14 - 19 Jan, Fernandina, FL and St Mary's, GA

 

   We arrived Fernandina mid-day after the 24hr offshore transit from Charleston. We're getting tired of these offshore passages, especially when they are cold, but a 24hr trip is lots better than 4-5 days winding through the Georgia grasslands with numerous shallow spots and 8ft tides to deal with, and with 40deg weather.

  We anchored right off the marina, which is normally a mooring field, but all the mooring balls have been ripped out of this area by storms. Eventually, Fernandina has great plans to renovate the mooring field and the marina.

 

   Welcome to Florida. The good news is it's not snowing or freezing (that comes later). The bad news is that it is still in the 40s and windy, which is cold on the water.  We're bundled up for a daily walk to get fresh produce, coffee and a beer.

   The other bad news we encountered is that Fernandina Marina no longer lets you use their showers and laundry if you are anchored - and still charges you a $10 dinghy landing fee. Everything is getting more expensive.  Fortunately, one of the dock hands that loved our dog told us to find him in the afternoon and he let us into the shower. A hot shower was great after our 24hr cold trip offshore.

 

  Even more bad news, our favorite brewery in Fernandina, the Amelia Island Brewery, with its great stout beer, has closed.  But that was only one of 3 breweries in the city so we walked the extra half mile to First Love brewery and had their stout, while sitting in the sun with our winter coats on.

 

   Being at anchor, there is no heat on the boat so its a great idea to do some baking that helps heat up the inside a little. Sue made these sour dough biscuits which were delicious, especially when nice and warm just out of the oven.

 

   No matter where you are, sunsets are pretty. 

      Despite finally being in Florida, the forecast for the weekend was for 31degrees and the possibility of snow. 

   We decided we needed to be plugged into shore power with heat for 30deg weather. Since we had never been to St Mary's and heard good things about it, we decided to drive up the river an hour and spend a couple days there, plugged in!

 

   Well it didn't snow here (it did in other parts of Florida) but the frost was deep on the docks. 

   The St Mary's Marina was great with good services, hot showers (not unlimited hot water though) and free laundry. Yes the machines were very slow and it took 2 days to complete our laundry but we're not complaining given the price. 

   The town had numerous restaurants that all had good reviews. No fast food joints in town - all of them are out by I-95. 

    Saturday morning was a washout with hard rain all morning (but no snow) then, it cleared up (warm and rainy or cold and clear are the choices here), so that afternoon we took a 7 mile hike out to get coffee and produce at Aldi's, then stopped at the one brewery in St Mary's, the Brackish Brewery. The selection was very limited - the owner said "we are not a micro-brewery, we are a nano-brewery."  They had just run out of stout so we had to settle for a jalapeno ale, which turned out to be quite good - and hot. Interesting glasses they have there. 

 

   Sunday was clear and cold. We made the 7 mile walk for coffee (there are closer places but the goal is the walk, not the coffee), then we relaxed on the boat with the heat on while getting our laundry done at the marina office.  

    Monday morning, cold and clear again, it was time to push off for further south. We are in no hurry this year so we had breakfast at a local cafe first, was great, and departed at 10am.

   On the horizon in the photo is Fernandina with its paper mill and wood processing plant which smell up the town.  

  Given the significantly lower cost of living at St Mary's, that would be my choice of where to live down here.

    Heading for St Augustine, which we won't make today, we have to cross the St John's River outside of  Jacksonville. Watched this car carrier pass right in front of us as we made the crossing of the river. 

    We had hoped to stop at the free dock at Sister's Creek near Jax but there was no room for us for a couple of disappointing reasons. On the left of the dock we have moored here on the inside before but now there is a sunken boat there. Being a free dock, it will be years before the derelict is removed. Meanwhile, on the right side that catamaran is midway between the trawlers leaving no room for another boat. If he moved fore or aft he could make room for someone else. C'est la vie, we continued on and anchored further on down the ICW.

