We were very concerned with conditions in South Carolina after the flooding they had there. A number of bridges were reported to be too low for us to get under. Or at least so close that we couldn't be sure of getting under them. Of course, the bridges did not get lower but the water under them got higher. Another bridge that normally opens on request for boaters broke down and had to be opened by hand, and only hourly. South Carolina had a lot of issues. Boating/ICW issues. It has lots of other issues, of course, but they normally don't concern us. The rest of the country, maybe, but not us directly.
So... when we left Wrightsville Beach we went down the Cape Fear River and went straight when we came to the turn for the ICW at Southport. Out into the ocean. First time we went out into the Atlantic from this inlet. Once out to sea we spent a day, a night and most of another day underway. We went into the Savannah River and rejoined the ICW. Our offshore passage was okay. Not great. Not bad. Seas were a couple of feet and the wind was almost on the stern. Okay for sleeping but, again, not great.
Usually we go out into the ocean from Charleston and head to Florida but Charleston is where? South Carolina. See above issues. Leaving the ICW much farther north meant not getting to Florida in one 24+ hour day so we went into Georgia instead. However, that one full day offshore meant we skipped nearly 6 days of twists and turns on the ICW. We picked up a lot of time. This got us to Ft. Pierce more than a week before Carol's scheduled work period. We now had the time to go all the way to Marathon in the Keys but that would have meant major work transportation rescheduling, skipping resupplying and fueling and missing our friends, Mike and Carol. Missing Thanksgiving Day Dinner with them, also. Not recommended.
The one strange thing about Georgia was we had never gone through it southbound. Only northbound in the early spring. It was more than a little disorienting because our usual anchorages were not in the same place. Okay, THEY were in their usual spots but they weren't their usual distances from previous places we anchored so it seemed we were getting to them earlier in the day than we are used to. Because of this we had to find new (to us) anchorages. Wasn't a problem. Maybe even a new adventure. We normally hate adventures but this wasn't bad at all. We found ourselves cruising with boats we had met years ago in places much farther north and running into people we knew more often than what usually happens. Nice actually. We were semi-lucky to get a mooring in St Augustine because there were so many boats heading south at the same time as us. We usually are a couple of weeks later in the year when we get to Florida. Another 'downside' to this is the weather. It's hot. And humid. And hot. And muggy. And hot. Did I mention humid? Snowbirds complaining about it being too warm? Should be taken out and shot. Of course we're in Florida so that's always a possibility.
So we are going to spend about three weeks here in Ft Pierce and then head to Marathon. We should be there the first week of December instead of the third as normal. We are hoping we'll be able to get a mooring being earlier in the season. Economy is doing too well, a lot of people are cruising. More than last year which was much more than previous seasons. Maybe the country will vote in Republicans and they'll crash the economy as they usually do.
Here is a video shot at the dinghy dock we use at the City Marina, Ft Pierce.
Momma manatee and her baby.
