Savannah was one of those cities that I had heard about but hadn’t visited yet.
It lived up to the hype and I’m really glad we stopped here.
But it is time to move on and leave Georgia.
As we pulled out of Thunderbolt Marina, we retraced our breadcrumbs heading back down the Intracoastal Waterway.
And of course there was a giant barge working around the bridge.
But Sam got around that and a few smaller boats with no issues at all.
We cruised by Savannah Bend Marina where the Here’s To Us!! stayed for a couple of weeks while we flew back and sold our home.
When Dan and Amy picked us up from the airport, he asked us if we could clear 21 feet without having to open the bridge.
Our air draft is 17’2 and with the antennas up it’s 18 1/2 so we are good.
The first bridges we come to look like one in use and one being built.
This must be what Dan was talking about.
After we went under the bridges, there were two tows and a barge ready to go to work.
And a row of beautiful homes along the water’s edge.
It was a lovely day for traveling and we took advantage of the weather to continue our journey north.
I can’t explain it but since we have sold our house, we are definitely feeling the urge to speed this thing up and finish the loop!
The end is near!!!
Danger Zones
In this part of the journey, we had heard about rocks and shoaling and Field’s Cut.
But Sam watched the tides carefully and planned our maneuvers around trouble.
We did see a few rock islands but nothing that we couldn’t avoid.
And we noticed a few boaters had decided to plant their beach chairs on this island to enjoy the day.
We made it into Field’s cut and found that it had been dredged and had no issues.
Now that how we like to travel!
No issues!
Sam has been using Bob 423’s tracks and routes but when we saw this on the Garmin, we got a little nervous.
Green is land.
Uh.
Could this be right?
Well, you can see by the position of the boat (sorry about the glare) that yes, we did go right on the edge.
Bob 423 steered us right again!
This was an interesting house because it appeared out of nowhere.
It wasn’t in a neighborhood.
It stood all alone in the trees.
Close by was an old dock that was in pieces.
Remnants of the past.
Stories we’ll never know.
We started seeing signs of life around Freeport Marina.
Boats coming in and out.
After that, we started seeing parasailing boats with eager participants.
Flying.
Floating.
Looks like the whole boat load wants to go up.
We also saw this beautiful sailboat also taking advantage of the windy day.
This is the Hilton Head area and there is a lot of summer activity!
It makes me nervous to go under a bridge with so much traffic.
But Sam handles it with ease.
I have to go to the back sometimes just so I can’t see what’s happening.
It’s always been ok.
I never have been. LOL
We passed a few marinas today.
This one is Hilton Head Marina.
And yes, it was very busy.
This one was called Skull Creek Marina.
We passed a boat that was heading to this marina for repair.
One of their engines went out and they were limping along on one.
We saw so many beautiful homes at Hilton Head.
And one of those rows of homes turned into a beach where boats and people social distanced their way to fun.
Another bridge.
Another awesome day on the Great Loop.
Those are all the smart boaters that know better than to travel when it’s crazy, busy out here!
Right before our marina, we saw a mooring field on the right.
And then a sailing school right next to it.
We finally made it to the Safe Harbor Beaufort Downtown Marina.
The video that we did with this trip shows Sam talking through the docking process.
We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the town of Beaufort, South Carolina.
There were so many restaurants and stores within walking distance of the marina.
It was a beautiful but hot day.
So hot that the horse drawn carriages weren’t operating.
But many places were open.
And we were grateful for that.
We also had a delightful visit from our friends Ed and Kathy of Vitamin Sea.
They recently finished their loop here and are now proud Gold Loopers.
Beaufort is a beautiful town and we would love to come back and stay longer to see more of it next time around.
Great segment, relaxing, scenic, interesting, that’s what it is all about! I love the grease job on the docking Sam! I have been to Beaufort several times over the years. First visit was when son Rob graduated from MCRD, Marine Corps Recruit Depot. He was Honor Graduate of his Platoon and Company High Shooter! With 12 years in the Corps, his 3rd and last duty station was here at the MCRD. He bought a new home on Lady’s Island so we had lots of time to explore Beaufort on several visits. If you are there on a Friday and there is a graduation ceremony at MCRD it is an awesome experience.
Sounds like you have great memories there.