2026 April: Arrived South Carolina

 15 April 2026

Depart: Cumberland Island anchorage in Georgia 8:30 a.m.

Arrive: Walberg Creek anchorage in Georgia 5:40 p.m.

Distance: ~ 76 nm

Travel Time: ~ 9 hours

Clark said we just needed to be underway at 8:00 a.m. to catch the outgoing tide. We were awake shortly after 6:00, so we had a leisurely start to our day. 

Early morning sun over
Cumberland Island, GA

 Our plan to go out into the ocean for today's voyage had us backtracking towards Florida to go out the St. Mary's inlet. As we traveled towards the ocean we could see one of the paper mills at Fernandina Beach, Florida. 

Fernandina Beach Paper Mill

A short while later we passed by Fort Clinch.

Fort Clinch 
Amelia Island, FL

We were happy to see, once we got out into the ocean, that we had relatively calm seas for today's ride. As we passed by a marker in the ocean, the birds using it as a roost for fishing became disturbed by our wake. Loud squawking emanated from the marker as we passed.

Clearly, I was desperate for entertainment to find this amusing. Notice how calm the water was as shown in the picture below where the buoy showed no sign of movement.

as we approach

there they go

coming back 

It felt lonely on the ocean as traffic was basically non-existent. One sailboat passed us. 

How exciting! Boat traffic!

All too soon we left the sailboat behind us, and the ocean was devoid of other boats. Even though we were seven miles offshore, the ocean was, unfortunately, not devoid of biting bugs (gnats)! Clark must be tasty because several times he got bites on his arms.

Over the VHF radio, we heard a somewhat frantic hale to the Coast Guard. A woman on a sailboat on inland water said, "We're aground and tipped over on our keel"! The Coast Guard contacted Tow Boat US for them, and we later found that they had gotten underway. 

After all day on the water listening to news stories on NPR, we arrived at the St. Catherine's inlet. Clark said that this inlet used to have markers showing the path inland, but at some point they were removed. Since Clark has taken us in here before, he was confident that we could come inland here tonight. We looked up a track of our travels from May of last year, so that we could follow that same path in tonight.

Following last year's path in 
towards an anchorage for the night

Scenery at the inlet was trees and marshes.

As we came in we saw a sailboat seeking a place to drop anchor for the night.

Two other boats were already anchored here with another at a nearby dock.

Tonight's neighbors

Marshland surroundings

One of our neighbors

Sunset

Reflection of sunset in cockpit door

16 April 2026

Depart: Walberg Creek anchorage 8:30 a.m.

Arrive: South Creek anchorage, south of Charleston, SC 6:45 p.m.

Distance: ~ 85 nm

Travel Time: just over 10 hours

Clark decided we would travel on the ocean again today. Before we got underway, Clark had a few chores he wanted to take care of before departure. First, he wanted to make some parameter adjustments for the charging of our batteries. Apparently, they are going into "float" mode too soon. He changed bulk absorption and float to be raised by 0.1. He also performed his "engine checks" before departure and found a clamp that he decided needed to be tightened. 

One of our objectives for today, which would be taken care of when we were far enough offshore, was to empty to holding tank of waste water. 

We had rolling waves as we made our way out into the ocean for today's travel. The stabilizers were working hard today as was the autopilot as we were pushed one way and then another.

Offshore today

Once again we saw limited boat traffic for our trip. Further offshore than us I noticed a fast boat passing us by.

boat silhouette on horizon

As we passed by the Savannah, Georgia area, I heard a weather report for the area near Fort Pulaski. It's funny what can trigger a memory. When I was a small child, my family used to play the home game of Jeopardy. Whenever my dad did not know the answer to a question, he would "click in" and say, "Who is General Pulaski?" I think only once that actually turned out to be the right question to ask!

Later, we heard over the VHF radio a boat say they were the "OOCL Daffodil" coming out of Tybee Roads near Savannah. Clark looked them up on AIS and saw that the ship is a 0.2 nm long vessel carrying dangerous cargo. 

