Savanna - Brunswick, GA

The Captain chose this particular marina not only for access to Savannah but also for the motivation that it provides to get the crew ready for our normal early morning departure.

Mmmm Donuts!

This area of the intracoastal continues to be void of much scenery except endless areas of marshy sea grass. 

 

Sea grass as far as the eye can see

The marina we stayed at is known as a Hurricane Hole.  The boat next to us spends 8 months in the Bahamas on their friend's dock, but moves here for the storm season.  Over all they had very little damage except on the gas dock that was more exposed.  But this damage was from Hermione, not Matthew.

Mine Mine Mine (Finding Nemo)

It is amazing watching the seagulls.  As soon as one catches a fish, all the others dive-bomb the owner to steal it!  The Crew had to duck a few times as they almost ended in the flybridge.

It was again a long day on the water.  The goal at the end was to get the cheapest fuel in this area as recommended by Jim Pyke.  Unfortunately, it is closed on the weekends.  We ended up fueling and pumping out at the marina where we stayed.  Had to pay an additional 4% as we did not have any cheques.  Will have that problem solved next week

Beaufort to Savannah

Today we travelled a much shorter distance to Thunderbolt, Georgia.  We continued to see widespread evidence of Matthew's damage. 

This guy certainly got hit!

167' yacht "My Sky"

We took advantage of our early arrival to take an Uber into Savannah.  Shortly after leaving the marina, the Captain saw an ice house that he thought he recognized.  Sure enough, just down the 

See the size of docked boats in the background?

road is the restaurant ‘Tubby’s’ where Captain Todd, MFP and the Captain had dinner.  What a hoot he ended up at the same marina!  This was a gorgeous marina with excellent facilities and a major repair yard.  Also tied up at the marina we saw 126’ sailboats and many large yachts.  We were again relegated to the ‘small boat’ docks.

Admiral and Crew posing at Forsyth Fountain

We purchased a walking tour guidebook at the Visitor Centre in Savannah and proceeded to explore.  The city is laid out in an evenly spaced grid format around 23 ‘squares’.  Each ‘square’ is a green space with benches to relax and enjoy the 

Confederate Monument

quiet.  At the southern end of the city is Forsyth Park which has a beautiful fountain thought to be patterned after the fountain in Paris’s Place de la Concorde.  There is also a Confederate monument that was made in Canada and transported by ship to Savannah so that it would never touch “Yankee” soil.  We thought that was pretty funny!  The soldier atop the monument faces the north.  This is apparently in keeping with the tradition of orienting statues of military leaders toward their enemy so that they can keep a watchful eye.

Wide, green boulevards

Evidence of some of the damage 

Mercer-Williams House

Scenes from “Forrest Gump” and other movies were filmed in Savannah.  Forrest’s bench is no longer located in Chippewa Square but has been moved to the history museum, so we couldn’t snap a picture.  At Monterey Square however, we did see the Mercer-Williams House where the alleged murder took place in the film “Midnight in the Garden of Good an Evil”.

Beautiful architecture ...

... at every turn!

Christ Church

Johnny Mercer

Recognition is given to Savannah native Johnny Mercer at multiple spots in the city.  He is most famous for writing the song Moon River although you would recognize many of his other titles.

Guilt-free beer!

There obviously is no law against walking with a drink in your hand as we noticed quite a few people enjoying a Friday evening stroll.  We though about dining along the Riverfront but decided it was a bit too touristy and chose instead B. Matthews Eatery on Bay Street.  Good decision - we had an awesome meal!

Charleston to Beaufort

Boats ashore approaching our marina

We were hoping to get an early start but once again we were greeted with heavy fog that delayed our departure.  As we cruised southward, we saw increasing damage and it is clear that this stretch of the coast received the brunt of the storm.

Hanging out at the water cooler?

As you cruise this area, you can certainly see why they call it the ‘low country’.  Miles of large expanses of sea grasses with sporadic tree vegetation.

Look at the length of those walks!

The salt marshes and high tidal range force dock owners to build long extensions to get to deeper water and their boat lifts.

A master at work!

It was not a long day and we arrived at Lady’s Island Marina around 3:30pm.  Patsy and Stu met us at the dock and came on board for drinks.  We were invited back to their new home as overnight guests.  It seems as if they have been there for more than two months as their house is very welcoming and feels like home.  It is a lovely location on a quiet cul de sac and also overlooks a golf course.  We had delicious oysters both cold and barbecued as an appetizer with roast chicken on offer for the non-seafood loving Crew.

A friendly neighbour? 

The next morning after a leisurely breakfast we got all our errands done.  Most important was the stop at Bill’s Liquor to stock up for the winter.  As soon as we got in the store, Stuart grabbed two 1.75L Southern vodka for $40: “Praised in the field, admired in the ballroom and loved in the bedroom, Beauregard Dixie.  Man amongst boys.”  Don’t you love the south?  On to shopping at Publix and back to the boat to stow the supplies.  We needed two dock carts to carry all the booze! 

Catching up

After a quick beer / wine, it was time for a brief tour of downtown Beaufort and, of course, another stop!  This time it was Hemmingway’s, one of Stuart’s favourite bars.  This is a location favoured by Tom Berenger but, alas, he was not there.  After a quick libation, it was

Toasting the evening

back to The Taylor Inn, charge your glass, and hop on Stuart’s new yellow golf cart.  It was a good thing we chose white wine instead of red because it was a challenge keeping the liquid in the glass!  As we drove around the golf course and the neighbourhood, some houses had significant damage to their trees.  It was such a shame to see these old live oaks completely uprooted.  It will take years for them to regrow.  Dinner again was at our hosts’ – a delicious pork tenderloin with a side order of shrimp and grits.  We made it a somewhat early night as our hosts had an early flight the following day. 

Charleston, SC

Mansion along The Battery

Note the evidence of flooding

Finally, a later start – 8:00am – and a day tied at the dock.  The morning was spent doing chores but we were treated to a tour of Charleston in the afternoon with Debbie.  We got to stroll along The Battery that we had seen entering Charleston the day before.  It gets its’ name from the gun emplacements that protected the city.  Mansions along The Battery, built by merchants for easy access to arriving ships, are being preserved and restored.  Unfortunately, it appears some suffered flooding from Matthew. 

13-inch Civil War Mortar

Plaque on The Battery

To the Confederate Defenders of Charleston - Fort Sumter

Charleston is a lovely city to walk around.  They have really gorgeous parks and you can sneak a view inside the gates of many of the properties to catch a glimpse of beautiful gardens.  All of the green space helps to keep the city cool which we appreciated

Bronze statue of a dancing girl - water fountain

on our walk up to the Straw market.  This city market is held on land which has been stipulated must remain in use as a market for perpetuity.  Originally, it was used by vendors to sell fresh meat and fish but it is now a place to buy mementos

George Washington

of your trip to Charleston including hand-woven sweetgrass baskets.

Charleston

A lot of the roads are cobblestone that we learned were built from the rocks used as ship’s ballast.  Many of the homes have slabs of granite or other stone built up in front of them for ease of entry into carriages. 

Rainbow Row on East Bay Street

The front entrance of the home was also adorned with lit gas lanterns on either side of their doors.  You can take a horse-drawn carriage tour of the area and there are so many carriages on the road that while walking around, you can be fooled into thinking you have stepped back in time.