6 November 2025
Depart: Bull Island anchorage near Hilton Head, SC 7:05
Arrive: Golden Isles anchorage, Georgia 5:15
Distance: 85 nm
This morning we were awake and out of bed well before sunrise at 6:45. Given that, I got some good morning pictures as the sun made its appearance.
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| Coming ... |
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| Appearing ... |
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| Voila! |
Clark decided he wanted to the ocean voyage today to avoid the time-consuming switchbacks through Georgia. We were positioned to go out Calibogue Sound to the ocean. Clark tried calling Sea Tow to get some local knowledge before we ventured out. By the time they called back we were already committed and well on our way into the Atlantic Ocean.
I went down below to make us breakfast while Clark maneuvered us out into the ocean. He later recounted to me the path he took as "... south out of Calibogue Sound, then inside (on west side) of some shoals. then turned Southeast and went between two shipwrecks, then passed to west of the breakwater to Red # 14 associated with Tybee Roads Channel, followed that out Southeast, crossed over channel and then continued south to go around more shoals then turned southwest for main course towards St. Simon's Inlet! I missed all of that fun!
After we got on our course to St. Simon's Inlet, this is what we saw for the next several hours.
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| Notice the absence of waves! Clark sure can pick the right days for the ocean! |
When we were finally through that maze to get out into the ocean (around 9:20 a.m.) and headed the right direction, Clark did a recalc on the time required to reach the inlet plus the amount of time to gain our anchorage and came us with us anchoring in the dark.
At our normal speed of 8 knots, we would travel on the ocean for 7.5 hours. Once we got to St. Simon's Inlet, we had another 8 nm to travel to anchor. 8.5 hours added to 9:20 got us in after sunset. So, woohoo, Clark bumped up our speed to a whopping great 8.5 knots. That got us to the inlet at 4:15 allowing us to, hopefully, have the anchor down before sunset at 5:30.
True to our calculations, we arrived at the markers for the inlet at just about 4:15! When I asked Clark where he planned to anchor tonight, I got a bit of a surprise. He decided to anchor at the anchorage in Golden Isles where our anchor disconnected itself from the boat when we were last here. Seriously?! I guess he likes the anchorage in spite of that experience. He said he checked the wind strength and direction, and we would not have the same conditions that caused our mishap last time.
As we came in the inlet and made our way to the anchorage, we got a light show in the sky. Clark said the little rainbow that appeared is called a "Sun Dog".
Traveling the inlet, we did encounter some other boat traffic.
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| Two catamarans, that appeared to be traveling together, coming in inlet ahead of us |
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| Pilot Boat racing out to meet up with a big ship coming in or out |
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| Here's the big ship - ARC |
As every day gets shorter than the last in the autumn season, we need careful planning on travel times. We arrived and had our anchor down 5 minutes before sundown! The 0.5 knots made all the difference!
The sunset tonight was stunning. Every time we looked the sky was more vibrant than the last. It looked like the sky was "on fire"!
7 November 2025
Depart: Golden Isles anchorage in Georgia 7:35
Arrive: Fernandina Harbor Marina in Fernandina Beach, Florida 1:15
Distance: ~ 36 nm
We spent a total of one day in Georgia and that was at anchor. We bypassed Savannah while on the ocean, so I never even knew we had passed by the city until I looked at Google Maps later to see where we were.
When deciding our destination for tonight, we contacted our friends in Fernandina Beach to find out if they would be home as we passed by. They said, "Yes", so we made arrangements to stay at a marina there to meet up and say hello. I will get to see my buddy from old days at Marlin Bay Marina -- Whatley.
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| Whatley! |
With not having very far to travel today, we did not get underway until 7:35. As we have been doing on this trip south, we got going and ate breakfast underway.
The sunrise today was not as spectacular as last night's sunset, but it did not disappoint.
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| Sun hiding behind the clouds |
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| Sun breaking through the cloud cover |
Every morning before we can get moving, the dew on the full enclosure has to be cleaned off. The picture below shows the before and after.
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| Left side of panel not wiped Right side dried! |
Having not had anything to photograph yesterday on the ocean, I went a bit crazy again with the camera today.
Range markers ...
The landscape in southern Georgia consisted of lots of marshland.
Here again we saw plenty of egrets wading in the marshes.
Looking through the binoculars, Clark saw something up ahead that he thought was a very small boat that was not moving. As I looked at it (not through binoculars) I saw a pelican land on it and not fly away again. Hmmm. Doesn't sound like a boat to me.
It turned out to be a pelican perch! We decided that the structure below, now a dock for pelicans, was a marker that had lost its top. We saw plenty of birds out looking for breakfast today.
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| R/V "Reid W. Harris" |
The tide change in this area, and at last night's anchorage, is around 8 to 9 feet difference from low water to high water. At low tide we have lots of extra anchor line out that is used up until all the extra is gone at high tide. Clark and I did the mental math multiple times last night to verify that the amount of line we put out at low tide would be sufficient to hold us at high tide.
