Hilton Head, SC to Savannah, GA

Hilton Head SC Mile 554.8 to Savannah, GA mile 589.8
Today is Wednesday. We spent Sunday night through Tuesday in Hilton Head, SC. With only a couple of days on the island, we didn't do too much sightseeing, only of the the parking lots at Walmart and the Publix grocery store! Hilton Head has some interesting development ideas. Instead of butchering every green and living tree in sight for their bigbox stores, they say no trees can be removed without prior approval--and they don't get much approval. So the parking lot experience is actually quite lovely as you can't see across the lot. We stocked up on provisions and took the taxi back to the marina.
Our marina was located in the gated community of Hilton Head Plantation. Not to be confused with a historical sight, but a bunch of oversized beige homes. The locked and guarded gate had a pseudo sheriff looking guy complete with holster and gun! There was not much else around the marina. We did take the dinghy to dinner one late night. Stars were lovely as you hardly see them at home.
We were planning to leave on Tuesday but received some disturbing phone calls from various credit card and shipping companies mid-morning and the day prior. It appears that my husband has been the victim of identity theft! Yikes and bummer all the same! He was working the phone lines trying to get information. Feels kind of creepy and I don't want to post too much of the details on line...
So, today, Wednesday we were on the water by 7:30 a.m. We were going through on ebb (heading toward low tide) tide to Field's Cut. Heading through what had been suggested as shallow proved not to be a problem at all after seeking advice from Tow Boats U.S. Our friend calls the noted and printed shallow spots as "fear mongering". We've hardly seen a spot that's claimed to be dangerously shallow, as such, but have had to watch certain areas carefully. As mentioned before, we have bottomed out and the ICW is not easy to get through everywhere, and in fact, can be hairy in spots. At one spot today, the tide gauge dropped considerably, but that was due to two dolphins that swam below the boat. We could hear them nudge the keel. The popped up some feet behind a bit later, unscathed. We arrived at today's marina in Isle of Hope at about 1:30 p.m. since it was pretty far to the next stop and we needed to time the tide again for another "perilous" spot on the chart, Hell's Gate. I took the girls to a nearby playground while Mattias napped. He was up at 3 this morning, feeling some angst about going home.
I would personally like to step up my experience some more. We both would like to go "outside" on the Atlantic to have another experience. I have not been doing the best job as deckhand, jumping off, tying up the boat. I have been using too much the assistance of the nice dock guys since in my estimation, that's what we pay $1.00 or more a foot for! Most boat folks, including my husband, would beg to differ that. The crew should always be responsible, when they can, for their own boat and I understand his point. I support where I can and do a good job in the galley. I am titled the Kitchen Witch, as I am the primary person responsible for the creative snack and meal prep. I figure if Mattias is at the helm all day, wind, rain, sun, daydreaming about the past, present or future, then I can be a slave to the workings below deck. Mattias kind of gets nervous when he opens the brimming food lockers to see the contents spilling out and rarely digs in the cooler to find that ice cold beer! Too much work to pull everything out. I however, know right where everything is located... I can never be too prepared and like to have plenty on hand! I have secretly enjoyed it though (except for clean up). Our former owner, JoDell, says she used to use paperplates. Now after some months at the sink, I know why! I'm slacking off JoDell!
It is well past 11p.m. and well past my bedtime. I drank the last of Thermos coffee and am feeling especially awake now. We are anxious to continue Southward and will take a long day as possible tomorrow and up early.
More later,
Carrie