ICW Day 35/36/37 – St. Mary’s, Georgia anchorage, 7 nm, statute mile 712.3, 844 total miles
Short run from the Cumberland Is. anchorage to St. Mary’s for the annual cruisers Thanksgiving gathering. When we arrived there were over 50 boats in the anchorage with more anticipated to arrive within the next couple of days. Learned a lesson about anchoring in deeper water. Depth almost 28 ft. did not put out enough scope to get the anchor to set. Eric from Reflection II jumped on board to get the anchor set. Enjoyed a nice lunch in town with Eric and Corrine and came back to discover that I had anchored too close to another boat and had to move right before dusk.
Spent the next day working on the boat and the dinghy motor and finally have the dinghy running! Went ashore to join in the oyster roast festivities at Seagle’s Saloon. An old sleepy town that caters to the cruising community.
Thanksgiving Day
The day began with bright sunshine and the promise of 80 degrees. The guys went in to set up for almost 150 people and we were able to reserve the back patio for the Sail to the Sun group. They were concerned about having enough turkeys so we all decided to come in a bit early around noon. I baked some brownies to contribute to the feast. Turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and gathering with plenty of food! Songs were sung and group pictures were taken. We said goodbye to Mike and Fern on Elan, Steve on Second Wind, and Kevin and Margaret on Osprey. It was fun to take part in this tradition which evidently has a long history.