Underway!! Hilton Head to Ortega Landing (Jacksonville). October 30 to November 10, 2017

Underway again!!   It was so nice to get on the move again and given the tides and the shallow areas of the A-ICW we needed to travel, we timed our departure from Hilton Head for 9 AM.  So after a quick pump out and locking through, we were on our way at approximately 9 AM on Monday the 30th.

We traveled through Hell Gate at almost high tide and that is a good thing considering it has shoaled considerably after Irma and only carries 3 foot depths at low tide, a depth at which we would not be able to transit the canal.
We travelled 63 miles to the Walburg Creek anchorage along St Catherine's Island.  Such a peaceful anchorage!  Eagles, dolphins, a rising moon and quiet, a very nice spot. 

 And yes it was a little chilly in the shade with the wind blowing just before sunset.

There is a "hump" on the southern end of this slight detour off the ICW so we again timed our departure with the tides, this time early and we were underway by 7:30 AM.  But anchoring is so easy...one anchor line to retrieve (and spray/ wash as it comes aboard to keep the mud out of the anchor rode locker) instead of a power cable, multiple dock lines and a crowded marina to navigate. Of course Julie was in the warm at the helm and Tom was out retrieving the anchor!  She likes that job much better.
We did miss our inverter as we anchored out.  It is such a waste to run the generator to only watch TV or make a pot of coffee.  Hopefully it will be repaired and reinstalled before we embark on our St John River cruise.  Of course this cruise is contingent on the river receding from the high waters generated by Irma in early Sept.  Yes, marinas way upstream toward Sanford are still closed and the river still at flood stage making it a no wake cruise at this point.  The forecasts are for the water to continue to recede and we hope to get underway for this adventure upstream at some point.
We arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina after a 64 mile cruise.  We got the salt washed off the boat and then attended the marina's Halloween party in the clubhouse....free beer, wine and pizza provided by the marina and various snacks provided by the boaters in attendance.  This marina has quite a few live aboards and we were sort of outsiders so we did not stay too long.  But some of the costumes were quite unique and everyone seemed to be enjoying the festivities.  Our costumes?  Well, we put on Michigan based t shirts and such and came as Michigan tourists.  Good enough for short notice!
On Wednesday we broke out the bicycles and rode to Winn Dixie about 2 miles away.  We hadn't been to a grocery store for almost 10 days so it was a pretty big load with a full panier on my bike, two full back packs and a large bag strapped to Julie's bike.  Once this was stored, we hopped back on the bikes and rode to the local seafood store for fresh Georgia shrimp, flounder and sea bass.  So fresh fish is on the menu!
Late Wednesday afternoon our long time friends John and Becky joined us aboard for a cocktail, then they drove us to Jeckyl Island to the Driftwood Bistro for dinner.  Delicious!  We celebrated John's recent retirement and caught up on things a bit.  It was wonderful to see you both again John and Becky!  Thanks so much for driving us around and for your 28 years of friendship.
Thursday morning after the fog cleared, we departed for a short ride over to Cumberland Island.

There were only four boats in the anchorage but the park was again closed to the public due to damage from Irma.  This is the third time we have anchored here and the second time the island was closed.  We feel fortunate that we spent a couple days exploring the island in 2016 prior to Matthew and Irma closing the park for periods of time (it is supposed to be open on Nov 11)

And the fresh fish referred to earlier!

We planned to leave Friday morning for an anchorage at the Fort George River and to visit the Kingsley Plantation.  But Julie was not feeling well (she is OK now) so we pushed on for the Marina at Ortega Landing where we have a month's reservation and they were able to accommodate us a few days early.  There was a nearby Minute Clinic where Julie was able to be examined and get a prescription filled so we could get her back to her normal healthy self.  
A nice escort along the way.  They never get old.

We do like Ortega Landing, 20+ miles upstream on the St John river.  It is only a few miles from downtown Jacksonville

and has great walking areas, Publix only four blocks away, shopping and restaurants all close by.

 The almost full moon over the marina.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station nearby had an air show so we caught some good views of the Blue Angels from the marina.

We took daily walks, Tom watched the first half of the Lions game on the big screen in the boaters lounge on Monday night and we planned a restaurant reservation for Thursday night in the Avondale neighborhood where they will be holding an art walk.
The view of Jacksonville from the Ortega River bridge on one of our walks.

And more small cruising world stories.  On Wednesday our friends from Holland MI, Sherry and Randy (Priorities) arrived at Ortega Landing.  They will join us on Thursday night for dinner at the Blue Fish in Avondale.
We also spotted Jim and Faith's boat (Third Degree) who we met two years ago in Carrabelle FL and got to know them a bit in Tarpon Springs.  They will arrive back at their boat soon after a visit to grandchildren on the West coast.
We are settling in for our month's stay here and do like the area here very much.
Thanks for following our blog.
October statistics:

Miles travelled:  Month: 127 / Trip to Date: 8592
Travel days:   2/ 184
Engine hours: 15 / 976
Locks:   0/ 47
Bridges opened:   0 /68
Days on hook or free wall:   1 / 78
Gallons of diesel:  103 / 6996