Thursday, 11 April – Darien to Thunderbolt – 78 mi.
Cloudy, foggy, 69 degrees. Got an early start, since we were
planning a longer run today. We found this section of the ICW to be less
interesting. We meandered from one river to the next between flat, grassy,
uninhabited islands. We wondered how
people did this without chart plotters guiding the way. Things got a little more exciting soon. I
noticed a little water on the port side of the engine room. I suspected the
propeller shaft seal might be leaking, but I could not see any water dripping
from it. Later in the day, the middle bilge pump came on (there is an indicator
light at the helm when a bilge pump comes on). With Charli at the helm, I went
down into the engine room. Now there was a lot more water in the bilge. I still
could not see where the water was coming from, but I still suspected the shaft
seal. I started making phone calls, first to the Landings where we were
planning to stay. Got the name of a
mechanic who works on boats there. He could not service our boat at his
facility, but recommended Thunderbolt Marine about 40 miles up the ICW from
where we were. That was about 15 miles further than we planned to go, and we
were getting a little low on fuel. We called Thunderbolt, told them we were
taking on water, but the bilge pump was intermittently running, meaning that it
was handling the water flow. Since they said they were a full service facility
and could help us, we cancelled all other arrangements and headed to
Thunderbolt. We got there just before
closing (and with 8% fuel remaining) and were greeted by Ernie, the service
manager. He examined the shaft seal, saw no evidence that it was the culprit, but said he would send someone over first thing in the morning to find the
problem. Ernie gave us a tour of the facility in his golf cart.
Huge boats were
being repaired, painted, modified, and cleaned. They have very large buildings
with temperature and humidity controls for painting and repairing boats. One
was getting a new helicopter deck. A huge sailboat had a telescoping mast, 
12 April – 17 April – Thunderbolt Marine
Friday - Ed hopped on board early in the morning. We took a
short cruise up river, slowly past the marinas for about a mile, then at higher
speed after the docks. Ed crawled into every space on both sides of the boat
looking for leaks. Finally, he said
“Turn around, let’s go back.” Rather
than the shaft seal, he found that the port exhaust hose had a hole near the
engine, and it was squirting water up to the deck and over the engine, which is
why we found water in the strangest places.
Since the exhaust is at or below water line, we had to haul the boat out
of the water for the repairs. I gave Ernie a list of issues to work on while
the boat was high and dry. Ernie ordered parts, Murphy fixed the bow thruster
switch, and Charli and I biked to the local library to get high speed internet
access, so we could pay bills and upload photos.
Saturday – The staff does not work on weekends, so we had a
couple of days to ourselves. We were
able to stay in the boat while hauled out. They set us up with water,
electricity, and a staircase to access the stern platform, and we still had a
water view. We cleaned the boat, did
laundry, biked to a river marine store nearby for boat parts, then to the
Piggly Wiggly for the makings of a delicious salmon dinner.Sunday – We prepared for the repair crew coming Monday. I vacuumed about 7 gallons of water out of the bilge that we took on during Friday’s test cruise. We moved things and emptied the areas where they needed access. Charli’s sister Jeannie and her husband Alan drove from Atlanta to visit us. Being retired military, Alan booked a room the Hunter Army Airfield for a few days. They picked us up for dinner at Tubby’s Tank House. Turns out that Tubby’s is rated in the top ten seafood restaurants in Savannah, and it’s all of a half mile from our boat!
Monday – Jason came to remove the old exhaust pipe and raw
water valves.Jeannie and Alan picked us up for breakfast. We went to the Hinckley Marina nearby to buy some river charts and an extension cord from Phil, doing the loop on Loopy Kiwi. Phil is from New Zealand, bought his boat and started the loop in the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, his wife had a heart attack and was no longer able to complete the loop, so they were returning to New Zealand. We picked up some inner tubes at a bike shop – I found a flat tire on my bike this morning. We picked up a flag pole at West Marine to display our AGLCA burghee. The highlight of the day was a trip to Savannah’s River Street. We had a drink at Wet Willies,
oysters at Bernie’s oyster house, car bombs, baby Guinness, and
Irish whiskey at Kevin Barry’s Pub, then dinner at the Cotton Exchange, 
all
while watching the boat traffic on the Savannah river.Tuesday – While the guys were installing our exhaust system, we learned that we were dry docked just across Alan Jackson’s old boat – the Neon Rainbow.
Jeannie and Alan picked us up for lunch at
Zunzi’s, a tiny Italian restaurant that served one of America’s best sandwiches
(as seen on TV) – the chicken conquistador. Then we went to Tybee Island for
some beach time, strolling through the shops, and maybe a bar or two.
Wednesday – Repairs were completed by noon. They hoisted us up,
pressure washed the bottom, and launched us for a sea trial. Jason, our
mechanic, and Jeannie and Alan joined us for the ride. All was well. We fueled
up, pumped out, and docked for the night behind Christie Lee and Blue Moon (198
ft!), some of the bigger boats in the marina. We will head for Hilton Head in
the morning. By the way, Basil’s Pizza is really good.Blue sky, 81 degrees, slight breeze. Charli took the helm while Al checked for leaks or other issues. All was well. There was an old sailing vessel that looked like a pirate ship. It was flying both US and German flags. And there was a guy on the top mast - guess he was not afraid of heights.
We docked at the Hilton Head Harbor Marina. They also had an RV resort, a time share (thought that was just for condos). Jeannie andAlan picked us up and took us to Harbour Town where the RBC Heritage golf tournament was underway. Lots of folks were partying in the harbor, on huge boats, in the restaurants and bars, and strolling through the shops. They had a pretty good band playing on stage. We had wine and appetizers at the Topside Grill - a great restaurant with a good view of the harbor and the 18th hole's grandstand. We got back to the boat in time to watch the sunset from the upper bridge. Jeannie and Alan went back to Thunderbolt on their way home. We were so glad to see them and have them join us for our unexpected Georgian adventure.
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