Savannah or Bust...

Captain's Blog: Skull Creek Marina Destination Savannah.
A perfect day. Great friends, and a new adventure. Travelling south down the Inter coastal we headed up the Cooper River and around Daufauskie Island. Here we bumped in to another boat that was heading down from Virginia. How exciting, to meet a friend of ours travelling down the inter coastal.
We docked next to Marsh Side Mamas and picked up our friend. The rest of her crew were going to be spending the night in a quiet cove on the New River. She preferred the opportunity to kick up her heels in Savannah. We headed up Ramshorn Creek and then on to Fields cut. You definitely need a chart for this area because it is not as easy as it sounds. Heading up the Savannah River is impressive. We are dwarfed next to the barges and their long blasts remind us to stay clear. I have no intention of going anywhere near these vessels. I was even too chicken to park in front of River Street. I parked on the other side of the river and we took the ferry over. We then proceeded to enjoy a fantastic lunch at The Bohemian Hotel. Another fun day thanks to Freedom Boat Club

East Coast of Florida VS West Coast of Florida

Being the novice boater that I am, I definetly have developed a comfort level with WIDE OPEN channels. Not the case on the East coast of Florida. This area reminded me more of being on a highway. I can see why there are boating accidents. This section of the Intercoastal is chaotic. I really need more experience before I venture in to this abyss again. The staff at the North Palm Beach Freedom Boat Club are fantastic. They suggested heading up the intercoastal and then taking an lnlet on the left after two bridges. This trip would bring us to Panama Hatties. The boat traffic was insane. Going slow was the only option. Unfortuantely a large cabin cruiser was having too much fun. The wake of their boat created such a trough that my husband and son while relaxing in the bow of the boat all of a sudden were completeley drenched. I then got the lecture about if I was going faster this would not have happened. Even though, I had no place to go but up the butt of the boat in front of me.... I decided to laugh and enjoy the fact that I am not an expert... oh well. Still a lot of fun, just a little more stressful then I would like.

Bradenton, Florida January 2010

The great thing about boating in Florida, you can see the bottom...coming from South Carolina waters I have come to rely heavily on the GPS and always pay close attention to the depth. The boat I took out did not have a GPS. At first this was disturbing. But it just makes you appreciate the old way of doing things; charts and markers....and of course asking the staff. Fortunately, the staff was extremely helpful at giving me directions. My goal was to navigate out through the Manatee River through Tampa Bay and head down Anna Maria Sound. Although this was an extremely chilly January, the day is bright and sunny. Too cold to enter the water so destination boating was the goal of the day. We decided to have lunch at a place called Mar Vista in Long Boat Key www.groupersandwich.com A fantastic place to dine.
Plenty of dockage. Easy trip from Bradenton. Next time, I plan on heading all the way down to Sarasota Bay....see if I can dock and shop at St. Armonds Circle.