22 April 2015

Slow cruise out of Thunderbolt (the town outside Savanna that we stayed at) around 8:15 in the morning. I was trying to find the status of the shaft delivery and it’s easier to call when we are not moving and I’m trying to drive. The shaft was delivered at 1:30 yesterday, so I know it’s somewhere on Hilton Head, just need to narrow it to a 200 ft circle.

Lots of boats on the water. About 9:20 we said goodbye to Georgia and Hello South Carolina. We noticed right away that the markers are ½ size from the ones we are used to so far. Don’t know why, but they are a pain to figure out since they are so low to the water.

On the way up the river we heard friends on “Sea Horse” on the radio. I called them and we chatted for awhile. We had met them up on the river system and again in West Florida. They are poking their way along north, we’ll see if we can meet up for docktails.

A minor problem getting into the marina. I had picked a place in what looked to be a downtown area of Hilton Head but copied the phone number of Windmill Marina. It was a little confusing when I asked for directions but once I figured out what I had done we were good.

The entrance to the marina is controlled by a lock. So the water in the marina basin stays at a fixed height (about the mid tide height). Pretty cool, so we added another lock to our count.

The marina is in the center of a gated community of mega-homes. The surprising thing was the transient rate was one of the best we’ve had on the trip. On the property is the South Carolina Yacht Club. We had lunch there and it was pretty good. We were a little under dressed, but they put us in the really nice bar area and it was good.

There is a neat fan system. Mounted on the ceiling were a series of palm fans. They were driven by a crank system to move them back and forth. The eight fans were driven by a single motor that did both sides of the corner bar. The waitress said the system was from the early 1900′s.

We got picked up by Susan’s sister to go track down my shaft. On the way she gave us a tour of Hilton Head. It’s a very nice place but everything is spread out. They have a collection of strip malls, but they are all hidden from the road by large shrubs and trees. So it keeps up the Island Retreat Facade pretty well.

With the shaft in the car (love those cutouts in the back seat!) we got back to the marina in time for an afternoon nap.

For dinner we with with Susan’s sister and her friend to a nearby Mexican place. It was authentic food, and very good. We hadn’t had good Mexican food for awhile so it was a real treat. For dessert we had fresh strawberry in a Mexican creama. The sweet cream was a nice companion to the berries.