Hilton Head, GA to Palm Coast, FL

Ship’s Log – November 1 - Hilton Head, GA to November 11 - Palm Coast, FL

11/1, Sunday – Mark decided that we needed to hook up a real propane tank to the grill as it is using too many of the small cylinders. After a yummy breakfast at the marina complex (outside dining) we jumped back in the car. The West Marine and Walmart are well disguised in Hilton Head zoning but all parts were obtained. We found one of the public beach accesses and walked down to find a very wide (at low tide) long, lovely beach. We walked around for awhile and then back to the car to check out the south end of the island. They charge $5 to get past the gate for the southern part of the island. We almost blew it off but decided to check out how the other half lives. We finally decided that it is merely a deterrent to keep the riff-raff out. It is gorgeous down here. We guesstimated thousands of homes all extremely neat and tidy. Cars or bicycles – no golf carts. We ended at the marina complex that has the red and white striped light house that is featured in all the publicity for HH. The marina area has shops and restaurants – all playing the same music and all with the same sales.

11/2, Monday - Best night’s sleep I’ve had the entire trip. I picked up some Benadryl yesterday. The next leg we have to time everything to the tides – not hitting certain areas at low tide as they have shoaled over and Georgia has not dredged in years. Other states are at least making the attempt but it hasn’t been part of their budget. Lunch at the restaurant at the marina complex, water the boat, adjust the head fittings again and off the dock at low tide at 1:45ish. The ride started out gray but got nicer down the line. The bridge that we were timing turned out to be fine at 24 feet and we were 22 – just squeaked under. We went through the town of Thunderbolt which has a marina / boat building place owned by Hinckley – located in Maine and they were building some 100+ footers there. Pulled into Herb Creek right after Thunderbolt along with a few other boats and dropped a hook, again in the marshes. The current was not too bad – we are getting used to it.


11/3, Tuesday – Got going about 8am – needed to time the tide again – some skinny spots ahead. On our way out we passed a very loaded shrimp boat. We did so well on the tide / speed that we kept on going to Duplin Creek and pulled in behind “Diamond Girl”. They had been in front of us most of the day and had forewarned us of a few issues in the water. Dropped a hook there again in the marshes and after a long day we enjoyed the very lovely evening. The days have been breezy and about 70 degrees with the evenings cooling down to the mid fifty’s.

11/4, Wednesday – followed “Diamond Girl” and after just a short day we dropped off at Jekyll Island. We got there on a decent tide in order to be able to dock – on the face again. Jekyll is a different feel from Hilton Head. The marina is more quaint – and somewhat dated, but nice. They had loaner bicycles at the marina. Mark picked out two that had decent seats and still had grips on their handlebars. After getting some air in the tires, we took off to see the “cottages” from the golden area of the extremely wealthy. They have been beautifully restored and the entire complex is open for touring. We merely peeked into windows. We explored some more but as our butts were not used to bicycle seats we soon headed back.


11/5, Thursday – We made plans for the courtesy car to take us to the golf course for an afternoon game. We warmed up at the range and played 9 holes – we were the only folks there. We could have played every hole twice except that we started at 3pm and forgot that it gets dark now before 6! The deer were coming out to examine our play. After dinner Mark went up to hear the band at the marina restaurant – the Wharf Rats and I joined him later. They were three hippies planting for tips. Not great but they were having a great time.

11/6, Friday – off the dock at about 8am to take advantage of the slack tide. Another short day. A 30 mile run to Fernandina, FL. Woo-hoo we’re in FL. Crossing the first sound tested my stomach as the wind and tide were very much opposing. Once back behind the islands it was better. We had hoped to get a mooring (some of the few down here) but they were full so we dropped a hook across the way in Bells Creek. The dingy got dropped in and we went to town for lunch and a walkabout. There are large paper mills on either side with a cute historical downtown district in-between. Back at the boat our new friends from “Diamond Girl” Bud and Elaine had caught up with us and stopped by and invited us over for drinks. A good time was had and we ended up feeling our way back to the boat in the dark – thinking that we would have returned before dark we neglected to take a flashlight or to leave lights on in the boat. There were several other boats moored nearby with anchor lights on. That helped as they hadn’t been there earlier.

