Wahoo

The Wahoo River, GA
31-36.16N 081-12.84W

We're still very frustrated. On the ICW, the winds seem very managable (and of course the waves are zero). Yet the weather radio says there is still a gale blowing along the coast with very big waves. Even when we passed Saint Catherines Sound today very close to the ocean and exposed to the winds, conditions didn't seem bad. I very much want to disbelieve the weather reports and go out there to see for myself. But, sigh, engineers are trained to be prudent, never reckless, and that's in
my nature.

Therefore, we'll stay on the inside tomorrow also. We still have 70 miles to go on the ICW to reach Florida. The ICW through Georgia meanders 250 linear miles to transport you 90 miles as the crow flies. That's a big part of the frustration.

On the other hand, the salt marshes in Georgia are wonderful. We sailed all day long using only the jib. At one point it appeared that we were in a huge lake, the size of Lake Champlain. However, a closer look shows that the huge open area is almost all covered with marsh grass, and it is only crisscrossed by narrow creeks and rivers. The illusion was heightened today because it appeared that the onshore winds have blown so much water inland that we had only high tide and higher tide. Much
of the marsh grass showed only 3-4 inches above the surface of the water, it was nearly submerged. That state persisted for the entire day. I think this is what the TV news calls low-level-coastal-flooding. Never mind, the marshes and the unpopulated barrier islands mean that there are few or no man-made structures to get flooded. In fact, this is probably the most isolated area along the whole ICW. There are not even marinas nearby. Tonight, we are anchored in a remote spot, and there are
two 50+ foot motor yachts anchored here with us. Those type of yachts almost never anchor out, they go to marinas if possible.

Our Lowrance GPS cursor button broke today. I'll have to fix that. The engine transmission also felt funny so I'll check the oil level. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't checked that oil level since the engine was new. Shame on me.