Cold Fronts & Southern Hospitality

 Cold Fronts & Southern Hospitality

December 12th, 2025

The gravy and stuffing are all gone and our waistlines are beginning to recede after our return to New England to share Thanksgiving with family and close on the sale of our home. We left Noëpe tied up at Lady's Island Marina just across the bridge from Beaufort, SC. Lady's Island Marina suited our aesthetic with lovely views of the wetlands, friendly staff, and no pretense. 

Wanting to avoid any mishaps with travel we rented a car for the short trip to the Savannah airport, which is in close competition with the T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick RI for comfort and ease of access. We spent a couple of days in West Hartford with our daughter Emma and her boyfriend Bright, enjoying the best of West Hartford's dinning options, catching up on current films, reuniting with Hurdy Gurdy, and confirming the health benefits of sleeping with canines. Sleep is not one of them.

From West Hartford we headed to the Vineyard to see Jessica's family, eat, drink, and repeat. We raked a lot of leaves and had some lovely walks. The feasting was excellent as it always is at Dave & Patricia's and there were no fist fights this year, which is always a plus. With our closing date set for December 3rd we had hoped to complete the process remotely but the rules and regulations got in the way and we made the trek back to the North Country to sign papers. The bonus was a stay with our friends Don & Sandra and some excellent venison jerky. We walked our old daily loop through the woods and it pulled at our heartstrings but the weather helped quash any regrets.

We booked an, AirBNB. for a couple of days so that we could explore Savannah a little bit before returning to the boat, and Don & Sandra suggested we get in touch with his old business partner Franco who winters in Savannah.  We did a lot of walking around Savannah and loved the city's historical district with its many parks and gorgeous live oaks adorned in Spanish moss, but the highlight of the visit was our evening with Franco and Sandy. Their hospitality is in keeping with their Southern home as we filled the evening with food, wine, and great conversation. Note from Franco: Don't even glance at the menu until you have finished your cocktail!

Second Note: Skip the last Bourbon.

Franco and Sandy extended their hospitality and drove us back to Beaufort where we had lunch, but the day was rainy and raw as the temperatures hovered in the low 50's and after sharing that our boat heater wasn't working Franco suggested we return with them to Savannah. On any other day we would have gladly accepted the offer but winter was approaching and we had many miles to cover if we were to reach the Bahamas. As we arrived back at the boat Franco and Sandy came aboard for a quick tour as the rain came down hard. I could see the  terror in their eyes as they contemplated the cold & confines of our floating home. They would never say it but I am guessing that they think us a bit crazy, and they are right. As my father would say "it's not all shits and giggles".

Shortly after returning to Lady's Island Marina we learned that we were being evicted, due to a verbal agreement trumped by cash. We made our way a half a mile South to a Safe Harbor Marina to wait for the next weather window to make Southing offshore. We left Beaufort  just before noon on the 7th intending to do an overnight hop to Fernandina, FL but the weather and autopilot were not cooperating. Anyone who has spent anytime at the helm knows that it can become drudgery to hold a course for four hours at a stretch. We were experiencing a malfunction with our autopilot that would require standing at the helm in forty-five degree weather and twenty knots of wind. Cold and unsafe once you become fatigued. After several attempts to reprogram the auto pilot we ditched the plan and tucked into a channel just above Tybee Island, dropping anchor just before the sun dipped below the horizon, We were heartened to see a beautiful schooner had the same plan and was anchored just South of us.

                                                           December Sailing Attire

            

We were not far from the opening and the 25 knot winds against tide made for a cold and bumpy nights sleep. We were tired and our window to catch the favorable ebb tide up the Formidable Savannah river was shrinking. Our thirty-year old Volvo/ Penta burns a little oil so when I discovered that I did not have any oil to top off the engine, I began to rethink our plan. I did not want to stress the engine fighting the tide and current of the Savannah River, and Jessica wisely convinced me to make use of our BoatUS membership (AAA on the water) and get a tow to the nearest marina. I swallowed my pride and followed orders. 

                                                                    Nachos At Sea Ole'

On the docks again in Thunderbolt GA. we joked about calling Franco to come pick us up. A warm bed and Bourbon were calling. But, we sucked it up and did the marina thing for another day. Did I mention that we bought an electric space heater?  Our new lithium battery bank affords us it's usage, thank goodness! We also met some generous cruisers who offered us the use of their rental car minutes after meeting them. Thank you Will & Jane!

                                                       Frost on the docks in Thunderbolt GA

Our eleven o'clock departure from Thunderbolt was auspicious as the sun melted away the frost and we entered into the beautiful lowlands of the Georgia coast. We followed the twists and turns of the ICW doubling our time to get South but staying warm and sane. The ICW experience for us has been beter than expected. As mentioned it adds a lot of mileage, but the traffic is minimal this time of year and the scenery is spectacular in South Carolina and Georgia. We did a short day our first day back in the "ditch" and decided not to test Georgia's Hell's Gate at low tide. Instead we opted for an early anchorage, and nature immersion adjacent to Racoon Key.

                   Sorry about yet another sunset photo, but I can't get enough of the beauty at twilight.

We hopped outside early the next morning to take advantage of the outgoing tide and made about thirty nautical miles before entering the Sapelo River and traversing a beautiful Front River before dropping anchor in New Tea Kettle Creek. It was just birds, dolphins and us.

Today we are taking another jump outside in an effort to get away from the approaching cold front on Monday that promises temperatures in the twenties as far South as Northern Florida.  There is no wind today but we are making good time under power and the North Atlantic was like glass this morning and is only now showing some ripples as we approach the opening to Brunswick, GA and  our anchorage for the evening. Tomorrow we will make the final  thirty nautical mile leg to Fernandina FL. We will be taking a slip Sunday at noon and staying through Tuesday morning so that we can utilize our heater during the cold snap. We stand in solidarity with our comrades in the North Country.