4/12/11 - 4/13/11  We anchored out for a two more nights in the South Carolina wetlands and were introduced to the local insects called  "no-see-ums" by some. These are little biting gnats and we discovered that they indeed can be seen but that what is observable must be all jaws.  On the way we came upon a guy paddling in what was little more than a canoe.  He claimed to be doing the "loop" having started in Illinois one year and nine months previous.  Lace gave him a cold cup of blueberry yogurt, a plastic spoon and a good luck and we left him paddling the Pathfinder.  I told Lace that this guy "has grit" or something to that effect.  We made our way to the city dock at Beaufort, South Carolina took the walking tour of historic buildings including a guided tour of the John Verdier House built in 1801.  One can't help but be struck by the tragedy of the civil war.  North or south, white or black, there were no winners .   Later we met Bill and Carol on the Trident, had pre-supper cocktails and hors dourves on the Confetti, upscale supper at a waterside restaurant, then post meal cocktails on the Trident.

4/11/11  Savannah is of course steeped in civil war history and is a deep water seaport.  There are beautiful old buildings framed with cobblestone streets.  We wanted to spend some time there so we arrived at the Savannah City Dock about noon expecting to spend the night.  To check in and pay for dockage we had to walk several blocks to the city offices.  They have a lengthy registration form which we filled out but when we were ready to pay, the clerk discovered that the docks had been reserved for a couple of ships that would arrive later and that we must vacate.  That left us in somewhat of a bind because there weren't any available places to tie up and the next available anchorage was some distance away. We decided maybe we had seen enough of old Savannah and shoved off to find a place to stay for the night.  On the way out, we spotted an eight foot alligator swimming across the Savannah river which of course may answer the age-old question " Why did the alligator cross the river?".

4/7/11 - 4/10/11   The Georgia "lowlands" is miles of almost treeless islands and waterways covered with two foot tall grass.  It would be easy to lose ones way if it weren't for the gps and navigational markers and buoys.  After a couple of nights anchored out we reach Savannah.  Steve and Beth Wingate who live in a suburb have offered to let us stay at the dock behind there home. They had only two days before started their own loop leaving the dock unoccupied.  This was much appreciated because income tax was due in about a week and the necessary paperwork had only recently caught up to us by forwarded mail.  Between Turbo Tax and the Wingate's wifi I got it finished in time.

4/4/11 - 4/6/11  We bid Jacksonville adieu and went to Fernandina Beach Marina.  We walked through the historical district, found some groceries and a fish market.  We are beginning to see the architecture of the civil war era.  There are even some structures left from the 1700's.  It seems that fire was the end of most buildings back then either by accident or intention. It was fortunate that we decided to stay another night because a storm brewed up in the night and made it uncomfortable sleeping at the dock.   It may have been worse at anchor.  We left Fernandina Beach and crossed over into Georgia.  We passed by Jekyll Island which was owned by world's richest families in the 1800's.  The tides are up to a nine foot range here which is a whole new ball game.  Along with tides come the strong currents which make anchoring a real challenge.

3/25/11 - 4/3/11  We needed to "haul out" the boat to change the "zincs" (corrosion prevention) and possibly bottom paint (marine growth prevention ie. barnacles) so we went up the St. Johns river to Sadler Point Marina near Jacksonville. Everything went well - the bottom paint only needed touching up and the zincs were no problem.  Still, all of this took a few days so we slept on the boat while it was out of the water entering and exiting via the ladder at the stern. We had a few other mechanical issues including a fairly severe fuel leak on the port injector pump, an engine that wouldn't start intermittently and an alternator that quit.  Under normal circumstances these problems would not have taken very long but the lack of ground transportation complicates everything.  I borrowed a car for the trip to the injector shop, took a taxi ride to the alternator shop and found out that seniors ride Jacksonville buses for free. Once you get a grasp of the bus routes everything gets easier.  Only one problem remained.  The aft head was acting up so I took it apart and found a half dollar size rubber valve was in need of cleaning.  I took it out on the dock and with a water hose nozzle in one hand and the valve in the other I was going to spray it clean.  The only problem was that the blast was more than expected and valve went flying into the St. Johns river forevermore in the company of fishes.  We were now down to one head (head = marine toilet) in the forward cabin.  The replacement valve was not available locally so, not wanting to wait for one to be shipped in, we were north bound again.