Trip 10 - Another visit to Jekyll Island

Leg 41 - Ocean transit to Jekyll Island

Yesterday Sue did the laundry and I worked on our itinerary for the next 2 weeks. Many have asked when we will be back home. Well, the plan is the end of May or first part of June. The weather will dictate how long we stay places and when we can move on. We want to get out of the south before it gets too hot and buggy but don’t want to get north while it is still cold. We are attempting to stay in a temperate zone, so to speak. So, we now have our tentative schedule until early May. We will be anchoring out most of GA once we leave Brunswick. I tried to pick the oddest named anchorages as you can see. Of course, this is subjected to change.

But, the big news was our trip today. We awoke early and had a light breakfast of cereal and coffee. We got underway from our slip at 9:05 and headed to the fuel dock where we got a pump out. Then we were off. The temperature was in the 70’s with very light wind from the SSW under a sunny sky. We decided to go on the outside around Cumberland Island into St. Andrews Sound south of Jekyll Island. It was Sue’s first ocean adventure. Unfortunately it wasn’t much of an adventure (or fortunately) as the winds were around 7-9 knots for a while and then dropped down to 6-8. We raised the jib and motor sailed for a bit and then actually deployed the mainsail and killed the engine. That lasted for about 30 minutes when we were just bobbing on the water at about 2 knots. So, I pulled in the mainsail and we went back to motor sailing with the jib. Still we were moving along at 6 – 6.5 knots most of the time. So, for Sue’s first time out in the Ocean it was just about the right amount of excitement. She did admit that she probably wouldn’t have minded it there was some more wind. We did manage to come close to some fishing trawlers and she got some nice pictures. We pulled into the marina and were greeted by the dock hands and office manager with a hearty ‘welcome back’. This is a very friendly marina with a nice swimming pool, good bathrooms, a nice laundry room, and very nice large floating docks. Oh, and very important, it is easy to purchase a roll of quarters for the laundry machines. This is not available at most places so we have to document those marina’s that make this an easy task and stock up. There are a number of ‘live a boards’ here who are fun to chat with and give great advice on what to do on the island. And, we can’t forget the fun electric golf carts they have for us transients to use to get around the island (7 by 1 ½ miles}. Since the on site restaurant is closed on Tuesday we will be ordering Pizza to be delivered. Once I mentioned it in jest, I couldn’t get it out of my head so we have to get it now. Then maybe a stroll around the area and some relaxing in the cockpit once it cools down out there. Tomorrow we will hopefully get a golf cart and cruise around the island’s historic spots for a bit and then in the afternoon, possibly take a swim. On Thursday morning, we will leave for a short trip to explore Brunswick before continuing on to 4 nights out on the hook (anchorages) in nature laden wilds of Georgia.