Moving Through Georgia

 

 So when the “big storm” finally arrived with a whimper we left our safe little dock behind and continued north through the Georgia sawgrass.  What, you ask, is sawgrass.  Actually it is not a grass at all it is a sedge of the genus Cladium, which grows in profusion in wet and infertile soils.  In coastal Georgia (and much of South Carolina) there are very few trees along the rivers and salt marshes.  The marsh (or swamp, or wetlands, depending on your persuasion) supports the growth of the this grass-like plant.  The undergrowth of newer grass is green, but the top portion of the grass has a golden hue.  Through the sawgrass run ribbons of water, some of it’s navigable and some ribbons are just dead end creeks that may, or may not, be deep enough to anchor in.


Miles and miles of grass

 

 

The first trip we made up this way I did not enjoy it at all, I must admit ,however, that it has grown on me.  I will never like it as much as the wooded banks of the Tennessee River but it does have its own appeal.  The other thing about Georgia is that the many small rivers connect with the large sounds which provide access to the Atlantic.  It is not generally reliable or "good" ocean access due to the extremely strong currents and large tidal swings contributing to the shifting sands where the river meets the sea.  The ICW leads a boater through these sounds to the next river or creek to continue the journey north or south.  In the wrong kind of winds these generally shallow sounds can whip up significant waves fairly quickly - which is not, as you might guess, all that much fun.  In addition, at a couple of locations the route through the sound leads us nearly out to sea before we turn up the river.  If the tide and the wind are opposing each other this can lead to an “interesting” ride.  In some weather conditions a fog can roll in off of the sea and generally obscure our vision as we search for the navigation marks.  Generally we try to avoid moving in “ugly” conditions;  but even in good weather this is an area that commands our full respect and attention.

 

Beautiful golden hue in the afternoon sun

 

This time though the weather was nearly perfect, the tides were giving us a nice “push” for much of the way (as opposed to running against us and slowing us down).  We were happy to run 62 miles and anchor in a favorite creek that we found on our first trip through back in 2007.

 

 

 

Sawgrass as far as you can see from our anchorage

Only one other boat in our anchorage

We were treated to a beautiful sunset and a peaceful night.  In anchorages like this, away from the lights of most civilization, we see the most beautiful skies with so many stars it is unbelievable.

 



Sunset in sawgrass country

The following day we had an easy run into Isle of Hope Marina in the charming old community of Isle of Hope, just south of Savannah.  Our friends, Bill and Annie Griffin, were there and we were invited to celebrate Bill’s birthday with them at a baseball game.  We had box seats for the Savannah Sand Gnats against the Rome Braves.  We enjoyed some really good baseball – and the home team won!  Sandy even came to give the birthday boy a high-five.  Other friends arrived and we had a good time catching up with each other and on mutual friends that we each had seen recently.  The boating community is small enough that we share many friends and although we aren’t necessarily in the same ports at the same time it is easy to stay connected.

Sandy helping the birthday boy celebrate