Our run to Brunswick was comfortable and uneventful. We headed outside, avoiding the shallow waters of the Georgia section of the ICW. “Inside” runs afford more interesting scenery, but that view comes with a price: the anxiety that comes with squeaking through some shallow waters past Jekyll Island, so with calm conditions at sea, we’ll typically choose deeper water. Head out, set a waypoint for 30 miles or so down the coast and just keep our eye on Otto, the German pilot as he conns the boat on an arrow-straight line! We arrived in Brunswick just after dark, our timing of tide and current was spot on, we averaged 7.2 kts, riding the ebb current out of the Savannah River, and catching the end of the flood tide into St. Simon’s inlet. We overnighted on the fuel dock, and met dockmaster Sherrie in the morning. Molly made a beeline for her office in the morning, she has a great memory of which marinas offer treats, and Sherrie being a dog lover, Brunswick is always a popular spot for 4-legged crew members!
We fueled up, taking on 740 gallons of diesel, with the prices still at $1.96. Some of the lowest fuel prices we’ve seen since we began cruising in 2008! Sherrie remarked that there have been more boats moving this year than they have seen in many years, attributable to reasonable fuel prices. We’ll happily endure those low prices for as long as they last! Memories of fuel at $4.10/gal. aren’t so distant as to be forgotten!
After fueling, we relocated to a slip, and began the typical housekeeping that accompanies a marina stay; wash the boat, fill water tanks, offload trash and waste oil, and loads and loads of wash! Even though we have a washer-dryer on board, doing the wash in the large machines provided free at Brunswick makes short work of the chore with far fewer wrinkles! We met up with our friend Luc aboard Innu, a Selene family member. We last saw Luc in the spring in the Bahamas. We stay in touch during his off-season, and he related that he was completing a battery replacement project. In the course of the conversation, he mentioned that he was going to buy a crimping tool, and I offered to lend him mine, saving the $300+ purchase price. I shipped it to Brunswick where it was waiting for him when he drove from Quebec to complete his project, and he returned it when we arrived. As a thank-you, he spent an afternoon carting us around in his rental car to do some provisioning and refill our LP tank. All part of being cruising neighbors!
Our stay coincided with Thanksgiving Day, and we were guests of the marina for their Thanksgiving Dinner. Sherrie, our dockmaster, does much of the prep work to feed the crowd of over a hundred, and of course as expected, no gathering of cruisers is ever marked by lack of food! Most folks brought some sort of side dish or dessert, the marina provided 7 turkeys and trimmings. It was a wonderful experience to share with fellow cruisers. After the meal, each cruiser in turn introduced themselves to the group and shared a cruising anecdote, some terrifying, some hilarious. It was a fun time, since everyone in the group could relate.
After the holiday, we enjoyed a visit from Jeff & Karen of Acapella and their crew, Dylan and Dee Dee. Molly enjoyed a reunion with Dylan and Dee Dee, cruising dog friends. We reunite with cruising friends from all over the map, in places all over the map. It’s an interesting part of the cruising lifestyle, and always a treat to see a familiar boat when we come into an anchorage or marina.
We made plans to move from Brunswick to Cumberland Island, where we planned to spend a few days. We departed 0830 hrs on Tuesday, the 1st, and headed offshore for the 44 nm run to Cumberland. Conditions were very smooth, although we encountered intermittent thick fog most of the way. The fog really didn’t impede our travel, we just need to exercise a higher degree of vigilance with the radar. We arrived at Cumberland in plenty of time to go ashore for a walk to stretch legs and enjoy the solitude of the island, a favorite stop.
