Wednesday 11-12-08
Following a restless night we both slept past 07:00 AM. We had a pleasant surprise waiting for us when we slid open the cabin door, there on the deck, the marina staff had delivered a local news paper and a bag containing 2 fresh, large muffins. There was no discussion as to what breakfast would be. Another surprise would be discovered a few minutes later when I went on the other side of the boat to fill the water tank. A bird had apparently flown over and sprayed the foredeck, hand rail and parts of the cabin side, with a healthy dose of POOP. It seemed fresh enough that I thought a hosing-off might do the clean up but had to resort to soap, sponge and even a scrub brush.
Slack tide was about 08:30 so we decided to take advantage of the still water to get underway, and left Golden Isle. Having talked after returning to the boat following our evening with the Greggs, we realized that we both had been building up stress and anxiety since returning to the boat because of the pace we had set. During the original part of the trip we had plenty of calendar time ahead of us (so we thought) and allowed us to move at a comfortable pace. The unexpected delay for repairs had turned the trip into sort of a marathon to get to Marathon, with no time to spare for relaxing or unplanned fun or even weather situations. Neither of us was enjoying that situation so we decided we needed a break. Several other boaters had told us that Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, GA was a great stop and since it was only about 10 miles from St. Simon’s, we agreed we would give ourselves a total break and just hang out for a while – not worrying about weather, currents or distances. At the very first contact with Brunswick Landing we got a good and welcoming feeling – “do they have dock space for us”? “Sure do, just come on up the river and we’ll be watching for you” – no hesitation or numerous questions before getting a response to the request, as is the case with some marinas.

Approaching Brunswick Landing Marina

The two women who run the marina, Cindy and Sherry, are competent, helpful and friendly – and can even be funny. It is a very large marina situated on a quiet dead-end waterway and within walking distance of Brunswick’s Olde Town Historic District that offers shops and restaurants, to meet just about any need or want.

Sherry and Cindy

Sherry's dog "Killer" showing her femine side.

Our original plan was to take the boat to Marathon and return home for Thanksgiving then return to the boat after Christmas. With the set back caused by the repair, we hoped we could make it to Marathon in time to return at Thanksgiving, but realized that weather etc. might require a plan “B”. As we settled in at Brunswick Landing we thought it might make sense to just leave the boat in Brunswick and return to go on to Marathon after Christmas. We checked with the marina gals and they played around with their slip reservation schedule and finally told us they could accommodate. We then checked out flights from Jacksonville and within 2 hours we had a slip, airline reservations, transportation to the airport and a rental car lined up for us at Philly. We were enacting plan “B2”. Now we could just relax and kick back for a few days and enjoy South Georgia.

Partial view of the mile long marina at Brunswick

As it turned out, plan “B2” was proving to be a savings – the slip rent is about half of what it would have cost in the Keys or South Florida, and the plane tickets half of the cost for the rental car we had planned to use for the round trip home and back. The savings continue the next day when we decided to top the fuel tanks on FLIGHT. We told Sherry we wanted to fuel up before moving the boat to our semi-permanent slip and she said she had to change the pump meter because headquarters had phoned with the new price – about a dollar per gallon LESS than the day before. We took that as an omen that we were doing the right thing.
With all of the business taken care of, we decided to take a walk to get a sense of how large the marina was. We strolled past another couple who we had seen previously near the office, so we stopped and said hello and began to chat a bit about our boating backgrounds and respective winter destinations. The couple, Rich & Carol Wellman, live in RI and used to have an Island Packet sail boat, as did we. They sold their IP about 2 years ago and now have a sailing catamaran. It turns out that the buyers of their Island Packet are very good friends of ours (Dorothy and John Brownley) who keep the boat at the same marina we are at in Rock Hall, MD and indeed Polly and I have been on the boat. Polly and I well remember when the Brownleys bought the boat from “some great people in Rhode Island”. Once again- small world on the water. Of course, we had to call the Brownleys at their home in Columbus, OH to share the story.
We decided to end the day with dinner on the town and ended up at Fox’s Pizza Den on Newcastle Street in the Olde Town area. The recommendation came from our reliable marina gals and Fox’s turned out to be possibly the best pizza we have ever had. We will return for one of their pasta dishes for certain, before we leave this friendly town.