The Golden Isles

  TRAVEL DAY 20 - Jekyll Island to St. Simons Island

March 23, 2023

1.32 Hours/9 Miles

    We were able to make a late departure from our quiet anchorage since we only intended to travel 9 miles to St. Simon's Island. 

Small fishing boats everywhere in this anchorage

    We decided to anchor out again saving us some dough for touristy kinds of things. We chose to anchor near Morningstar Marina where we could dinghy over to their dock and catch an Uber to St. Simons. There is a municipal dock that we could have used for free but it had a 2 hour limit, so we opted to pay what we thought was $5 and ended up as $20. I tried to negotiate a $10 tie with a $5 tip but the dockhand said she couldn't. Oh well. She did however give us the name of a driver at the marina that guaranteed he was cheaper than Uber, and he was. At $10 cash each way it was a deal, and we got to ride in a Maserati. 

All of the docks here are long
 
    We toured the lighthouse and the downtown. We searched for a geocache but didn't find that. We did however find some very nice pickleball courts but we had no rackets and no athletic clothes so we missed out. We won't make that mistake again! 

St. Simon's Lighthouse
         
Lighthouse Booger

What a View!
   
Tall Ship Cruise Complete with Cannon Fire

    Anchoring takes some specialized items and practice. One of the items that is absolutely invaluable is the bridle. The bridle does a few things. First, it takes the strain off of the windlass and places it on the bridle. Second, it lowers the angle of the anchor rode helping the anchor to "dig in" better. Lastly, it eliminates the "snap, snap, snap of a heavy chain against the boat when the tide and current tug hard on the ground tackle and the boat. This has proved to be a wise decision including this in our equipment.
    
Anchor Bridle Set-up
    
    The evening's flood tide was incredibly strong and with the wind blowing the same direction, it made for an uncomfortable sleep. At about midnight, the wind died and the tide reversed and it was absolutely calm and quiet. I had total confidence in our ground tackle but it didn't make it any less comfortable.  Next time we pick an anchorage, I will try to take these things into consideration to allow for a more restful night. 

Still doesn't get old

    The next morning, my crew and I had a 30 minute discussion about "Lefty Lucy and Righty Tighty" which ended in a "let's just agree to disagree". Actually I was right but I don't think that my explanation ever really made any sense and left the crew still perplexed about which way to turn the hose to get it to spray to clean the mud off the anchor.  

Jekyll Island to St. Simon's Island
 

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