Sailing to Savannah

An early afternoon departure from Charleston put us at the channel entrance to the Savannah River just at dawn. A beautiful sunrise capped a peaceful sail under power along the coast . As we entered the channel, the VHF, quiet for most of the night, broke its silence hailing the sailboat entering the Savannah River near buoy number 4. "Buoy 4! That's us!", I exclaimed to Pat. A harbor pilot was contacting us to suggest that we move out of the channel as he was bringing in an LNG tanker and was coming up on our stern. We had marked all the vessels near us on the radar and what had been a stationary blip had became an ominous moving blob. I responded that we were here first and they could just wait their turn. Not really. I actually responded with a very nautical, "Roger that, we will move to our starboard, staying outside the channel until after you pass." The water to either side of the channel here is deep and presented no difficulty. The tanker soon appeared out of the gloom and passed us accompanied by two pilot boats.

We proceeded up the Savannah River, took the Elba Island Cut to the ICW and tied up at the Thunderbolt Marina. Thunderbolt is a suburb to Savannah and home to Savannah University. Having gone without much sleep the night before we vegged out after eating a mostly carnivorous lunch at a local restaurant and planned our visit. The next morning,to our surprise and delight, the marina delivered fresh donuts and a newspaper!

Savannah rests on a hill 40 feet above sea level about 7 miles from the coast; the highest point in the region (guess that's why it's called the "Low Country"). Settled in 1732, it is unique in that it is the only colonial city built to a plan (many were planned but few built to the plan). Laid out in a grid pattern , Savannah's founder, James Edward Oglethorpe, reserved space for parks, churches and municipal buildings in each of the 24 squares. He had definite ideas about setting up a colony and some interesting rules, such as, no importation of slaves or lawyers! Both of these rules were rescinded, much to the regret of later generations.

Similar to Charleston in style, large homes and townhouses feature floor to ceiling windows, balconies and gardens; all dressed with beautifully wrought iron. Live oak, Spanish moss and magnolia trees line wide busy streets. You get a definite sense of order as you walk the streets with each neighborhood centered on a landscaped park surrounded by 18th or 19th century homes and anchored by a church and a public building.

In addition to being a tourist destination, Savannah is a busy port (4th largest container port on the east coast). We took a trolley tour of the city (to get out of the cold), walked along the river and visited the Maritime Museum featuring scale models of historic ships (most of which were notable for having sunk within a few years after launching) from the colonial era to today; all housed in a beautiful Victorian mansion.

We had a great but brief visit. Somewhere there is warmth and we are determined to find it. Next stop St. Augustine!