11/7, Saturday – Set the alarm for 7 for an 8 departure o keep with the rising tide. Sunny warm day, nice ride and we were headed for the St. Augustine anchorage as the marina $ are going up. We passed many homes on the waterway, some with interesting docks. We managed to show up at the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine just at 2:57 for the 3:00 opening. There were stacked up there. Probably half a dozen boats in front of us and more behind. We found a spot in the “southern” anchorage. It is in the river in a wider area, but still quite the current. We stayed put on the boat to keep an eye on it and just did boat work and relaxed.

11/8, Sunday – Just before lunch we got the dingy launched and headed to the marina and town. Armed with a map, we wandered around for awhile admiring the Spanish architecture and the outdoor living. We love that – the outdoor living. A local brew pub enticed us for lunch and then we headed to the Lightner Museum. It has an interesting history and its collection is unique to its owner which was then was donated to the city. In the collection seems to be some family history? After the museum we wandered down St. George Street (like Exchange Street but longer and even more touristy) and ended up at the Fort. Part of the National Park System, it is the oldest, undefeated fort in the US. It only ever changed flags by treaty. They had an interesting demonstration of canon firing. The canons could accurately reach as far away as three miles. Quite amazing. An outdoor restaurant enticed us for a martini and before heading back to the boat we checked out another “Eagle” in the harbor. Eagle is the make of our boat – there are not many of them and it is the first one we have seen.

11/9, Monday – I did some postcards and took the dingy in to mail them. When I got back in the dingy I looked up to see that the sky had suddenly turned very dark in the distance. It was a race to see which would get to the boat first – the rain or me. I won by a nose. We let the shower pass us by before heading out. There were several issues on the plate today. Hurricane Ida was pressing closer and we hoped to get far enough south to get out of her way. We had also been debating the idea of heading to Maine for awhile before making the crossing and Mark wanted to have some things checked out on the boat that would require parking somewhere for a week or so. Bud and Elaine on “Diamond Girl” had recommended a marina, a diver and a mechanic. Some phone calls enroute and it all started falling into place. The ride was again at high tide, we managed to skinny under one bridge that was 25 feet (the tender did not respond to calls from me and as it turns out for others too), and we got through a particular shoaled inlet with no problems. Doing it at high tide really makes a big difference. Then down another stretch of ditch part in the marsh and part lined with homes and we pulled into Palm Coast Marina. It is off the highway as it were, out of the waterway and current. I got the boat rigged for landing but had to scramble when the landing was for pilings and not floating docks. The diver was on premise waiting for us. He and his crew spent some time working with Mark on issues under the boat and eventually pulled the prop to have it worked on. In the meantime I started the laundry and took a shower – ah – lots of water. Mark hooked up the cable and we vegged the night away.

11/10, Tuesday – Mark started right in on some sanding and prep work for varnishing. “Ida” had come ashore on the Gulf Coast and we were only expecting a small hit from the most remote outer bands. We just hung around all day but another big decision was that we decided on a two week run to Maine - Friday to Friday and we spent some time planning that. I did break a barrier today – I got the violin out. It’s been 5 months; I think the longest I have gone without playing. She was a bit peeved with me – two strings loose, one broken and one holding it all together. It was fun to play for about a half hour. Mark’s mechanic came and they discussed things to be worked on while we were away. Otherwise again a vegge night. Did absolutely nothing worthwhile. It was great.

11/11, Wednesday – They predicted more “Ida” rain today, but nothing has come of it and it is warm and partly cloudy. Mark is varnishing coat one. We did get ourselves off the boat for a walk around the premises and we plan to drop the dingy and check out the canals in the area. The canals are manmade with home sites and you can park your boat in your back yard. Attractive as it seems, I have come to realize that we do have the best cruising grounds in Maine. South of New England the boating requires getting to an inlet and then out onto the ocean so unless you like to sail out and back or go fishing or get from point A to point B, it’s not the kind of boating I care for. As we are doing the “point A to B” trip that part works and there are tons of folks doing that here. I forgot the other kind – lots of folks living on their boats.

This will be the last posting for awhile as we are headed back to Maine for two weeks before continuing south and making the crossing. Finding a secure and reasonably priced marina with access to good contractors all fell into place and we grabbed it.