Little Teakettle Creek

We left Brunswick Landing for an anchorage at Little Teakettle Creek. We were up at 6:30 going over our charts as we sipped our first cup of coffee. Dave logs all the problem spots in bright yellow each day. It was hot but cloudy with a 30% chance of rain. As we are preparing Mystic for the day's journey, we met the couple on the power cat docked next to us. They told us that their boat was originally a sailboat until hurricane Matthew took it away. They had a darling Australian Shepherd named Bentley, a rambunctious, but very friendly 9 month old pup on board. He barked at us each time he saw us.

Bentley

As we left the dock and headed under the bridge into St Simons sound, we saw a sailboat moving ahead of us, coming up from the south. Later, we learn it was Delphinia from Hawaii. We saw them at Cumberland Island. They left Cumberland a day earlier than us and we leap frogged past them on our way to Brunswick. Now it's their turn to leap frog past us.

We moved along the ICW, always keeping our eye on the charts, but also enjoying the scenery around us. We both saw the outline of what looked to be a really big cow. It seemed out of place on a little island in the middle of nowhere. There may have been a road leading to this island, but we couldn't see it. I had to get the binoculars out to be sure it was a cow!

Lone cow on a island hill

Pelican Rally

Remote Cabin along the ICW

St. Simon's Island Lighthouse

The charts are bright yellow with warning spots; Buttermilk Sound; Altamaha Sound; Little Mud River are all shallow. At DoBoy Sound, we had to make our way around red markers 178A and 178 to avoid a shoal. It was imperative that we stay in the middle of the channel at all times. There is no way we could pass this section of the ICW at any time other than half rising tide or higher. Relieved, we made it through without running aground. Our careful planning and maneuvering is rewarding and exhausting!

Buttermilk Sound Warning
Note: GO OUTSIDE THE CHANNEL

All of the (!) are WARNINGS

Little Mud River Shoaling

DoBoy Sound Red 178 & 178A

White area is the channel, notice tells us
the chart is incorrect, we follow the red dotted line,
outside the channel

When we finally arrived at Little Teakettle Creek we are ready for a break. It's beautiful and quiet. We were delighted to find Delphinea sitting comfortably in the middle of the cove. We'd been following them all day, never getting close enough to see that it was them. We slipped past them and found a spot to drop anchor. The horrible horseflies we've battled all day have finally diminished. I counted as we swatted; over 300 flies lost the battle today! Luckily they are not too bad at anchor. This allowed us to eat dinner in the cockpit which is cooler than the cabin.

Delphinea anchored behind Mystic at Little Teakettle Creek

Little Teakettle Creek Sunset

We enjoyed our evening on the hook. In the morning, we watched as the crew of Delphinea dinghied ashore. We realized that they have a dog on board. On their way back they stopped by to say hello. They remembered us from Cumberland Island. Debbie and Steve Graves are on their way to Kilkenny Creek Marina. They have been there before and described it as quaint. We had planned to anchor again tonight but we love quaint, so we decided to follow them.

We've come a long way through shallow Georgia waters. It hasn't been easy but we've visited some beautiful places. They seem to make the scary spots matter a little less; (until the next time we have to face them). I struggle with anxiety over the "shallows" but Dave is diligent about planning our course for the right tide. He marks our charts with warnings each day and talks me through the challenges we'll face before we even begin our travel. He also uses a phone app called MX Mariner that shows us the water depths and where Mystic is moving in the channel. We're doing ok! It can get lonely out here, though. We are so glad to have each other, and, it appears, a new buddy boat!

Good Morning Little Teakettle Creek

Delphinea leading the way out of Little Teakettle Creek

Sweet Miss Libby form Delphinea