6/13/21 - Thunderbolt Marina/Savannah to Skull Creek Marina/Hilton Head Island

We slept well after the long, hot day of travel yesterday and the excitement of FINALLY being back on the water.  We awoke early but did not get to enjoy a sunrise because the clouds were pretty thick.  The weather forecast again today called for a good chance of rain, particularly in the afternoon, so our plan was to cruise a fairly short distance (30 miles) up to Hilton Head Island early in the day to hopefully beat the rain.  

We prepped a few things on the boat and pulled up to the fuel dock to top off the tanks.   At the fuel dock the dockmaster greeted us with a complimentary box of six Krispy Kreme donuts that we would enjoy a few of upon our departure.  The clouds stayed pretty heavy which was actually kind of nice because  early in the morning with the sun on the horizon reflecting off of the water it often makes it tough on the eyes.   Not this morning....it was cool and comfortable and the water was very flat.  

"Can I have one of those Kripy Kremes momma?"

One small group of many shrimp boats we have seen along our travels
Erik is considering buying one and having a career change
"That's My Boat"

We had an uneventful 2.5 hour or so cruise with a couple of brief rain showers that had us retreating down to the lower, enclosed helm temporarily.   As we motored along we continue to see many dolphins surfacing but we have still yet to have them play in our wake like we have seen many times in other cruisers pictures and videos.....Renee really needs to work on her dolphin calling technique!  As we got close to our destination for the day, Skull Creek Marina, we came upon what appeared to be a large group of 30 or so small sailboats that we figured were having a sailing lesson.  As we got closer, preparing to turn into the inlet toward our destination, someone hailed us on the radio instructing that "there is plenty of water to the West of the race course for us to enter the creek".   Ah....it was a youth sailing race; a very confusing one to maneuver around at that.   After slowing up, making several turns and then finally just speeding up and powering through we eventually steered clear of the racing action.   

Many dolphin sightings but those darned things are so hard to get on video! If you look close a few seconds in you can see a couple surface briefly

a large group of small sailboats having a race as we approached our inlet to Hilton Head

Avoiding the sailboat race obstacle course

After our usual settling in, brief exploration of the marina facilities and bringing Riva up to potty Renee spent some time studying for her midterm exam scheduled for tomorrow morning.   Erik spent a couple of hours washing down the salt grime on the outside of the boat and bikes.  It has become apparent that we should have oiled the chains/gear mechanisms on our 'new to us' bicycles sooner because both of the bike chains are already covered in a layer of rust and were not working properly...ugh.   A good dose of chain oil worked into them solved that issue....for now.  Later in the afternoon we both spent a bit of time cleaning the inside of the boat as well as starting to go through and pack a few things in preparation for the transfer of the boat soon.   Each of us has now gotten a bit sentimental knowing that the Aquaholic chapter of our journey will likely soon be ending.

Bicycle chains do not fare well getting salt water sprayed up on them :-(

Chains and gears all freed up and oiled....ready to explore Hilton Head Island

All cleaned up from the salty grime the ocean spray leaves 

Aquaholic's resting place for a couple of days

We grilled out an early dinner of brats and rice followed by a nice walk through a mostly residential neighborhood just outside of the marina grounds.   The area surrounding the marina is odd.   There are many beautiful homes and a couple of condo buildings but there was virtually NO activity or sign of anyone around.  The best we can figure these are mostly winter homes for snowbirds and being June most people are gone.   Either that, or there has been a zombie apocalypse in the area that we were not made aware of.   We went with theory 'A' and continued our walk without fear!   

We ended the day with our usual coffee accompanied by a few phone calls to family and Renee studying some more for her exam until her eyes got to heavy to take in any more math causing her to drift off to sleep in the recliner.   This was our cue to retire to bed.   

Riva has found her spot on the back of the recliner again

We love the wide variety of birds that we see on the water and on the docks

Riva...AKA "The Bird Stalker"