Back on the Boat, Departing Brunswick, Georgia

 I am writing this on November 1, 2023. This was supposed to be the day we left Brunswick Landing Marina, but you know the saying: The plans of a sailor are written in the sand at low tide. Weather always dictates our plans. We had a strong cold front coming in today, so we left yesterday, and moved the Boat 37 nm to Saint Mary's, Georgia. Saint Mary's has a good anchorage with excellent protection from the north. So, we will sit here and enjoy some cooler weather for a few days until it is comfortable to move further south. The low last night was in the 50's and the high today was only in the 60's. It may actually get down to the high 40's tonight. No worries though, it will be back to the 80's by the middle of next week. 

I did want to take some time to write about our wonderful time during the months of September and October. In my last entry, we were in Brunswick after the hurricane passed by, and we were getting some new canvas on the boat. It was certainly hot and humid in Georgia during early September, but we really enjoyed our time at Brunswick Landing. 

This manatee was hanging out at the dock enjoying the fresh water provided by another boater.

Here is the new canvas fully installed. We took it down the next day to wait for our return.

The sunset views over the estuary are beautiful in Brunswick.

They opened the new North Bath house while we were there. It is very nice and for us on dock 15, the walk to the shower was much shorter.

Our neighbor left, which gave me the opportunity to take a picture from the starboard side of the boat. Shortly after this shot was taken, a 58 foot Beneteau Sailboat took its place. Our 40 foot boat looked so small compared to those much larger boats.

I spent the mornings walking in the historic neighborhoods. My goal was to walk 3 miles each day. We also took a trip to nearby Jekyll Island to check out the beach.

This is the old City Hall in Brunswick

I really liked this one.

These buildings just have so much character

I have to do another "Kim on a beach" picture.

It was low tide so there was plenty of sand to walk on. We found lots of shells including about 20 full sand dollars. We cruised right by this beach yesterday on our way south.

We left Georgia on the 10th of September and headed to Arkansas to see our grandson, Connor play football. This is his first year playing, and by the end of the year he was showing signs of understanding what he was trying to accomplish from his linebacker position. I have been into athletics my entire life and I can't tell you how much I love to watch my grandchildren taking their shot. I was very excited to hear that Cameron had joined the wrestling club. I was able to relive some of my younger years when I was able to watch one of his first practices. Wrestling was my sport in High School. We did have to get down on the floor of the living room after practice to show him a few things. I sure hope he sticks with it. 

We then went back to Missouri to watch Will play soccer. He was not starting on the JV, but did get some playing time. The highlight was when we got to see Will score his first High School goal. I don't know who was more excited, him or me. We started watching the Ozark High Varsity Soccer team matches that were played after the JV games. The Varsity is one of the top teams in the state. We became big fans and did not miss a game until we left. They are the top seeded team in their district and we are hoping they make a run at a state title. The cool thing is that Will got to work out with those boys each day and by the end of the season, was gaining skills and confidence.  

The video above is of Will's goal that was scored on a penalty kick. 

We spent our weeks in Arkansas on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursday at Will's games in Missouri and every other Friday night at the Ozark High Football game to watch our Senior, Isabella perform with the Band. 

Isabella is the flute player standing at the 40 yard line. 

We also went to two of her band competitions. One of which they were the overall winner. 

We were asked to look after the kids for three weeks, while our daughter Shannon and her husband, Brian went on a cruise to the South Pacific. It turned out to be one of the best times of my life. The kids were awesome and all we did was spend some quality time with some of our favorite people on the planet. The only problem is that I now miss them terribly.  

We were planning to leave Missouri around October 15th, but we delayed that by a week to see as many of the kids activities as possible. Did I mention we had become big fans! We had to hurry to get the trailer winterized and everything ready for our departure. On September 23rd, which was our youngest grandchild, Amelia's birthday, we left Ozark and made one more trip to see Connor's last football game. He recorded his first solo tackle of the season and played very well. On the 24th, we made the 14 hour drive to Brunswick. 

We put in a few long days getting the boat ready for sea. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad cold on Saturday and I had to slow down to get well. I had been watching the weather and I really knew we should leave early, but I felt so bad that I thought getting well was more important. We were still undecided Monday night. I awoke Tuesday morning feeling much better and decided that today was the day. We got the boat ready and departed at around 9:30am. 

Another beautiful sunset in Brunswick, the night before we left. 

This was our neighbor the entire time we were there. Jack purchased the boat the first week we were there and was yet to take the 65 foot Steel Schooner to sea. 

SHIFT ready to go. All sails on, full of food, water and fuel. Wood treated, stainless polished, Decks washed. Engines serviced and all checks completed. Wish us luck!

It was a 37 nm motor trip, but we went under the 185 foot bridge at Brunswick.

It was a beautiful day with a high temperature of about 80F.

We cruised by Kings Bay Submarine base. There is a Ohio Class sub to the left in this picture. That boat is almost 600 feet long. 

Our anchorage in Saint Mary's, Georgia.

Beautiful evening, but the front arrived at about 2 in the morning, but we didn't see much more than 20 knots of wind and about a 20 degree drop in temperatures. 

To our stern is the town of Saint Mary's. It is a cool place with lots of interesting history.

Well, that is how we spent the last two months. In my next entry, I will write about our plans this cruising season and what is next for us. Thanks for reading.