Nov 20th. We are anchored in Bull River tonight. We are about 15 miles from Beaufort and are headed for Hilton Head tomorrow. The day was beautiful weatherwise but the ICW was very shallow. We had the tide going with us most of the way, fortunately, so we made good mph, but that meant the tide was going out. We followed a barge through the worst cuts. He plowed the way through very shallow waters leaving a mud wake in this path. The dolphins again kept us entertained with their syncronized swimming. I continue to try to get a good picture of them. We met a boat from Victoria BC along the waterway - I told them I loved Victoria; they said they loved our boat. We continue to get praises and recognition because we are from Maine - even from the bridge operators. We think of you all often and love to read your comments. It doesn't seem possible to us that Thanksgiving is next week!!!
Nov 21st We are anchored tonight in Bull River again, but across from Hilton Head Island. The fog had us socked in this morning, so we sat it out until 9:30 a.m. However, again today the tides were with us so we were able to cruise to Hilton Head after all. We are getting excited as we are only about 200 miles from Florida. I know, it took us long enough. Actually, tomorrow is supposed to rain, so I am not sure how far we will go. St. Mary's has a Thanksgiving feast for boaters so we thought it might be fun to attend - if we can make it. We are missing the big dog show in R.I. this year with all the GSP puppies. It had become a tradition to attend with Erik, Jodi, Jon and Hannah. I certainly will miss seeing all the German Shorthairs, but I wish my favorite breeders and handlers the very best. I will be checking out the winners and crossing my fingers. I am amazed at how many people have one or two dogs or a couple of cats on their boats. You can hear the dogs barking in the dinghy excited to be going ashore. The dogs are big and small, and we've met dogs who have cruised their whole life.
Nov 22nd True to the forecast, it is raining. However, we did get 30 miles in before we had to tie up. We are in Thunderbolt, GA. We chose to sit out the rain in the Bahia Bleu Marina, do laundry, have showers and heat. The cruise today was quiet and almost lonely. I think most of our sailing companions moved on ahead of us during our stay in Charleston. But we intend to catch up over the next couple of days, weather permitting. We have some very shallow water ahead of us along the ICW, so the tides are also a factor. The tides are 7 to 9 ft. along here, and change without warning as we cross the many channels, inlets and outlets. We did get a break today with the tides. Most of the time they were pushing us along and we had the jib up to add to the rpms. We are told December 1 is the first day of winter around here, so we have got to get moving south. I don't want to face anything colder than what it is now - 55 degrees behind the helm today.


Nov 23 Monday We were up before dawn determined to get a good start with the tides. Well, good plan, but only about 3 miles into our cruise the bascule bridge was only scheduled to open on the hour. So, we dropped anchor and waited our 45 minutes. Next up was Hell Gate, a channel 6 feet wide with water charted 6 feet deep. It was our concern for the tide, and in the end the bridge delay was probably our savior as we had no groundings along the way. How about that!! Bill had to pass a huge barge in shallow water (thank goodness I was washing dishes), holding his breath the entire way. Also a triple decker cruise ship plowed its way past us (and I know he plowed through mud because our fathometer was reading 5 feet) Yes, the ICW in Georgia is shallow. The day was cool, foggy and dreary and we wore our "let's go out to play in the snow clothes" all day. We have also noticed that there is a lot of "paper mill smell" in the air since entering Georgia. We cruised 10 hours, 57 miles. No, we are not fast, but it is our best day yet. We hope to repeat it again tomorrow. Tonight we are anchored off Sapelo River in the mouth of the Julienton River just outside the Sapelo Sound near Dog Hammock and Black Beard Island (only in Georgia).

Nov 24, Tuesday. We are in Brunswick GA at the Brunswick Landing Marina tonight. We decided we had better restock before the holiday and needed water. We again got an early start and did the shallow Georgia waterways. Again the day is dreary and 60 degrees - warm weather gear. We passed a dredging operation in progress. One of these days I will get some pictures posted (I have to have Renee help me). A couple in the boat next to us gave us a ride to the Win Dixie grocery store, and since we had wheels we stocked up. Then we walked downtown and had a wonderful dinner in Brunswick. We have caught up with some boater acquaintances again. There is a family with an 8 year old and 3 year old girl that are on their way to the Bahamas. Obviously, the 8 year old is home schooled so they can do the trip. The laundramat is a wonderful place to chat and hear about other boaters and their lives. The couple that gave us a ride the store today live on their boat and go from one marina to the next, spending a month here and another one there. They are on their way to Fernandina Fl this weekend after being in Brunswick for a month. Tomorrow we will head out for St. Mary's, Florida and stay over for Thanksgiving. We wish all of you the most wonderful Thanksgiving and wish to thank you for being on this great adventure with us. We love that you are here too!