Tortuga Tour Day 2: Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge
What a gorgeous morning after a freshwater rinse in the wee hours of the morning. You open some windows before you settle in for the night–and at 3am in the morning when you hear that wonderful rain sound on the roof, you better check those open windows.
Today’s voyage to the Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge was shorter than yesterday. This allowed us to sleep in, and with that freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand, the Admiral was happy! The Captain also enjoyed the more leisurely morning while he checked on things in the engine room.
After a breakfast of leftover pancakes (a Wednesday tradition even on a boat), we were ready to pull anchor. This job is easiest when the two of us work together. The Captain controls both the windlass, which brings in the anchor, and rinsing the mud and salt off the anchor. Following his hand signals, I control the rudder direction with the wheel, as well forward and reverse. I also must keep a watch on the depth and then steer us on course while he finishes securing the anchor. Sounds like a lot, but I have been known to make a mess controlling the anchor windlass! Pulling anchor was successful once more and I didn’t run us aground or head in the wrong direction. (It’s a woman thing.)
What a difference today from yesterday! There was wind and some chop and small waves going through the three sounds – St. Catherine, Sapelo and Doboy, but not unpleasant at all.
Highlights today included what I consider a medium size cruise ship named Independence which passed us while we were in St. Catherine’s Sound, a house built on a very narrow spit of land with almost nothing else around, and the pelicans. When they are flying low over the water, they are aeronautic grace. When they are dropping fast out of flight in pursuit of that perfect unsuspecting fish, they make a splash like we made as kids doing cannonballs off the side of the pool.
We anchored just before 4:00 pm in the South River by the preserve. I had anticipated anchoring near a wooded island, but instead, we’re anchored on a river through a sea of marsh grass. It’s what we can’t see that is so special. It is the birthplace of so much that lives in the ocean. There were however plenty of pelicans to watch, and again a peace you can only find in nature.
Captain’s Comments:
After a year and a half of shake-down, you hope nothing else shakes down/loose. Of course, that’s crazy talk. The odometer started resetting to a value from last week each time I start up the system!
We always hope to keep learning, as painlessly as possible, too. Like when I left my computer on the table under the open hatch through which the rain came in last night. Computer still works, and the floor is a little cleaner.
The anchorage tonight is windy/wavey, so not particularly quiet; but last night in Buckhead Creek was so calm and quiet that you could hear the moon as it passed by overhead.
If you’d like to see a map of our trip as we go, please go to https://share.garmin.com/BettyLou and use the password “PortRoyal”. Adjust the filter if needed to see the portions of interest.
