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. 
Left Fort Frederica early to catch the lower tide under the two bridges on the way to Jekyll Island. Touched bottom on the way out, but made it through ok. We continue to learn so much about the towns, islands and history along the way. Mary Grace and Frank Stitch invited me to join them on a tour of the historic Jekyll Island Club. It turns out is was one of the most exclusive private clubs in the world in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s with only 50 members including JP Morgan and the Rockefellers. A winter getaway for 3 months a year. The old clubhouse is a beautiful old hotel and a number of “cottages” have been restored but only two are open for guests.
The big concern today is making it through the Little Mud River before low tide. Only 4.5 feet at low tide. And if we do not make it through today, we will have to wait all day tomorrow to make it under the Jekyll Island bridge. Woke up to fog, and had to wait… almost 2 hours. Wally and the rest did not think we would make it through the Little Mud River, so made plans to anchor prior to the river. We finally got underway around 10 or so. I moved up behind Valentine. Once the fog cleared it was a beautiful day, and making good time we realized the faster boats could make it through the Little Mud River, so we pushed ahead. 10 feet of water in the river and we were good to go. Very happy to make it to Frederica.
Welcome to Georgia. Hard to believe. Sailed past Harbor Town on the way out of Calibogue Sound, but could not get a good picture of the 18th hole.
Single Handed! Terrie left with Frank and Sharon Taverna this morning to fly home for Thanksgiving, and I set off from Windmill Harbor single handed. We decided to go outside in the ocean to bypass a shoal area and a couple of bridges. By the time we were all underway, the whole fleet went outside. Another wonderful weather day. The ocean was almost like glass. We came back in through St Catherine’s Inlet south of Ossabaw Island and continued south on the ICW. A quick turn left and we were in Walberg Creek. Lots of room and I was able to set the hook without any trouble.
Ken and Laurie from Mauna Kea rafted up with me, and I cooked some steaks on the grill for us. I had been looking for an opportunity to thank them for all of their help. A quiet night…
Lovely run down from Beaufort to Windmill Harbor on Hilton Head. What a place. You have to go through a lock to enter the marina which is also the home of the South Carolina Yacht Club. One of the members put together a whole list of activities and arranged for us to have use of the yacht club. We had to anchor outside of the lock with the super moon low tide to wait for the tide to come in. 6 boats locked in. Very cool. I have included a video of a small boat locking in.
original developers of Hilton Head and the developer of Windmill Harbor gave a talk about the history of Hilton Head, fascinating.
Frank and Sharon on board to anchor out. Cooler than normal, but still a nice day. 
t next door. We went into town each day. Walking and lunch the day we arrived, since we left so early to clear the bridge. Dinner the second day after a big provisioning trip. And a tour and carriage ride on the third day. Beautiful place. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.
We left Georgetown for Whiteside Creek just north of Charleston. Cool and a bit windy. Covering 43 miles means we can catch the bridges just before Charleston close to low tide!
