Isle of Hope, GA

Monday, 24 November                                                7.1 SM

A weathered timber skid is all that’s left of the old marine railway.

Now there’s a name with promise: Isle of Hope. For Steadfast and crew, the hope is to avoid showers and high winds but still move a bit farther south. Not much, granted, but at least move in the right direction.

It’s late morning when the skies clear enough to encourage moving off the pier at Thunderbolt where the current carries Steadfast quickly down the Wilmington River. Quickly, that is, until she turns to go up stream on the Skidaway. But the day’s trip being so brief, it’s not a big deal. A highlight comes when passing Captain Jimmy, a tug and barge crawling up river. This is believed to be the first time on the waterway that Steadfast has overtaken another vessel.

Spanish moss drapes the boughs all over town,

The move works out well because Isle of Hope proves to be the kind of quiet little town that quickly becomes a crew favorite. Just back from the marina, live oaks dripping with Spanish moss line the streets and hug handsome waterfront homes that evoke visions of the Old South.

Egrets stalk the mud flats for lunch at low-tide.

And Southern hospitality abounds at IOH Marina. It offers morning coffee, a Wall Street Journal and a choice of not one but two courtesy cars for a drive, for instance, to tour Savannah.

Assuming there’s no more rain for a while.

Steadfast out.