OOCL Daffodil

The stabilizers and the autopilot did the lion's share of the work today making it a rather tedious ride on the ocean. However, as boring as it was, it is a lot better than winding our way through the winding waters of the Georgia ICW through marshes and insects.

After lunch I laid down on the bench seat on the upper helm and drifted in and out of sleep while listening to NPR stories. 

Our travels today brought us to South Carolina, and once again pretending to be "Ms. Google", the captain said, "Welcome to South Carolina!"

Finally, after a very long day on the water, we arrived at the N. Edisto River Inlet and access to where Clark planned to drop anchor tonight.

Inlet up ahead

The water coming in this inlet was shallow further out than it was closer inland. Clark had me calling out depths for a while we saw only 13' under the keel, but as we got closer in to shore, we had 70+ feet! As we came in the inlet, we had the current pushing us in and got a push up to as much as 10.6 knots.

81 nautical miles coming in from
our ocean ride

View as we come in towards the anchorage

The sun was low in the sky as we approached the anchorage. 

This area looked pretty desolate as we came in.

We saw one dock with a small power boat at dock

and several birds fishing in the marshes.

As we headed to the point where Clark planned to drop anchor, we passed one house with a nice dock arrangement and two boats.

Then we dropped anchor next to the marshes 

where we could see the house now off in the distance. 

Knowing it would be a long day today, I had planned to do some cooking before we dropped anchor tonight. However, the wave action almost all the way up to where we dropped anchor made me change my mind on that plan as I did not feel like dealing with boiling water in waves. I managed to throw something together for dinner, and after dinner stepped out to grab a couple of sunset pictures.

A bit of blue in this one

portrait to get the reflection
in the water

Just before the sun disappeared!

2026 April: arrive Cumberland Island GA

 13 April 2026

Depart: Daytona Beach, FL anchorage 8:20

Arrive: St. Augustine, Tolomato River / Ximanies Creek anchorage 2:50

Distance: ~ 51 nm

Clark figured we had about 6 hours of travel time today, so we were in no rush to get underway.  I managed to catch a glimpse of the sunrise 

Sunrise near St. Augustine, FL

as well as some of our sailboat neighbors.

One bridge where I enjoy the view is under a bridge in the Daytona area where the supports are decorated with sealife.

The scenery along the ICW changes drastically from passing through cities to passing marshland. 

Some of the trees along here looked to have seen better days. A lot of the trees have no greenery at all.

As is frequently the case as we travel the ICW, we saw some of the same boats today that we saw yesterday moving north including M/V Oyster (a slow-moving trawler) and S/V Gypsy (an even slower sailboat). Clark had a nice chat with "Gypsy" over the VHF radio regarding the ICW and our destinations. We thought perhaps we would end up in the same anchorage tonight as we both targeted landing north of St. Augustine to drop anchor. (we did not see them.)

We manage to "squeeze" under many bridges or fold down our antennas and mast for some others, but today we had one bridge that we needed to have opened -- the "L B Knox" bridge. As we approached form afar we could see the bridge was already open but it closed as we got closer. The bridge tender waited until a boat behind us got closer and then opened right up again for the two of us.

A 10' clearance means only the smallest of vessels are going under that when closed!

As we approached Flagler Beach, we passed a sailboat sitting a little bit too high on the waterway. He must have dropped his anchor near a "shelf" and found it at low tide. It looked to be a nice boat with good canvas. Hopefully he can find a way off the shelf with the next high tide!

Oops!

Shortly after I wondered if the sailboat would be able to find a tide high enough to get off, I wondered if the nearby homes would flood if s/he did so!

Water right up to the top (almost) of
the bulkhead!

Flagler Beach Water Tower

I have come to the conclusion that sailboaters have nerves of steel. Watching a sailboat in front of us, it looked like it would be impossible for the boat to get under the bridge. I watched closely and practically held my breath as the boat approached the bridge.

Looks impossible!

