The Georgia Low Country and Savannah

Tuesday and Wednesday found us continuing our cruising in Georgia's Low Country. Grassy marshland and water are the defining features of the landscape. The Georgia ICW is a world away from the Florida ICW. The Georgia ICW consists of creeks and rivers, joined by the various "sounds" that are open to the ocean. Housing and development is nearly non-existent until reaching the vicinity of Savannah. We have no stress from too much boat traffic--the biggest stress we have is dealing with the portions of the waterway that are very shallow.

Little development also means no marinas between St. Simon's Island (just to the north of Jekyll Island) and Savannah; therefore, we anchored out on Tuesday night. Lon found time to relax on the deck before sundown--thankfully, the breeze kept the "no see-ums" at bay for a while.

At anchor in Johnson's Creek

We did have a tense hour or so later in the evening when we were brushed by the southern edge of a thunderstorm. It was pitch black, the wind was blowing, and the current was strong. I was not a happy camper. But our anchor held just fine, and now we have more confidence for when we anchor next.

On Wednesday morning we were surprised to find ourselves sharing the ICW with a cruise ship. The "Independence", a ship of the American Cruise Line, passed us heading south. Although not a large ship by cruise ship standards, we didn't think a boat with that much draft--11.5 feet--could navigate some of the sections of the ICW. Lon managed to be away from the bridge at that time, and had I been able to do a "selfie", I'm sure that I would have captured a perfect "deer in headlights" look as I steered CARIB.

The Independence passes C.A.R.I.B. II

Beach on the ICW

We passed the "beach" pictured on the left just south of Savannah and it reminded us how much we appreciate the beaches that we have on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Wednesday afternoon we pulled into the Thunderbolt (GA) Marina, our home for two days. The marina is about 5 or 6 miles from downtown Savannah. There we met a couple from St. Paul whose boat we had passed on the ICW on Tuesday. We had a fun dinner with Frank and Eileen Martin at Tubby's Restaurant and Bar.

L to R: Eileen Martin, Pat, Lon, Frank Martin

Today was spent getting a small taste of Savannah. I liked the city very much when I was here in 1994 with my friend Kitty Vout, but this was Lon's first time here. This morning we spent a delightful 2 hours on a walking tour led by "Savannah Dan." It was both informative and amusing. Savannah is Georgia's oldest city, and the level of preservation is amazing. The mixture of city squares and historic buildings is quite beautiful.

Horse drawn carriage

Typical Savannah house style

Madison Square

Savannah Dan in Johnson Square

In the afternoon Lon and I cycled to the Bonaventure Cemetery, the epitome of "Southern Gothic." It was featured in a book and movie of a couple of decades ago, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The people of the mid-late 1800's created some very interesting grave "art". But it is the Spanish moss draped live oaks that really provide the beautiful melancholy.