May 13, 2014

Another beautiful morning greets us. We’re not complaining, but it has been quite some time since we have had threatening weather.  We know the luck will end soon.

Today’s destination is somewhere close to Georgia’s third trouble spot, Hell Gate. Again, boat speed, tidal currents and timing means we will have to anchor south of the spot and wait to pass through at high tide tomorrow.  There are a couple of creeks near Hell Gate and we chose Redbird Creek.

The trip to Redbird was typical of the Georgia ICWW. We arrived at dead low tide and anchored in 8 feet of water. At the next high tide we had 17 feet of water under the boat. I increased the anchor scope, monitored our position for a while and then retired for the evening.

Shortly after midnight, the anchor alarm went off. A quick check of the chart plotter confirmed we were moving ever so slowly. I increased scope again, and then a second time before the anchor held. The water was screaming by the boat at an incredible rate. I kept checking our position on the hour and the anchor held fine even when the tide shifted from low to incoming high. It was a long night with little sleep.

Started: 0745

Stopped: 1620
Distance traveled: 45 miles
Location: Redbird Creek, Ga. MM 607