    Tuesday morning and arriving at Lion's Bridge in St Augustine on another clear and cold and windy day. The wind is blowing from the north at 20-25kts and the current is flowing from the south and Sue is worrying about catching the mooring ball.

   Turns out she got it right off on the first reach and had it tied off in no time. Feeling pretty proud. She did a great job. We are here for a week hoping the temps will warm up. It is supposed to be in the 60s for the next week.  

    

11-13 Jan - Georgetown to Fernandina, FL ICW and Offshore

   We left Georgetown at 9am, just after the early morning rain showers ended and the skies cleared. We had a uneventful transit along the ICW to our anchorage at Awendaw Creek, about half way between Georgetown and Charleston. This is a great anchorage with good protection from waves although not from the wind as it is completely surrounded by grasslands, nothing to block the wind.

  And the wind was definitely blowing, steady in the 20s and gusting to 33kts, under blue skies.

   We put out our full 200ft of anchor chain to ensure good holding in the strong winds. If you look closely at the photo you can see the red paint marks on the anchor chain which tells us we are at the end of the available chain. 

   With 200ft of chain out we were stretched back to about 50ft from shallow water behind the boat, which led to a nervous night but, the anchor held with no problems and our anchor alarm app on the phone kept us assured we were safe. The wind subsided some during the night and all was well.

    The ICW was full of challenges the next day. The day before we had transited at near high tide which safely took us through several shallow spots with no problems.  Today however, we were transiting at near low tide.

   The first challenge was a slow moving tug and barge in front of us that we had to pass. We followed the tug for over 30 minutes as he plowed through some shallow spots and finally reached a section wide enough for us to pass (which takes awhile when you can only go 1kt faster than him).

 

       Next up we had to pass dredging operations at Isle of Palms. This dredge pipeline extended fully across the ICW and we had to move well outside the channel to slip around the end close by the shoreline docks. The depth alarm was blaring as the water was less than 2-3inches below our keel as we passed. 

     Then came another dredging operation.  As we approached, a tug pushed this pipeline out of our path, greatly appreciated; but, ahead there was a cable coming out of the dredge in front of us. Again, we had to move to the very edge of the ICW outside the channel to get by with the depth alarm blaring.  But we made it by with no delays.

   Not so the barge behind us that we had passed. He had to stop and wait 10minutes for the dredge to retrieve the cable as he was too wide to pass like us.

    Next up is the Ben Sawyer swing bridge just before Charleston. Fortunately, we arrived outside the rush hour closure periods so the bridge opened for us with no delay. 

   After departing the Awendaw anchorage at 0730, we entered Charleston Harbor at 1300 right on schedule.

   The strong winds of yesterday had finally died down by noon just as forecasted and we headed directly for the inlet channel, heading for sea and for Florida.

 

    We motor sailed all day with 10-12kts of wind directly behind us. It was good the seas were down from 7-11ft yesterday to 2-3ft but having them directly astern means we rock back and forth - yuk.

   Sue had fortified with her anti-seasickness medicines and actually did ok, no toasting to Neptune. I never get that sick but felt fairly nauseous the whole day/night/next day.

 

   With the cold north wind blowing it was a 4 layer night with blankets around our feet. Fortunately, the ocean temperature is in the 50s so it wasn't as bad as the 31 degrees back in Charleston and Georgetown.

   We had a wee bit of moonlight in the early morning hours, otherwise pretty dark.

    Yea, the sun is up and the cockpit will start warming up. Within an hour it was up in the 60s and we could take a couple layers off. 

   The wind had died to near zero during the night but now was coming back up from the north as forecasted. We are still motoring, now 24hrs into the journey.

 

    Sue brought a new bed this trip for Rivah and it worked out great, keeping her warmer and holding her better in place on the rocking boat. She slept most of the trip only getting up to eat and pee.

