Passing SC to GA, passing Cumberland Island

Shawnee is sailing a lot and has moved past Charleston, SC, past Savannah, GA and closer to one of my favorite spots, Cumberland Island National Sea Shore www.nps.gov/cuis.  (see pics on their website.) It's a little, beautiful, protected island where John F. Kennedy and Jackie spent their honeymoon.  We biked there a few years back and brought Mazu too.  Live Oaks enshrouded with Spanish Moss spread over dirt roads - no cars - where wild horses roam about, and we walked the wild beaches.  Only accessible by boat it's a great place to explore.  The Park Service has a ferry from St. Mary's, GA, right on the GA/FL border. There's one place to stay on the island. We stayed in St. Mary's at a little BnB.  Photos are probably in our archives.




Out at sea, life vests or PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) are required for safety.   They fill up with air when you hit the water (though I've never tested one.) Or you can pull the cord.  They are lighter and easier to wear than the big orange PFDs.  A cord from the vest clamps on a Jack line, lines that are tied from the bow to the stern, port and starboard sides, on the cabin top of the boat.  If anyone goes outside of the cockpit they are required, and some people wear them during the whole voyage.  We also have a bright yellow lifesaver and an attached line system that is thrown if there is a Man Overboard, MOB.  I want to buy a diver's aide, like a tall colorful noodle, that would shoot up to see MOB from behind tall waves. Scuba divers use them; markers up to 7' tall, a Promate Scuba Diving Inflatable Safety Tube Sausage Signal Marker Buoy Tube.

From St. Mary's, GA it's another 265 miles down the coast of FL to Fort Pierce and Harbortown Marina dockside slip with electricity for air conditioning and cable hook-up.  It's a balmy 87 there today : - )   At 6 k per hour, that's about 45 to 50 more hours at sea.