CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN: A MIGHTY WIND

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN: A MIGHTY WIND

Remember the concerns about Hell Gate (MM 601.4 to 602.4), that shallow, treacherous part of the ICW that crushes many cruisers, bruises many egos, and leaves lots of ships on the shoals? Piece of cake. We went through it at high tide, and the depth was just fine, nothing below 10 feet. Seems like a distant memory. The Admiral’s planning paid off. It’s the danger you know that you can plan for. But the dangers you don’t know, until you’re right upon them – they’re downright scary. Like the other day, the 19^th, going up the Medway River to the Sunbury Crab Marina, now that was some shallow water, when we had to enter the “blue” water on the chart. The blue water indicates very shallow areas, and you can’t avoid them to get to this marina. Fortunately, we did not run aground. However, when we got to the marina, we had to wonder whether the dangerous pathway that led to its docks was worth it. We called and called on the phone, then the radio, then the phone again, to reach someone to get help docking. Finally, we reached someone, and we were told we would be met at the dock. We arrived at the dock, and there was no one around – no one.

So we called and called, and after about ten minutes the Admiral sounded Slow Motion’s very loud horn. Then we called again, and someone finally walked – yes, walked – down the ramp and on to the docks, finally reaching us. He explained that he was the only one around, since his brother had abandoned him to go fishing. He helped us tie up, sort of, and invited us to have a complimentary drink at his restaurant when it opened at 5. It was about 1 p.m. when we arrived. I had called Sunbury Crab Marina and Restaurant a few months before and learned that they charged $1.75/ft, but gave AGLCA members a discount of $1.25/ft. So I was surprised when “Joe” charged me $1.50/ft. The Admiral said not to leave a tip that night at the restaurant. We left the dock for the restaurant a little after five, and on the way we heard what sounded like loud gunfire. Turns out it was a transformer fuse that blew, which took out all the electricity in the area, including the restaurant. The one good thing about no electricity was that the area to and from the restaurant, which appeared to be a dumping ground for anyone with something to get rid of, was not so prominent. There were a lot of bad things about no electricity. The restaurant hostess told us that they could feed us something, exactly what was not mentioned. We opted to return to Slow Motion, where there was, of course, no electricity. Suddenly, even $1.25 per foot was looking like too much for these accommodations.

Eventually the electricity came back on, but we stayed on Slow Motion, rather than try the restaurant again. There was a really unpleasant odor outside near the shore. Earlier it had looked like we were the only patrons of the restaurant. “Joe” had not materialized to offer us that complimentary drink on our first visit. All in all, the place was not inviting. So the next morning we pushed off, without any help (no one was in sight). It was around 8 a.m., so one would have expected a dock person to be around. Not at Sunbury Crab on December 20. As we navigated the Medway River to get back to the ICW, I emailed the Sunbury Crab Marina to ask about the price discrepancy. I received a friendly response from the owner, Elaine, who had been away for two days. She said that they did not publish a price of $1.25 per foot anywhere and wanted to know where I got that misinformation. I told her I got it from the person who answered the phone at her marina. She said that must have been the “young man” they had hired part time, who had no business answering the phone and giving out rates. The bottom line was that, even though the price had been quoted by a member of her staff, since it was a mistake, she did not offer a refund. She was very friendly throughout and invited us back. But I have to say that this was one of the worst marina experiences we have had. Even at $1.25 a foot, this is not a bargain, since you get no dock assistance. I have no idea where the restrooms and showers are – Joe did not give me any information on them – or what condition they are in. And the electricity is apparently unreliable on a fairly regular basis, according to the restaurant hostess. If anyone has had a good to great experience at this marina, I would love to hear about it.

We had another formidable challenge on the ICW on December 20, as we headed to Two Way Fish Camp, which is up the South Altamaha River about 5 miles off the ICW at Mile Marker 664. Before you get to the Altamaha River, you have to travel through Little Mud River, known for depths of 3 feet and less. Our draft is 4 feet. Again, the Admiral knew of this perilous area of the waterway beforehand and planned to take us through it at high tide. We went through the potentially shallow areas at high tide without any problems – without any shallow water. Planning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing that keeps you from going aground in these areas. Feeling relieved that the Mud River was also a “piece of cake”, we headed up the S. Altamaha to Two Way Fish Camp. You know what’s coming next – yep, it was extremely shallow in some areas – the depth reader went as low as 2.1 feet (indicating an actual depth of 4.1 feet, because of transducer offset) – it was a harrowing experience. And we had no recourse but to cross shallow areas, in order to get to the marina. Fortunately, we did not run aground, and we ended up at Two Way early in the afternoon.

