This day saw us crossing two sounds, St. Catherine and Sapelo, and winding our way down sinuous rivers, one romantically named Blackbeard River. We had no bridges to pass under or through, and only one “official” narrows-The Creighton Narrows, which we took halfway through a rising tide. The weather forecasts agreed that we would have sunny, calm weather with minimal winds.
Despite its mild billing the day managed to afford us a few surprises. The first was pods and pods of silvery gray dolphins that populated the waters of St. Catherine Sound. They passed in front, behind, and beside us. A huge dolphin surfaced just at our port quarter, spouting loudly, then rocketed at twice the speed of C Ghost to pass our bow. We were lucky to see a large group that included a mother and baby (featured picture for this post).
The second was the presence of dozens of monarch butterflies which appeared intent on crossing the sound with us. They would draft in our slipstream, sometimes landing briefly on our lines or canvas, then flutter on, again, putting the speed of C Ghost to shame. A quick internet check revealed that this is the time of year that some monarchs migrate to Florida. Paula thought that dolphins were difficult to photograph, until she tried to capture these gorgeous (and rugged!) insects in flight. By now the winds had risen, unexpectedly into the 12-15mph range. It was amazing to see these fragile colorful creatures handle the buffeting they were receiving and still soldier on, undeterred.
The third surprise, and hopefully the last for tonight, is the wind itself. As we reached our anchorage the wind was 15-18mph which was not forecast. Our anchorage, New Tea Kettle Creek, has some protection, and limited fetch due the fact that we anchored at a bend in the creek. We set the anchor twice, not happy with our position after the first placement. We actually dropped the anchor right where we wanted it the first time, but the wind and current were strong enough that by the time the anchor hit bottom, the boat had drifted backwards enough to take us out of the sweet spot. The second time, we compensated for that effect and this attempt was a success. We were very happy to have a good bite, as almost immediately threatening clouds appeared and the wind strengthened out of the East, a steady 18-25mph with gusts to 29mph! Tom rechecked the forecasts in disbelief and some annoyance. Still forecasting 7mph and sunny! Before long, the expected current shift took place, and now with the wind opposing the direction of the current, the water began to stand up in the anchorage with whitecaps and one foot waves.
Suspecting that tonight could be eventful, Paula quickly warmed and served dinner, shrimp and pasta with vegetables. Always better to be fed. We ate hurriedly in the cockpit, looking all around at our motion, checking the plot of our movements on the chart plotter (a very interesting swing pattern) and conferring with Drag Queen. Several large dolphins are blowing and frolicking serenely nearby, totally unaffected by conditions above the water.
