Animals Galore

Wednesday April 8, 2015
St. George Island, FL
ICW

Animals Galore

We started early, before 7 from Mantanza River Inlet. We saw all kinds of sea birds. Egrets with a group of babies teaching them to hunt in the shallows, ducks, seagulls, and herons, my favorites. We  saw dolphin galore. Some appeared to have young ones with them. A sting ray practically jumped in the boat.  It came straight up out of the water so high it was at the level of our lower life line and inches away from the life line.  Can not imagine what caused it to do that.

We made great time most of the day. Bridges opened just as we got to them. We went 10 miles farther than we planned because we made such good time.  We anchored at Ft George Island where an old fort and plantation are open to visitors.  We were just to tired to get the dinghy down to dingy to shore to see the sites. It is a pretty anchorage and quiet. Not too awfully buggy for FL.

Tomorrows goal is St Simons Sound in GA.  If weather is right Fri and Sat we may go from there off shore and do a overnighter to get home by late Saturday or early Sunday. Will see what the weather guru thinks tomorrow and Fri morning.

.We were slowly winding our way up the waterway and the charting software says we are in 15-16 ft of water I feel a bump.  I looked at the depth gauge and it said, 4' 8"  Our draft is 4' so we should have had 8inches under us.  Luckily in half a boat length I was in 12 ' of water, but we thought our depth sounder was showing us shallower than we were, not deeper.  It had happened once before on this trip that we bumped at what our gauge said was 5'1". Now I do not trust the gauge. A foot error seems a lot.

Wish us a good weather report getting anxious to get home.