Skidaway Island, GA to Valona, GA
Pretty quiet day on the ICW, but it started with a gigantic barge passing us going north before we raised the anchor. Makes you extra grateful for a strong anchor and a competent captain who always keeps us safely parked outside of the channel for the night. Barges can't exactly maneuver their way around you. 😱 I always find it amazing watching them pass through bridges. Has to be nerve-racking for both the captain AND the bridge tender.
KORKZcrew's anchor came up a little later than usual this morning, around 9:50 am, as we're still making good time toward our goal of arriving on Jekyll Island by tomorrow.
One thing I've realized about boat life is all the new sounds you have to get used to, and you quickly develop a sense of which ones are out of the ordinary, or not — just like at home, really. So here's what it sounds like from inside the pilot house when the anchor is coming up:
Another thing I never take for granted is that without Ron and Skeet, this whole adventure would feel completely different, aside from being absolutely impossible. Ron has grown up on the water and has an enviably natural affinity for everything boat-related — from maneuvering this big ol' bathtub into tight spots, to understanding the mechanics of the engine room, which is no small feat. The biggest bonus is that he is not only able but also willing to figure out whatever issue we might be having aboard KORKZcrew, and 95% of the time can fix it himself. That is quite the gift, and has saved us thousands of dollars, which is especially critical when you're living in this world where the acronym B.O.A.T. stands for Break Out Another Thousand. There is literally ALWAYS something that needs to be fixed or updated or replaced. Captain Ron is our Chief Operating Officer and Principal Window Washer. All hail to the chief!
As I've mentioned before on countless occasions, Skeet is nothing short of brilliant at navigation. I wish I could step inside his brain to understand how it works and where it came from, because it most certainly didn't come from me. He's patient and calm, and, for those of you who remember the show M*A*S*H, reminds me a WHOLE lot of Radar, because he knows what you need before you're even aware you need it. I'll let this video explain his skill better than I can with words.
As you can see from Skeet's charts, the Intracoastal Waterway is incredibly curvy through Georgia, making that shortest-distance-between-two-points thing a total joke. Ron has often commented over the past few days that the sun is in his eyes whether it's morning or afternoon, and that can get pretty frustrating when you're looking for channel markers and crabpots.
KORKZcrew must've been stirring up some tasty snacks along the way today because we earned a strong following of hungry seagulls that lasted for at least an hour.
With a relatively slow day on the water, it seemed like a good time to show you guys what it's like on the interior of KORKZcrew. And it has absolutely nothing to do with it also being one of the few days when things were looking unusually tidy. As far as you know. 😂
Skeet enjoyed his usual stint on the bow as we approached our evening anchorage near Valona, Georgia. Amazing burgers for dinner, courtesy of the grill meister and C.O.O., and a nice low-key evening being worthless blobs parked right in front of the TV.
Night night KORKZcrew!
7 hours underway; approx. 44 nautical miles traveled
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