Alligator Crossing the Duplin River The night before Doug had tried to tighten the bolt on the pulley on one of our alternators hoping it would hold for one more day until we got to Bob and Stephanie's dock where we could get a new alternator and fix it for good!! Such was not to be the case though - no sooner had we weighed anchor and I put the port engine in gear when I started to hear a noise that even I know isn't right - the pulley was shaking and causing the fan belt to shred. We had to immediately shut down the port engine and once again we found ourselves traveling on one engine - this is really getting old!!!! September Song was once again gracious enough to hang with us since on one engine we could only travel about 5.7 knots (we had lots of current for most of the day - and all of it in our face - at least until we had to dock of course!!) - Stephanie and Bob have been unbelievable and we are so lucky to be traveling with them. Thanks for everything guys!!!
In fact, we had a beautiful day - we got to see what traveling on a sailboat is like since even the gulls were passing us - our fear was that a snailbot would actually pass us but luckily we didn't see any all day!!! Once we made up our mind to it, the slow speed made us just chill out and enjoy - we saw some truly amazing wildlife as we traveled through the Georgia marshes. We enjoyed the serenity of the quiet passage and were much more in tune with our surroundings as we traversed the rivers and sounds. White and blue herons lined the banks of the marshes and perched high in trees as they circled over our heads, ibis feasted along the mud flats of the shores and dolphins lazily came up to the surface to see what the commotion was (we weren't going fast enough for any of them to actually play in our wake though - bummer!!) The few boats we passed (they were going the other way - no we didn't overtake anyone!) were local shrimpers out for their daily catch. We were entertained quite often by listening to channel 17 on our VHF - Bob nicknamed it the "BUBBA Channel" since any number of good ole boys were on talking about the last night at the strip joint, etc....heh, we had to entertain ourselves somehow!!
White Heron
White Heron
White Heron in the Treetop
Blue Heron
Blue Heron Flying
Feeding Time
Blue Heron
September Song on a Switchback Across the Marsh
One of Many Mounds Resulting From Old Boats Dumping Ballast Before Loading
Shrimp Boat Heading Out
Shrimp Boat Rigged for ShrimpingAfter about 4 1/2 hours we hit the North Newport River which is where Stephanie and Bob's home is (or their former home I should say as they now make their home wherever September Song is docked!) Instead of red and green aids to navigation, we were greeted by a series of private markers that guided us through the zigzagging river to their dock - very kewl!
Private Aid to NavigationOnce we got docked, we headed up to see their house which they had built - it is absolutely beautiful, situated right on the river with views that go on forever! Cassie and Godiva seemed a little confused at first - grateful to be on land to do their business but not really sure what to make of "home" especially since the pool was drained so they couldn't go swimming!! After they cleaned out their cars of the fuzzy stuff that had grown especially on the steering wheel, we headed into town - town is Savannah and is about 1/2 hour away - so you don't just bop into town for one thing, you bring a list!! Unfortunately Bob's list got left on the boat...but we still had a successful outing. We hit the alternator store first to see about getting our alternator rebuilt - it was looking so good until we got the call an hour later that it was completely shot and we'd have to buy a new one (oh well!). Then off to West Marine (of course) - no outing is complete without a burger and beer stop so we found B&D Burgers and had unbelievable burgers and two for one beers - our kind of place!!! Of course we had to walk off some of the calories so we found a Bass Pro Shop and just ambled around for a little while. Doug found the leather crocs that he has been ogling ever since he first saw Bob with them - I think by now they are going to have to call each other before stepping off the boat to make sure they wear different shoes, reggae beads and shades - they both have great taste, what can you say??? All that shopping of course led to an ice cream hunger so luckily we were at a mall and found a great place right upstairs!!
Back to the boat where the boat kitties were glad to see us - we had left all the doors open on the boat because it's really hot here - can you say 94 degrees yesterday and the forecast is for it to hit 100 this week!!! Yet another biblical thunderstorm rolled in that evening and although we were on the fringe of it, the rain came down in sheets - enough to thoroughly soak us and the boat in the short time it took us to get all the doors closed!! The boat kitties seem to even be getting used to thunderstorms now and aren't too phased by them - I guess when you are almost 22 in cat years, you mellow out a little (OK a lot). Godiva decided to come over to say hello at our back door this morning and Puss who was sleeping on the couch just looked up at her as if to say hello!! Today we are trying to get lots done on the boat so we can go into Savannah tomorrow and play!!! You know what they say about all work and no play....I know, not usually our problem....
Click here to see a Google map of our location in Midway, GA
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