There was someone at the Two Way Fish Camp dock to help us, but the mighty wind had risen, and it took more than the strength of one man – even a Two Way Fish Camp heman – to get Slow Motion near the dock. So two hemen worked on pulling us toward the dock. If they had known which lines go where, and what lines should not be tied too short, we would have docked in a few minutes. As it was, with the fierce wind and their inexperience, it took us about 10 minutes of struggling, with the Admiral jumping on to the dock to help out, to bring Slow Motion close to the dock. In the meantime, I had thrown the stern line three times to one of the guys, and on the third throw, he got it. The other two throws landed in the water. Now I accept responsibility for not putting the line directly in his hands, but the line reached the dock all three times. Oh well, there’s always room for improvement. The Admiral says I should aim for the dock hand’s shoulder,  something that I try to do when I’m close enough to the dock to do it. But Slow Motion’s stern was not coming near the dock – you get the picture. I screwed up, with an “assist” from the man on the dock.

Our first experience at Two Way Fish Camp was great! We were heading north and had just left Jekyll Harbor Island Marina. They told us that the restaurant at the Fish Camp had the best burgers in Georgia. We arrived at the Fish Camp and were greeted by “Cricket” – remember him from a previous blog? Everything was “rustic” and “country” and a little bit “swamp people”, but somehow charming too. This time, it could not have been more different. It was bitter cold. There was no Cricket in sight. The dock hands were non-communicative. I don’t even know if the restaurant was open, nor did I care at the time. I planned to shower at this marina, and I headed to find the showers. One of the men standing outside the store pointed to the showers. As I approached them and heard a man’s voice right next to the women’s shower, I went inside and saw filth everywhere – on the floors, in one of the toilet bowls, a lot of mud and dreck. The door to the bathroom did not close, let alone lock. There was still that male voice in the neighborhood. The shower looked like it had never been cleaned. It was very cold inside this dirty place. I hauled my backpack with shampoo and dry towel back down to Slow Motion and allowed as how I could wait one more day to shower at Jekyll Harbor Marina.

By this time, the winds were really strong, and we were on the outside of a face dock on a river with a pretty swift current. The next morning we asked for and got help leaving the dock – cheers for Two Way’s dock hands! And we were on our way, happy to be heading south. It kept getting windier and windier (and colder and colder) as we headed down the S. Altamaha into the St. Simon’s Sound. OMG, the Sound was angry that day (December 21), as the winds howled around us at 30 to 40 miles per hour. The Admiral said this was reminiscent of tropical storm Debbie, which sank our neighbor’s boat at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina last June. The wind was creating waves that were at least 3 feet high. Slow Motion was climbing up and down the waves, or rocking back and forth, depending which direction we were headed. I kept checking on things on the sundeck and in the salon to see if they were flying all over the place. However, it was hard to keep my balance and even get down the steps from the flying bridge to the sundeck. After a while, I just had to sit in the Flying Bridge and “enjoy” the bumpy ride. This would have been a great amusement park feature, if you weren’t worried about capsizing and keep Slow Motion afloat.

The wind never gave in for a minute. It was only when we finally got off the Sound and in to Jekyll Creek that we got any respite from the wind. But that was short-lived, as we approached the bridge right before the Jekyll Harbor Marina. The marina is immediately on the south side of the bridge, at which point the waterway widens into another Sound, Jekyll Sound – the mighty wind returned. We asked for help docking this time, knowing that the wind and the waves would try to crash us against the dock. So we were dealing with the reverse of the problem at Two Way – wind fiercely blowing us on to the dock, as opposed to stubbornly blowing us off the dock. We needed folks who could push Slow Motion away from the dock far enough to allow the fenders to fall into place. The dock at Jekyll Harbor marina does not have much rubber protection against crashing. There is a thin rubber strip, then plain wood below it. When your boat crashes into the wood, it’s not good. The dock master, Terri, came with another person to help us tie up. She was almost blown off the dock. She said this was the first time she had been down on the dock all day. The wind was fearsome. And it was making everyone wet too, as it blew the waves against the dock, and the waves crashed and spewed water all over anyone and anything on the dock. Later, as I headed to take a shower, I got thoroughly drenched by the waves crashing against the dock and me, so that I really did not want or need a shower at that point. I waited until the next day, December 22, when the wind had calmed down to a dull roar, to take the long walk along the dock to the showers on the second floor of a building which houses a closed restaurant.