When we left the anchorage this morning, the water was on the high side. We noticed a number of markers that were almost submerged due to the water height.
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| Green marker #57A drowning at high tide! |
Clark noticed a red marker in the water that gave us pause for concern. Was it out of position or should we "honor" it? It was lopsided which is generally an indication that it is not where it belongs. Ultimately, Clark "honored" the marker as he noted shoaling on the chart.
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| Lopsided Red Marker - keep that on the port side! |
As we approached tonight's destination, the scenery changed dramatically from marshes to industry.
Fernandina Beach has two paper mills - one at each end of town.
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| Paper Mill coming up |
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| Busy boat ramp |
Lots of commercial fishing boats are in the area as well.
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| Fishing trawler - "Ashlee Michelle" |
As we got closer, I noted the name on this mill.
"SMURFit Westrock". Is this where Smurfs are employed?
We passed a container ship being loaded.
and a number of fishing trawlers at nearby docks.
One of our must-go-to stops through here is the Port Consolidated fuel dock that has the least expensive fuel around. Just as we arrived at the dock, a tour boat (for fishing or sunset cruises) jumped up to the dock in front of us. He said he needed 75 gallons. We needed over 300. It made sense for him to go first.
While we waited, I saw a number of jelly fish go by from under and around the boat. These things were the size of baseballs!
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| Brown-ringed jellyfish |
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| Unused end of the fuel dock has been taken over by the birds |
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| Black & White sport boat is the one that jumped in front of us to the fuel dock |
When we got our turn, I was glad to see the man at the fuel dock was the guy who has worked there a long time. He had health problems (knee surgery and such) and has not been here for a while. He greeted us with a broad smile and lots of chit chat. The replacement was surly in comparison, so this guy is a breath of fresh air.
The fuel dock unfortunately has only one working pump. The dockmaster told me a story. He said that the second, broken pump was recently replaced. They were excited to get this job done because this is a busy time of year as the boaters migrate through to Florida.
After the new pump was installed, and before any customer got service from it, the pump was damaged. It turned out that whoever engineered the replacement pump did not take into consideration the high pressure of the fuel here. When they turned on the fuel to the pump, the pressure blew out the fuel filter leaving the pump useless. When the pump blew out, fuel flew everywhere! After spending, (I think he said $50k), they are still without a second working pump!
He said that they have had so many boats coming through since the 1st of the month they have been working into the night to service them all. One night he was there until 8:00 and another until 10:00, and still he has a smile on his face. He said his wife is happy to have him out of the house!
When we pulled away from the fuel dock, we had taken on almost 400 gallons of diesel fuel and were done at 12:30. I had fed both of us around 11:15 because I was worried about lunch falling right when we would be either getting fuel or trying to dock at the marina. After getting the fuel we contacted the marina next door practically. They said they could take us in 45 minutes, so we floated just off their dock until it was time to come in. (We could have eaten lunch while we waited had we a clue this would happen.)
I admired the various boats in the area while we waited.
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| Amelia River Cruises |
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| Ratty looking Pirate Ship |
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| Fishing Fleet 1st boat in line "Kimberly Christine" Clark liked that name! |
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| Not sure of the country to go with this flag |
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| "Dauntless" from NH |
While we floated outside the marina waiting for our turn to tie up. I set up all my lines and fenders on the starboard side as they directed. When they called Clark to tell him to come in, they said they needed us to have our lines and fenders on the port side. Grrrrr! I had set things up leisurely on the starboard side and now I had a "fire drill" to move everything to the port side. I would have been better off to wait until we were coming in to do the setup. Well, too bad, they just had to wait for me now!
After we got tied up on a section of the long fuel dock at the marina, they gave us a "goody bag" as a welcome gift.
Today was a crazy day regarding temperatures. I started out the day with jeans and 4 layers on top. By the time we docked at the marina in the afternoon, I had taken all that off and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. When we went to dinner in the evening, I was back to long sleeves and jeans again.
We chose to stay at the marina in Fernandina Beach to visit our friends we met at Marlin Bay, Adam and Deanna and their dog Whatley. It has been far too long since we got together, so I was glad that we could connect on this trip. After work, Deanna came over to the marina with Whatley for a visit. Whatley checked out the whole boat and then made claim to the sofa in the salon.
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| My buddy "Whatley" |
Deanna suggested we go to an Irish Pub, Scully's, for dinner tonight and meet there for dinner around 5:30.
Clark and I got their first, and since I had a few minutes to wait, I ran across the road to grab a picture of the sun setting over the marina.
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| Sunset in Fernandina Beach, FL |
Clark ordered the Sheppard's Pie (one of his favorite dishes) and I got the Guinness (steak) Pie. Both choices were good ones.
After dinner we walked around the corner to an ice cream and fudge shop for dessert.
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| Clark, Adam, Deanna, and Ev |
Deanna and I talked about meeting at the Farmer's Market in the morning, but after checking start time online, I had to decline going. It does not open until 9:00, and we want to be on the move well before then. Next time maybe.
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