Marina Recommendation on Georgia ICW

[Pete]

Going south on ICW we stop at Isle of Hope Marina (mile 590). From here to the mile 676, Golden Isle Marina is too long a leg for us old slow cruisers, in one day. Any suggestions on a good stop, ideally about half way in between, around miles 430 to 440. The Admiral is a marina person, not an anchor person, so only marina suggestions will help. Thanks

Pete

 

[GJH]

Pete, you are going through a wilderness area on that stretch, so dockage is going to be pretty rustic. Choices are essentially Sunbury Crab Company (really a restaurant, but friendly and good food), Kilkenny Creek and Half Moon (hear those banjos?).

We took the big boat to Kilkenny once for a little "safety" fuel (I should have taken the time to fuel up in Brunswick, didn't want to detour and was headed for McClellanville SC for that). Mostly caters to smaller fishing boats, has a small store. Took the Whaler to other two, Half Moon is even more rustic than Kilkenny.

It is a shame you don't anchor because there area some of the most beautiful anchorages on the east coast along there: Walburg Creek, Wahoo River, Duplin River, Brickhill River and many many more. You might at least stop and drop a lunch hook and enjoy some of these spots only accessible by boat.

Here is a link to a handy guide:

http://cruisersnet.net/category/georgia/marinas-georgia/

We have stopped in Brunswick three times, each at the Brunswick Landing Marina, which is downtown. Picturesque southern town with good restaurants. The marina has some of the nicest shore-side facilities we've seen. Fuel up at Ocean Petroleum in the ship channel just before the marina; excellent prices, fresh fuel (it is a commercial dock a la Florida Petroleum in Fernandina), and very friendly, but dock is rough.

I also advise a short hop after Brunswick/Golden Isles to St. Marys, another lovely town. Either take your own boat over to Cumberland Island to explore (required anchoring-dinghy) or grab a park service ferry. Then another short hop to Fernandina. This area is worth lingering in and exploring before diving into urban Florida.

I'd be happy to walk you through the charts sometime; we are here in New Bern for the summer and perhaps the rest of the year.

 

[Dan Mapes]

We made that long run on the way down last Fall and it was a chore. On the way up we did Amelia to Jekyll, then we stopped at the Two Way Fish camp, and then we ran up to Isle of Hope.
Two Way is rustic to say the least but the diesel was priced well and we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant. Their crab soup was very good. When the waitress dorked up our order they bought the whole meal for us and that included a bottle of wine.
But don't expect too much to quickly at the marina. Would we stop there again? Good question. Certainly for fuel even tho the fuel dock is a challenge and the price was reasonable all things considered. Larger boats should consider slack tide approaches. We did it with the current running full tilt boogey. The boat was on a 30 degree angle in the fairway enterring and leaving.
George is spot on with the anchorages. We stopped in Duplin river for lunch to wait for some tide. There was small boat traffic there as I recall. Perhaps two boats could make it into the "primo" spot there. Otherwise you will be out in the channel.
We've upgraded the anchor this year and hope to take advantage of it.

 

[GJH]

Hi Dan, good to see you on here!

I left off Two Way since it is pretty close to Brunswick/St. Simons. It looked like a nice place; we anchored off down stream from there on the S. Altamaha, near New Hope Creek, to time the tide at Little Mud River (very important, pending dredging which may or may not be done). Also went by via car as it is right on Hwy 17.

This is such a nice area to go slow and explore (even dock hopping those funky places like Half Moon if you must); too many folks don't take the time to enjoy it and slavishly follow the magenta line. Us, we own and cruise a boat to enjoy places that can only be reached by boat. Otherwise, I'd just drive the car and have saved blowing a chunk of my net worth!

 

[Dan Mapes]

Thank you George,
Good to hear from you again. Hope all is well..

You've mentioned an important aspect of that segment although to get there from the North the lessson has most likely been learned already. Tide! Having that on your side throught these areas is important. So picking out a spot or two along the way to drop the anchor if required or anticipated, is a good idea!

PS on the way north to Charleston we went through Hell Gate at dead low while they were dredging. There wasn't any more room than what we had at 3.5!

 

[Pete]

Thanks George and Dan. As for the anchor option, we have been doing this a long time and my informal peace accord with the Admiral is we use the boat a good bit and the Admiral is happy, but we stop at marinas. I get extra points if I find a marina with a pool as the Admiral is a competitive swimmer and likes to swim daily, but not with other non human animals in floatation water.

Back to the marina questions: I believe I will give Sunbury Crab Co. a try at mile 620, then on to Golden Isle at mile 676, with the next stop at Beach Marine at mile 748. That last leg is 72 miles, which is far longer than I would like. Any suggestion on how to split that leg in two. Also, any feedback on Beach Marine. Once I get to Jacksonville I have my bearings and plenty of options. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Pete

 

[Dan Mapes]

IF you can get into the town dock at Fenandina, it might be ok for you. Otherwise, we used Amelia Island Yacht Basin which has a very shallow entrance at low tide. I think they have a shuttle to Fernandina Beach which is fun to walk around in.
We were never able to reach Fernandina on the phone.

And as mentioned earlier Jekyll Island was an ok stop. Check out the tour train ride around the
historical town.

Nice to know we share priorities! About the only difference is we wish we had the LRC!

 

[GJH]

Sunbury does make sense. Nice people and good food, they have managed to make it something of a destination in the middle of nowhere, interesting historic site too.

Yes, a stop in Fernandina is worthwhile. We got the Muncipal fine on the radio when I needed to make an emergency stop once. Normally we anchor out on Bells River and use the excellent dinghy dock at the Muni. .

I am not familiar with Beach Marine, can't even recall where it is.

The swimming pool explains Golden Isle; while there try to get into town, which is a nice alternative to hoity toity St. Simons, and if budget allows, have dinner at Cargo Portside Grill (you may need a reservation depending on time of year): great gourmet food with some asian overtones. There are other good eateries, but we always go out of our way to eat there, it is that good.

We have never stopped in Jacksonville by boat, though I'd sure like to do the St. John's River some day.

Dan, what is the place you stayed at in St. A? Comanchee (sic?) Cove? Did it have a pool? As long as they are still working on the bridge, I definitely advise avoiding St. Augustine Municipal, as well located as it is.

 

[Dan Mapes]

George

Yes, we stopped at Camachee. There is a pool at the restaurant that marina guests can use. Not much of a pool but it is available. We found that area to be a good maintenance stop.
I believe we used Marsupco for oil and filters, I can check back on that if required. Camachee had a recycle oil drop convenient to most docks.

In fact our buddy Pascal was heading north and passed by while we were docked there! All in all we enjoyed our time in St. A.. The A1A Bar/Grill at the foot of the bridge is a good dine. Don't forget the Lightner Museum if you stop there.

Note, we were able to squeek under the east side of the old bridge in spite of the construction. We contacted the bridge operator and he assured us they had no problem with us passing there. We pull 17.5 feet and we were a bit nervous about the passing due to the arch in the span. If you are off center and you need the clearance it could get ugly.
But then having done a 1/2 open draw bridge (only one side opened the other remained closed) on the Jersey ICW, well, you get used to it.