Teakettle Creek to Thunderbolt

Wild horses on Cumberland Island

USN King's Bay sub base

We left Fernandina Beach and headed north towards Georgia. Fernandina Beach is Florida's most northern city, so after we crossed the St. Mary's River, we were in Georgia and Cumberland Island. The landscape and scenery changed almost immediately. Gone were the palm trees and developed areas only to be replaced by coniferous and deciduous woods and lots of flat marshland. Shortly after entering Georgia we came to the U.S. Navy's Kings Bay nuclear submarine base. We had heard that some loopers were in the channel when they were bringing a submarine to or from the base, the all was quiet when we went by. We had the boat on autopilot and was programmed to turn away from the base, but apparently we didn't turn soon enough because we were radioed that we needed to turn at the G79 marker. Right after the transmission the autopilot turned the boat, but there was a patrol boat in the channel to make sure we didn't get any closer.

A buried charted wreck on Jekyll's Island

Waiting for throws as our float goes by!

Casting for bait

Sunset on New Teakettle Creek

Will perch anywhere!

We proceeded into Jekyll's Creek which is currently renowned for its skinny water. Although we were close to high tide, it was tough to follow the channel and at one point had less than 2 feet of water below the props. After Jekyll's Island we passed St. Simon's Island and then got into the McCay River which eventually took us through the Little Mud River, another shallow passage, to our anchorage that night in New Teakettle Creek. We went through way too many ranges and skinny stretches to get to this anchorage, and feel that unless some serious dredging is done to maintain the waterway, it will only be a few more years that some portions will not be passable. We got the boat anchored for the 7 foot tidal range and swift currents. Jane took a nap, but Capt. Larry noticed that alewives were jumping out of the water and there were silver flashes of large fish below the surface feeding on the schools. He got out his cast net and began casting for some of the bait fish. Jane got up and we tried to catch some of the larger fish, but had no luck. Why would the fish bite on our half dead bait when there were some many fish in the schools to be had. We had supper on the boat, turned on the generator and watched a movie (thanks Todd!) before retiring for a restful sleep. Anchoring out is so much more enjoyable than going into a marina!

We decided to head for Thunderbolt, GA the next morning. Thunderbolt is right next to Savannah and this would put us essentially out of Georgia and into South Carolina. At this point we have traveled around 1400 miles which is about one-fourth (depending on the side trips) of the loop. We left early so we could get into a marina relatively early. It was also Sunday and we didn't know how much weekend boat traffic we would encounter. After leaving the anchorage and passing a couple of sailboats, we put Bavarian Cream on autopilot. With the tidal current we were doing almost 9 knots when we came to a well marked shoaled area. When the autopilot is on we generally relax and let it do the work, but this almost turned out to be a mistake. As we were motoring through this shoaled area, Capt. Larry noticed that the boat was coming really close to some red markers. In fact, it dawned on him almost too late that these red markers were coming along to starboard when they should be to port. A glance at the depth sounder showed 2' of water which quickly went down to 0.7' as Capt. Larry threw the boat to starboard to get back in the channel. We made it OK without going aground, but probably only because we were traveling faster than usual. Another close call! Thunderbolt as a destination turned out to be a good choice because as we were up on plane across some larger bodies of water, Capt. Larry started complaining that it seemed the boat was driving uphill. At one point he stood up to go to the head and almost fell down. That was when he discovered that the starboard trim tab was not working and the boat on plane was listing like a drunken sailor. Jane took the helm and Capt. Larry went below to find a leaking compression fitting in the line. We throttled back which put the boat in a better configuration and motored into Thunderbolt.

At Tubby's Tank House

Loading wahoo pieces for weighing

Capt. Tubby at Tubby's

Too much Tubby's

The next day Capt. Larry went below to try and fix the trim tab leak. He really tightened the fitting, but it would not stop leaking. When he discovered that he didn't have the right fitting to do a repair, he called the marina for assistance. They sent out their "best hydraulics man" who quickly assessed the situation and said he could have it repaired that afternoon. Jane and Capt. Larry went to Tubby's Tank House, apparently a local institution, for lunch. Tubby's was sponsoring a fishing tournament and as we were leaving, two young fishermen were bringing in their catch of wahoo for weighing and certification. They had a 120 quart ice chest and one of the whaoo had to be cut into 3 pieces to fit into the chest. What a fine catch. We returned to the boat and "our hydraulics man" came aboard and fixed the trim tab leak. We grilled some chicken for dinner and watched another movie (thanks Todd!) before turning in.