Our docking took a long time, but Terri hung in there, and we were able to get all our fenders in place and get electricity, even cable. The wind continued shouting at us through the afternoon and into the evening, but sometime during the night, the gale force diminished to a “regular” wind of 10 to 15 miles per hour. Slow Motion stopped straining at her lines. And we stopped rocking in our cabin. During the docking, as I entered the salon to turn off the engines, I noticed that the spice cabinet over the sink in the galley had opened, and there were spice containers – bottles mostly – everywhere. I saw a dark puddle of liquid at the bottom of the stairs heading to the aft stateroom. I checked it out, and it was the Admiral’s precious tamarind sauce that had opened and spilled its liquid gold all over the carpet and floor. I picked up the bottle with its remains and put the other fallen bottles in a safe place, then went out to assist with the docking. It was hard to break the news to the Admiral about the tamarind sauce, a key ingredient of his stir fry meals. But he took it like the trouper he is, picked up the rugs, took them out to wash them, and we both cleaned up the sticky floors. When you think about the high seas we had survived, this was a relatively small price to pay to arrive at our destination with Slow Motion intact.

The last two nights it was supposed to go below freezing. The temperature in the salon dipped to 42 over night. But we are fortunate to have a good heater in the boat, as well as a portable heater we have added to make it through this unusually cold December in the deep South. Today was our first day without major winds – the water was almost calm around mid day. And the temperature must have reached 60 for an Atlanta second. Now it’s getting cold again, not like Chicago or Pocono Pines or Kansas City – I know we’re wimps to be mentioning this. But still, when you head south for the winter, you expect one of the perks to be WARMTH. Even Florida is uncommonly cold right now. I swear I will not complain about heat and humidity again – even when my hair is sticking to my scalp. Well, maybe when my hair is sticking to my scalp.

Last night we put our Christmas lights on the rails of Slow Motion – portside and starboard. She looks really pretty. Some of the bulbs didn’t light up, but hey, that’s the Wal Mart experience. With the wreath that Sonja picked out for us in Charleston handing inside in the salon and the multi-colored Christmas lights twinkling along both outside railings of SM, we’re in the holiday spirit. We’ve explored a little bit of Jekyll Island. We drove to the IGA grocery store. It’s in a trailer, as are all the stores in the “shopping center”. They’re right next to the shore, so if a hurricane comes, it will be easier to wash them all out to sea. Why else would they use trailers? Or maybe these are the replacements for buildings that have already been washed out to sea. There’s something pessimistic and temporary about shopping center shops in trailers – next to the ocean. However, the IGA is making the best of its situation, cramming the trailer with all kinds of goodies, defying you to complain that you can’t find something that would be stocked at Publix or Harris Teeter. They even have fresh corn ($1.99 for two ears). And they have a Meat Department. But alas, no bakery and no fresh baguettes.

As we approach Christmas, the Admiral and I wish you all the warmest, most loving times with your families and friends. Thanks you for the great cards and emails you have sent us. Chris and Ed and Gryffyn outdid themselves with JibJab this year. Feliz Navidad. You know what you did. I’m saving that “show” for whenever I need a good laugh. We wish we could be with you in Salinas, Pocono Pines, Tucson, Bend, Cincinnati, Columbus, Long Beach, Carmel, Solomons, Princeton, Corvallis, Hudson, Chicago, St Louis, DC, and Allentown – but believe me, you are in our hearts and minds. And when it gets warm again, which is supposed to be next year, come and visit, y’all. We promise no mighty winds – just zephyrs and breezes and a tall glass of iced tea.