Tuesday 11-11-08
We relaxed at anchor after breakfast so that our arrival at St. Simons would be later in the morning to coincide with our friend’s arrival at the marina we were headed for. The tidal current was in our favor so we ran the engine at idle speed to slow our progress over the 10 miles we had to reach our destination.
As we reached the point where we would turn off of the ICW to enter the Frederica River we were hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and they advised us they would like to board us for a safety and regulation compliance inspection – would we prepare for them to board? Men with side arms and on a boat with a machine gun mounted on the foredeck – you bet they can board! Instructions were to maintain our course and reduce speed to a “slow bell” – nautical talk for as slow as you can go and maintain steerage. At that point Polly had to take the helm so I could meet the four Coast Guardsmen on deck and provide them the information they requested. The CG vessel approached from our port quarter and adjusted to our speed and with a bump put their fendered beam against FLIGHT and four of the services finest stepped aboard and asked permission to enter the main cabin. They introduced themselves and asked some basic questions about what our last port was and where we were headed. Was I the captain and owner and did we have any fire arms aboard? Yes and NO. We also discussed location of PFDs (life jackets), fire extinguishers, ship’s documentation, copy of navigation rules, and horn. All found to be as required. Was the vessel equipped with a sanitary toilet system with a holding tank and “Y” valve and was the valve locked in the position to prevent overboard discharge? Yes and absolutely. One of the men asked the questions as another filled out a form. The other two moved about checking and looking for the items as we discussed them. The questions and form were finally completed and I signed and was given a bright yellow copy and told that they referred to that as the “good as gold certificate” and if within 6 months we are approached by another CG vessel for a possible inspection, the printed number on that form should satisfy them and we would not be boarded again. However, they have the right to board any vessel if they have any suspicion that it is in violation of any regulation or law. The boarding ended with “thank you captain, have a nice voyage” - another bump from the CG vessel and the 4 Coast Guardsmen stepped off our deck. The whole event took place in about ½ hour and Polly did a great job of handling the boat and finding the entrance to the Frederica River as the CG vessel trailed behind.
Our friend Jeff had arranged for us to have a free slip at the condo marina where he keeps his boat and soon after the Coast Guard left us, we were off the marina and saw Jeff waving to us. He gave us specific directions to locate the slip he had arranged for us, along with some advice on how to deal with the fast running current that was flowing through the slips. The tide range here in Georgia is 8’ to 9’ and the tides change every 6 hours so in order for all of that volume of water to move in and out, it must flow very fast – some places up to 2 or 3 knots. We made two attempts to back the boat into the slip but each time the stern got near the floating finger pier, the wind would push the bow too far to the right. After two misses I decided to go to the alternate, a commercial marina right next to Jeff’s marina. The commercial marina has a very long floating dock that is parallel to the river and tidal flow, so it was much easier to approach and get safely tied up. The marina is called Golden Isle and is quite nice. Jeff came by after we got settled in and offered to take us on a quick tour of St. Simon’s Island which is very beautiful and has a lot of history connected with it. After the car tour, we returned to the boat to cleaned-up and chang
ed for the evening.
Jeff came by for us again and we went to the Gregg’s lovely home where Kathleen was waiting with great hors d’oeuvres and wine. After we caught up on each other we went to a local favorite of the Gregg’s called Fish Bones and had a wonderful dinner and more great conversation. The Greggs are as interesting as they are friendly, they both had careers with a major airline and since moving to St. Simon’s, Jeff has taken a job to operate pilot boats that transports ship pilots to and from ocean going commercial ships that are coming into, or leaving, the port of Brunswick, GA. Polly and I will
look forward to seeing them again on the north b
ound part of this sojourn.
We relaxed at anchor after breakfast so that our arrival at St. Simons would be later in the morning to coincide with our friend’s arrival at the marina we were headed for. The tidal current was in our favor so we ran the engine at idle speed to slow our progress over the 10 miles we had to reach our destination.
As we reached the point where we would turn off of the ICW to enter the Frederica River we were hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and they advised us they would like to board us for a safety and regulation compliance inspection – would we prepare for them to board? Men with side arms and on a boat with a machine gun mounted on the foredeck – you bet they can board! Instructions were to maintain our course and reduce speed to a “slow bell” – nautical talk for as slow as you can go and maintain steerage. At that point Polly had to take the helm so I could meet the four Coast Guardsmen on deck and provide them the information they requested. The CG vessel approached from our port quarter and adjusted to our speed and with a bump put their fendered beam against FLIGHT and four of the services finest stepped aboard and asked permission to enter the main cabin. They introduced themselves and asked some basic questions about what our last port was and where we were headed. Was I the captain and owner and did we have any fire arms aboard? Yes and NO. We also discussed location of PFDs (life jackets), fire extinguishers, ship’s documentation, copy of navigation rules, and horn. All found to be as required. Was the vessel equipped with a sanitary toilet system with a holding tank and “Y” valve and was the valve locked in the position to prevent overboard discharge? Yes and absolutely. One of the men asked the questions as another filled out a form. The other two moved about checking and looking for the items as we discussed them. The questions and form were finally completed and I signed and was given a bright yellow copy and told that they referred to that as the “good as gold certificate” and if within 6 months we are approached by another CG vessel for a possible inspection, the printed number on that form should satisfy them and we would not be boarded again. However, they have the right to board any vessel if they have any suspicion that it is in violation of any regulation or law. The boarding ended with “thank you captain, have a nice voyage” - another bump from the CG vessel and the 4 Coast Guardsmen stepped off our deck. The whole event took place in about ½ hour and Polly did a great job of handling the boat and finding the entrance to the Frederica River as the CG vessel trailed behind.
Our friend Jeff had arranged for us to have a free slip at the condo marina where he keeps his boat and soon after the Coast Guard left us, we were off the marina and saw Jeff waving to us. He gave us specific directions to locate the slip he had arranged for us, along with some advice on how to deal with the fast running current that was flowing through the slips. The tide range here in Georgia is 8’ to 9’ and the tides change every 6 hours so in order for all of that volume of water to move in and out, it must flow very fast – some places up to 2 or 3 knots. We made two attempts to back the boat into the slip but each time the stern got near the floating finger pier, the wind would push the bow too far to the right. After two misses I decided to go to the alternate, a commercial marina right next to Jeff’s marina. The commercial marina has a very long floating dock that is parallel to the river and tidal flow, so it was much easier to approach and get safely tied up. The marina is called Golden Isle and is quite nice. Jeff came by after we got settled in and offered to take us on a quick tour of St. Simon’s Island which is very beautiful and has a lot of history connected with it. After the car tour, we returned to the boat to cleaned-up and chang
ed for the evening.Jeff came by for us again and we went to the Gregg’s lovely home where Kathleen was waiting with great hors d’oeuvres and wine. After we caught up on each other we went to a local favorite of the Gregg’s called Fish Bones and had a wonderful dinner and more great conversation. The Greggs are as interesting as they are friendly, they both had careers with a major airline and since moving to St. Simon’s, Jeff has taken a job to operate pilot boats that transports ship pilots to and from ocean going commercial ships that are coming into, or leaving, the port of Brunswick, GA. Polly and I will
look forward to seeing them again on the north b
ound part of this sojourn.Low tide and High tide at St. Simon's Island
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