    Just to add a small touch of joy to the cold and uncomfortable voyage, the wind shifted and increased and we were able to sail the last two hours to Fernandina. Its amazing how quiet and relaxing it is to finally turn the engine off and sail in comfortable seas.

   By 1300, we were approaching the inlet after 24hrs at sea and 30hrs underway. The wind died down so we restarted the engine and drove in the last couple miles to our anchorage area off the town marina.

 

   As we were sailing up to Fernandina, Sue said the paper mill factory looked like the Land of Oz rising out of the water. I had to agree.  

7-11 Jan, Georgetown, SC

   We had an extended stay in Georgetown, SC, as we waited for a safe weather window to sail from Charleston to Fernandina, FL. Georgetown is a more convenient place to loiter compared to Charleston because it has a free town dock to tie up to during the day and anchoring spots just off the docks with no currents, waves or strong winds. 

  Over our 4 day visit we explored the museums (briefly), the brewery (extended), several restaurants and 3 trips to the ice cream parlor.

 

   Georgetown has a great walkway along the length of the waterfront. They are also working to tear down the old steel mill at the end of the harbor and extend the boardwalk around to that area. That's a real long term project as the steel mill is not quite half way gone.

    Each morning we would take Rivah for a short walk which is about all she can handle at 14yrs old. Then Sue and I would do a several mile walk usually down to the park at the end of the peninsula.  We had great weather the whole visit with blue skies and temps in the 60s and 70s.  Big difference from 30/40s in North Carolina.

 

    Morning coffee along Rivah's morning walk. There were three good coffee shops in town.

    On Thursday, the Winyah Bay Brewing Company opened for the weekend. They had some good stouts and IPAs. 

    On our last day we splurged and had a beer on the waterfront at marina prices. It was worth it. Sue really liked the Imperial Milk Stout and I had a good hazy IPA.

 

   Georgetown has a very pretty and compact downtown. Here's a photo of the clock tower, important because there is a community effort underway to limit building heights to less than the clock tower. The issue, of course is a developer that wants to build multistory, high rise condos on the waterfront.  

    Georgetown is gearing up for a big celebration on July 4th, 2026 along with other cities. They do have an impressive history of engagement in the Revolutionary War as well as the Civil War. The point out that Georgetown is the port where the Marquis de Lafayette first stepped foot in America on his way to meet up with George Washington. The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion also fought battles in the Georgetown area keeping the British from occupying South Carolina beyond the Charleston town walls.

   Sue got herself a great nautical shirt at the Maritime Museum which she loves. 

   I noted that the museum was full of stories about ship wrecks, not my favorite topic. 

    After 4 days relaxing it was time to push off for our weather window. We transited down the ICW to Awendaw Creek anchorage halfway to Charleston. Tomorrow we will transit the rest of the way and straight out to sea at Charleston and on to Florida.

   It was a breezy day as a strong front blew through with rain last night and brisk NW winds today, gusting to 35kts.  That's why we are still in the ICW. Tomorrow the wind will be down to 10-15 and great for our transit overnight to Florida.   Its normally a 24hr offshore trip from Charleston to St Mary's Inlet at Fernandina. 

06-07 Jan - Holden Beach - Georgetown, SC

 

   Today is a long run (10 hrs) from Holden Beach to Wacca Wache in South Carolina where we will refuel with diesel.

   Sue was up early to walk the beach with Rivah looking for shells. We then departed just at sunrise.

   The challenge today is to get through Shallotte Inlet which is shoaled badly, to 4ft at lowest tide. We need 5ft to get through.  We are leaving early so we can pass through at mid-tide and rising. Had no problems.

 

   We got through Shallotte with no problems but immediately ran into fog near Calabash, NC. We had to slow down and proceed cautiously for a half hour or so before the fog lifted. Didn't see another boat along the way which is nice about traveling in January.

   By noon we were passing through Myrtle Beach and under the Grande Dunes bridge (connecting Grande Dunes condos to the golf course).

