Monday 11-10-08
We got underway at 07:00 AM in calm, clear conditions and Peter Colket helped us with our dock lines. He was up early to be ready for a golf game with a friend in the Savannah area. We have learned that experienced ICW cruisers like Peter and Nancy develop a very linear “circle” of friends. The Colkets actually have their car with them – between family members and friends who are located along the east coast, they have no trouble getting help to shuttle their vehicle for them.

Bill & Ralph fishing???

The WX and sea conditions were absolutely perfect all day long, so we chose a spot to anchor at the end of the day that was about 60 SM from Isle of Hope. Polly decided to go below and check our email (I am still awed by the technology we have for our everyday use even here in this water wilderness of Georgia!) and we were happily surprised to have an invitation to stop at St. Simons Island for a visit and dinner with a boating couple we met last June on the Bay. Kathleen and Jeff Gregg were in the Bay for a summer cruise when we ran into them in Portsmouth, VA and mutually tried to make another connection later in the summer but our schedules just never put us close enough. The Greggs both retired from airline careers and moved from Atlanta to St. Simons. We were thrilled with their invite and decided to push a bit further so we could be closer to St. Simons and make Tuesday a short run to allow more time with our friends. The day was great so we pushed on down the ICW crossing St. Catherine’s, Sapelo, Doboy, and Altamaha Sounds as well as Buttermilk, before anchoring in a notch of water called “Wally’s Leg” just off the ICW near MM665. That put us only 10 miles from St. Simon’s Island after a 76 mile day.

About an hour before we reached Wally’s Leg we encountered another power boat that came up on our stern and we hailed them on the radio to arrange for them to pass but they were content to follow along behind us. The boat was named ELLIE-MAR and the owners live in western PA and they were on their way to Key West for the winter, where their son is involved in real estate sales. Our radio conversation with ELLIE-MAR prompted another boat – a sail boat named FIRST LIGHT – to call us and the couple aboard are also headed to Marathon, our destination. We all agreed to keep a look out for one another in the keys.
Our night at anchor in Wally’s Leg was calm, there was only one other sail boat that came into the anchorage and they must have left before day light the next morning, because there was no sign of them when we turned to in the morning. We grilled burgers with cheese and sautéed mushrooms for our dinner and went to bed with the sun. Reflection at Wallys Leg

Almost full moon peeking over the mast