But there's lots of clearance!

Staying alert at all times is important. Up ahead Clark could see something coming our way that did not look normal. A boat approached and appeared to have something being towed "on the hip" i.e. on the side of the boat. "What is that?" The crew on this boat had several large logs they were giving a ride down the river.

Next, since we have passed through here numerable times, we came to a very familiar sight ...

Bridge of Lions; St. Augustine, FL

As it turned out, the water level was such that we did not need an opening of the bridge. However, the bridge opened at 2:00 for other vessels, and the bridge tender held it for us to go through as well.

South of the bridge

Fort north of the bridge

We never fail to see the scene below when we pass the inlet at St. Augustine.

No matter the day of the week, we always see trucks parked on the beach here.

The Vilano Beach Pier is another familiar sight.

Boats docked near the pier

We passed under a highway bridge and it was back to a more rural view and time to decide which anchorage to choose for the night. 

Clark knew he would drop anchor in the Tolomato River. The only question was which spot on the river would he choose. The anchorage he picked was called the "Ximanies Creek" anchorage. 

Of course looking it up on Google Maps is misleading as it tries to find a road to the requested spot. It did give me some idea of how much further we had to travel though.

We ended up dropping the anchor with a clear view of the airport tower across the waterway.

Airport Tower across the way

I decided to sit in the cockpit and
watch the clouds go by.

and a sailboat passing by as well

At one point I looked over the side of the boat and got quite a shock. At precisely that moment a cormorant decided to shoot up out of the water right next to the boat. We were both startled and the bird flew squawking away as quickly as possible while I tried to get my heart to stop racing!

The sunset tonight was a good one. It more than made up for the so-so sunrise we had today. Each time I looked it got more and more interesting! The pictures were taken only 4 minutes apart.

14 April 2026 - Tuesday

Depart: St. Augustine, FL anchorage 8:05

Arrive: Cumberland Island anchorage, Georgia 3:45

Distance: 54.5 nm

Today we needed to get fuel so our target destination was Fernandina Beach, FL for their more-reasonably priced fuel than other vendors. Clark said we needed to get moving early to be sure Port Consolidated was still open when we arrived there. Even so, it was after 8:00 before we were underway. The sunrise today was even less impressive than yesterday. At least that one had a sailboat as an accent!

Good morning St. Augustine!

Yesterday, I was not really excited about the scenery as it was all very familiar. Even though today's route was no different than the many times we have traveled here before, but today I found objects of interest along the way. 

The first category to catch my attention was birds! Lots and lots of birds! The first group to catch my attention was a "convention" being held on the marshes. All around here  the land was free of birds as they were having a "town hall" meeting in this one spot.

Except for the guy below who apparently missed the memo!

Sentinel on a marker

A while later we passed an island that had another congregation in attendance.

And then there was this guy watching the water all alone.

The water was calm and the sun was in the right position to get great reflections. One of my favorites from today is the silhouette reflection shown above.

This area was all marshland and trees making for interesting reflections.

Reflections of the markers proved interesting as well.

We did have some boat traffic on the waterway today, but it was mostly quiet. Some smaller craft were enjoying this area as we passed through. 

Fishing from the stern of the boat

Checking fish traps

We heard a boat coming up from behind us hale another boat and announce themselves as "Lake Effect". We met folks on a boat in Marlin Bay named "Lake Effect" and wondered if it was the same boat. Clark mentioned Marlin Bay when we talked to them on the VHF radio, but they did not "take the bait". This one said it haled from a port in New York. 

The boat showed a white looper flag, and we, having completed the loop, have a gold flag. I took their picture; they took ours and we exchanged photos over the app "NEBO". Pretty cool!

"Lake Effect" passing us on the ICW

The scenery can change pretty drastically on the ICW, and shortly after all the marshland, we came to houses and docks on both sides of the waterway.

Coming up on a populated area!

As I did yesterday, I found myself fascinated to watch a sailboat approach a bridge. Even as he was right next to the bridge, it looked like there would be no way that the boat would make it under.