  It was great to have a favorable current behind us most of the day.

 A view of the mansions along the ICW just down from the Grande Dunes golf course. There are still lots available for you multi-millionaires out there.

 

   By the end of the day we had reached the Waccamaw River. We decided to anchor first and get our diesel fuel first thing the next morning. Good thing as the marina had closed early at 4pm, used to be 5pm closing.

   We had a quiet night with no wind at anchor and temperature is up to 50s at night. Pretty toasty for us. 

    As I always report, the Waccamaw is the prettiest stretch along the entire ICW from Virginia to Miami. Because it meanders through a cypress swamp, there are no houses in sight for hours of passage. 

   Its a bit dreary looking in the winter, although the extensive Spanish moss and spooky, swampy forests have their own unique beauty.

   In the spring it is all green and full of birds and other critters. 

 

    Made it to Georgetown. We will stay here for 3 days while we wait for a weather window to sail offshore from South Carolina to Florida. We always try to skip Georgia which takes an extra 4 days to wind through the meandering grasslands, with 8ft tides and lots of shallow spots. We can be in Florida from here in just over 24hrs proceeding offshore and sailing overnight. 

   Fortunately, the temperatures are in the low 70s for the next couple days. We will anchor for the next 3 days and come into town each day to walk and visit the coffee shops and brewery - plus good ice cream shop.  If the sun keeps shining we can keep the batteries charged up with the solar panels and not need to run the engine. 

   All going good so far this trip.  

02-04 Jan, Beaufort - Hammock Bay - Masonboro - Holden Beach

 

   In Beaufort area, we actually anchored off Sugar Loaf Island which is on the Morehead City side of the inlet.

   With the forecasted light winds, anchoring off Morehead City positions us further along our way down the ICW.

   Often, there are strong SW winds in this area and we anchor over on the Beaufort side next to the USCG base with good protection but, that would be a little backtracking when heading south. 

    With clear and cold skies we had a nice sunset and sunrise the following morning. Today is a relatively short run (7hrs) to Hammock Bay. The only challenge is getting through the Onslow Beach bridge in a timely manner as it is under construction.

 The ICW cuts through a shooting range within the Marine base Camp Lejeune. In our 20yrs of cruising, we have seen the ICW close once for active firing. On this cold January day there was no problem passing through.

 

   We had called ahead to confirm there was no maintenance ongoing on 02 Jan and when we arrived at the bridge that was the case (the bridge operator doesn't control the maintenance schedule, he just reports what he sees - no one working). We passed through at 3pm and were anchored in Hammock Bay by 4pm.

   Next morning we are up and ready to head for Masonboro after Rivah completes here morning duties.

   The challenge today is getting through the Figure Eight and Wrightsville Beach bridges in a timely manner.

    Got through the bridges without any big delays and anchoring in Masonboro Inlet near Wrightsville. 

This is one cold waterman out working with no enclosure. Temperature in the 40s is really cold when on the water with a breeze blowing. 

This will be our 3rd night jumping into a cold bed with no heat. Fortunately the temps are staying in the mid 40s at night. Takes a bit of time warming the bed, but once its warm we are good for the night. 

   Another cold morning, departing the anchorage at sunup. With clear skies and a bright sun the cockpit will soon be in the 60s, but that is a couple hours away.

   Today's run is down the ICW to the Cape Fear River, then on down to Holden Beach.

 

  Made it to Holden Beach in mid afternoon. Time for a walk on the beach to check the sea shells. Quite a bit of beach erosion going on. The community paid several million $$ a few years ago to replenish the beach and it seems to be eroding away fairly quickly. 

   We will stay in Holden Beach for two days at the Town Dock where we can plug into shore power (means HEAT), and use the showers and laundromat. Clean sheets plus clean bodies with hot showers - a cruisers dream!

Sue got a few shells, pickings were unusually slim for Holden Beach.