Happy to have the chart plotter

You know how it can be – for every relaxing day you can expect a non-relaxing one when transiting on a sailboat.  Today we transited a short but hairy 10 miles/16 km with big wind (25 – 30 knots) and choppy water through a very narrow difficult channel with white water rapids on one side and within 25 feet of the grass (land) on the other.   Through all this we also had to line up on a set of range markers to ensure we stayed in the deeper water of the channel while not hitting the channel markers.  

(An explanation of range markers by the US Coast Guard:  navigational aids, which are usually shore-mounted, come in pairs to help the vessel operator maintain a straight and safe course within a navigable channel. Each member of the pair is separated from the next in distance and elevation, with the one in front shorter than the one behind it. When the two appear to be vertically stacked, the vessel is on the range line.)

So, while staying between the channel markers, keeping reds to starboard, greens to port, being bounced around in the wind and choppy water, figuring out which reds and greens were for us to follow and which were marking other channels, we also had to focus on the boards ahead, steering so the two boards were vertically stacked in order to stay in the channel.

Through out the transit Bob also tracked our progress with the chart platter which also shows the channel and he was especially thankful for that today.  The channel markers were confusing and the channel was difficult to make out visually so the electronics really helped.

Immediately after Jekyll Creek, where we thankfully had no problem with depth, with the strong current still pushing us along, we passed under a bridge and immediately into the marina.

While still under the bridge and as we approached the dock Bob put the boat in reverse at least 150 yards/137 meters before the dock and “hard” reverse 30 yards / 3 meters before the dock, wondering if the boat would actually stop in time.

He skidded in with an ice hockey-like stop and executed a perfect docking. It was amazingly smooth and Christina and the dockhands were oblivious to the level of challenge Bob was experiencing.  

The winds are expected to be even stronger tomorrow so we already planned to stay here for 2 nights.  Sunday is expected to be like today, so we knew it would be doable.  But…..after talking with the dock master we learned St. Andrew’s Sound, which we will be crossing when we leave, is even more exposed and choppy than St. Simon’s (taking you to the edge of the ocean). Hmmmm…. maybe we’ll stay another day.

Monday looks to be a good day for weather but in reviewing the tides and sunrise time, a departure on Monday would have to be before sunrise and would require transiting the more tricky part(s) with the sun in our eyes….soooooo…. we decided to make a 2 night stop into a 4 night stop.  We’ll leave Tuesday.

We ended up being docked just in front of s/v Belle Bateaux a 44′ Gozzard. (They were quite thankful Bob was able to control Dreamtime as we passed by their boat during the docking maneuvers once they heard the full story of the hockey stop.)  We caught up with them for a sundowner and a spontaneous potluck dinner the first two nights on Jekyll Island that included new friends, good food, hours of laughter and comparing notes on our respective boats and journeys.  (Thanks to them for photos of our arrival.)