S/V Beach Scape approaching bridge

Clark haled him on the radio to ask if it was okay to pass him because he was going slowly towards the bridge like he might be uncertain if his mast would clear. He replied that he was fine and said, "We're 58'. We don't even look up!"

He made it under the bridge just fine. From my point of view, it looked like he had only inches to spare. Clark said it looked like he had a foot of clearance. He made it out the other side just fine, and it still looked like it should not have been possible!

Cleared the bridge!

Shortly thereafter a motorized kayak used for fishing passed us by. 

Motorized kayak

That wasn't the only boat of interest in the area. A Greenline boat passed us a short while later. Greenline manufactures solar-powered boats. This one was named "Sunlight" which I thought was very apropos!

M/V Sunlight

A while later someone haled "Sunlight" on the VHF to ask about their boat. From that discussion, we learned that in addition to solar power, the boat has twin Yanmar 250 engines. He could cruise at 6 knots for an hour with batteries powering the electric motor. Wow! With today's fuel prices, this boat is the right one to be operating!

After that the scenery continued to change throughout the day.

Homes on only one side of the waterway

Naval vessels in drydock under repair
at the ICW and St John's River crossing

Back to marshland with
industrial site in the distance

The channel was narrowing up ahead where Clark saw a barge that he would need to pass at some point. He haled the pilot to discuss when to pass. Clark suggested we pass at a marker a bit further along, but the captain of the tug said he was going in reverse and we should go around him now! Besides the channel being narrow, the water was "skinny". We navigated around him and found a lot of turbulence from his engines as we did so.

"Sun River City" Tow

For a while I was lying down in the upper helm reading a book and totally missed seeing any part of Jacksonville. Next I knew Clark was telling me I should know where we were due to the smell in the air.

Aromatic Paper Mill - 
must be Fernandina Beach, FL!

Shortly after passing the paper mill, we had to keep our eyes open to spy the fuel dock for Port Consolidated. 

Fishing Trawlers - not our dock

As we approached our fueling destination, the Amelia Island River Cruises boat passed us with a load of passengers headed towards the Georgia border and presumably Cumberland Island.

Amelia River Cruises

Up ahead, Clark saw a dock with two boats there and thought they were at the fuel dock meaning we would have a wait. However, he was looking at the wrong dock. 

More fishing trawlers - still not our dock 
destination

Port Consolidated was the next dock over and, good news, no one was there getting fuel.

Ah, here we are, Port Consolidated!

We took on almost 500 gallons of diesel fuel at a reduced rate of $5.06 per gallon since we paid by check not credit card. Doing the math equals expensive! However, as we were leaving the state, they did not charge state sales tax. It could have been a whole lot worse! 

The fellow that works here is quite friendly and told us that yesterday business was hopping but today was quiet. I guess, that since they are closed on the weekend, Monday is popular. We arrived on a good day and a good time! 

Cumberland Island, our destination for tonight, is just over the boarder from Fernandina Beach. As we passed over the border into Georgia, Clark pretended to be Ms. Google Maps and said, "Welcome to Georgia!" 

I noticed as we were driving today that the upper helm steering wheel had rust spots. Keeping the chrome polished is one of my duties, so after we had the anchor down, I grabbed a bucket, rag, and my Barkeepers' Friend and went to work. I scrubbed the helm and the chrome railings on the upper helm and called it quits up top. 

I also took a rag and wiped the railing around the hull of the boat. When I went up to drop the anchor, I got a handful of salt off the railing! The rains in Vero Beach washed the tops of the railings but not the bottoms apparently!

With the DST time zone in effect, sunset comes after dinner. So as not to miss the view, I set a timer to alert me when it gets close to time to look for a picture and turn on the anchor alarm. Last night's pictures were better.

Sunset at anchor near Cumberland Island

Off towards the west I could see all the sailboats at anchor closer to the island.

Just a few of the boats anchored 
near Cumberland Island