Savannah, Georgia

We threw the lines at 6:45 a.m. to a beautiful sunrise and cruised for 7 hours up the ICW.  We traveled approximately 103 NM with very little traffic along the way. We did experience some very narrow channels and some incorrect chart information that was not noted in Active Captain. (I'll post those notes accordingly for the next cruisers.) Charlie did a great job of planning around the tidal fluctuation as we had plenty of water when we arrived Savannah, GA.   We are docked for the day at Thunderbolt Marina. Garmin was able to run off lease with me for a while in the grass under the huge Oak Trees at the marina!

I was relieved this guy was leaving port before us as there was a very strong parallel current and a sailboat was docked about three feet from our stern.

Beautiful sunrise as we were underway leaving the marina.

The Captain at the helm.....'Flying on the Flybridge'. (Thank you Marty for the awesome T-Shirt!)

Garmin is at my feet, of course.

At tonight's port, Thunderbolt Marine and Marina, Savannah, GA.

Life is good.

Who knew?!:

*Savannah is called ‘America’s First Planned City’ because Oglethorpe carefully organized the town into grids, with wide streets and 24 public squares. 21 of these squares were carefully preserved throughout the years and still exist today.

*Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low was born here and also began Girl Scouts in Savannah.

*When General Sherman marched through Savannah during the Civil War, he was so impressed by her beauty that he sent a telegraph to President Lincoln, offering Savannah to him as a Christmas present.

*Lawyers were not allowed to practice in early Savannah.

*More than 20 major movies have been shot in the city. For the past 100 years, Savannah has been the backdrop for a number of films. Silent movies, the original Cape Fear, the TV miniseries Roots, Forrest Gump and Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil are just a few of the movies filmed in Savannah.

*About 11.4 million people visit Savannah each year.

*Savannah is one of a handful of cities that allow to-go cup cocktails.

*The American Institute of Parapsychology chose Savannah as “America’s Most Haunted City.”

*The average annual high temperature is 77.1 degrees.

Our 1st Day to Relax! St. Simons Island, Georgia - Day 2

We enjoyed sleeping in until 8:00 a.m. and having a slow morning.  The marina surprised us with muffins delivered to our boat for breakfast! All the excitement and activity from the past month caught up with us. Today was a great day of relaxing, planning our next few days of cruising, running an errand in the courtesy car, walking Garmin on dry land to sniff "things" for over an hour and a half several times, enjoying the company of new friends and fellow Loopers. Again we were invited to the traditional "Looper Docktails" where we shared Looper information consisting of advice, experiences, and Comeradery. Our vessel is humming so sweetly along the ICW!

Complimentary muffins delivered to our boat this morning while we slept! Who knew?!

Courtesy Car the past two days is a sporting Honda CRV SUV and we thank you, Morningstar Marina!

Plane 2 Sea at port at Morning Star Marina, St. Simons Island, GA

Beautiful sunset tonight. Red skies at night should be our delight for cruising tomorrow.

Our 1st Anchorage was a success! St. Simons Island, Georgia

We took turns on anchor watch last night since it was our first experience with this type of anchor. It was also our first experience anchoring in such a strong current and in an 8' tidal difference.  We are now confident that in the future no anchor watch is needed, in conditions similar or less, as it stuck perfectly.  We pulled up anchor at 6:44 a.m. and headed north.  We traveled approximately 41 NM in the ICW along the beautiful Cumberland Island National Seashore.  We are docked at Morningstar Marina in St. Simons Island, GA for a day or two.

At port we were greeted by fellow Loopers, Foster and Susan, who are on the final stretch of their year long loop excursion.  They invited us to our 1st traditional "Looper Docktails"! We enjoyed visiting with them and the knowledge they so generously shared.