April 5, 2023 Altamaha River to Vernon River

Thursday, April 6, 2023

April 5, 2023 Altamaha River to Vernon River

Wed. April 5, 2023 Altamaha River to Vernon River

Woke up here at Fridaycap Creek in the middle of a pea soup thick fog bank. Literally could not see the water looking over the side. Thankfully we had not planned to leave until after 9. Amazingly it completely dissipated within 15 minutes around 8:30. No-see-ums were out again in full force.

No see um attire. May not be pretty, but at least it's effective

Our chemical arsenal against the No-See-Ums. Little impact.

Longer travel day today. Needed to hit tides at the right times in specific places. There's about a 6' tidal swing here so the extra water can make quite a difference. That tidal current is also what constantly forms these shoal areas. We caught Little Mud River on the falling tide with an extra 4 feet. Not much of a concern. Then spent most of the day on the back side of barrier islands and crossing sounds before coming to Hell Gate. We were around 2 hours into the incoming tide with about an extra 1-1/2' of water. South end of Hell Gate has shoaled in worse than when we came through 2 months ago. Inched our way across one spot where our depth finder went ballistic buzzing with less than 2' under the keel.

Birds, channel markers and marshes. Typical GA AICW

Finally arrived at Vernon River around 4:15. We've anchored here several times before but normally around the bend where there's a bit more protection. Made sense on past trips when we anchored for several days due to bad weather. Just a SSE breeze and a one night stay so we decided to drop anchor in the main channel and swing with the tide. Yet again, we have the anchorage all to ourselves.