorrow's travel should put us in South Carolina somewhere.

Google Map - blue dot is us 
anchored in Walburg Creek 
off St. Catherine's Inlet