Isle of Hope Marina, Savannah GA

(Monday May 9 - Dist: 92.4 mi; Avg Speed: 8.7 mph; TTT: 10:30 hrs)

It was tough leaving our friends on Jekyll but we needed to continue north.  It was a very long day with much of the same low mud flats that were around Jekyll.  It was low tide as we pulled out so the ICW through Jekyll Creek was only about as wide as a 4 lane road.  It was scary to look down and see mud on either side of the boat.  The good thing was that it was impossible to wander out of the channel.  We also had to navigate two other particuarly shallow areas, the Mud River and Hell Gate, which we accomplished with our hearts in our throats.

We had to make some choices regarding the trip.  To stop and see everything that we had wanted to would not get us above the 35 parallel before June 1 and the start of the hurricane season.  That was a requirement of our boat insurer to minimize costs.  The other thing that we decided was a priority was a longer stay in downtown Washington.  So we booked the month of June at Gangplank Marina on the Potomac River right near the Washington Mall.  These choices meant that we would bypass Savannah and Hilton Head.  The Harbortown Yacht Club on Calabogie Sound is the one where the PGA Tour plays the Heritage golf tournament.  Oh well, maybe on the way back down.

We spent the night in a marina near Savannah and fortunately met up with our friends on the Last Resort and enjoyed a great meal at the Drifter's Restaurant. It was a fun night but short because we were on a mission to get more north.