August plans for S.E. boaters

Bonzai · July 21, 2014, 01:31:18 PM

Hey guys!
I am getting ready to go for another 2-3 wk. jump by or before Aug 5th leaving from St Simons Island and heading........ well that's the mystery part, prolly south as I think I may have wifey talked into visiting Bahamas or Abaco depending on weather, of course. This will be on the 35 fter so no trailering option.
Our last trip took us from St Simons Sound to Hilton Head SC on the outside. Wifey's first outside ride and well, it got a little rough .... but we made it in about 12 hrs. to Hilton Head and then in to Beaufort. Beautiful places in there. To save my skin I had to agree to return to St Simons via ICW... but wasn't so bad. Kept wife happy plus I got a better attitude about the ICW. I discovered that it's not as bad as I thought. Still prefer outside jumps tho. Took us 3 days to get back motoring all the way 12-14 hrs. a day. I have never seen so many horse flies but they weren't a huge hurt. We anchored in some very nice spots and had no problems at all.
Considering we have an open agenda I was wondering what others are doing in that general (S.E.) area thru the coming month? Looking for ideas of things to do, places to not miss going south from Brunswick GA. I have been reading the mags and active Cpt/ cruisernet reviews but looking for local info to consider. I am hoping to do near-shore outside jumps to good stops after 50-75 mile days. Prefer mooring when staying overnight but have good ground tackle for when more time is needed.
Thanks for any input!

CharlieJ · July 21, 2014, 02:36:06 PM

A HUGE grin on the horse fly comment. I found that TWO flyswatters was the ticket- one in the cockpit, and one below. During one of my 2 hours off watches (motoring in the ditch) I counted 60 flies I killed :o :o. The helmsperson did about the same. This was SC and Georgia I believe.

Bonzai · July 21, 2014, 03:51:41 PM

Hiya Charlie. We did not have flyswatters on board and it's prolly a good thing, cause we woulda tried to use em, been disarmed and beaten by these beasts, lol. They were incredibly thick at one point, near or about the SC/GA line....... actually we used a pair of my wife's very limber flip flops in the cockpit and killed em as fast as we could swat mostly.... I would estimate the days dead at around 250 or so... no joke. We had to clean the cockpit floor a few times because it was getting slippery w the bug juice.

CharlieJ · July 21, 2014, 05:10:29 PM

Quote from: Bonzai on July 21, 2014, 03:51:41 PM
. I would estimate the days dead at around 250 or so... no joke. We had to clean the cockpit floor a few times because it was getting slippery w the bug juice.

Oh I don't doubt the number at all. As I said, I killed around 60 in one 2 hour period. Actually these were not REALLY horse flies- more like BIG Yellow flies. Hurt like the devil if one of them got you too..

I suppose they are about the same thing though as a Horse Fly

And yeah once we got up to the upper parts of SC they thinned out.

I still really like the area

Cyric30 · July 21, 2014, 05:53:52 PM

Could they be Deer flies, dont know, imagine we all have regional variations on names of such critters, but PITA is universal for calling them....

CharlieJ · July 22, 2014, 12:30:04 AM

Quote from: Cyric30 on July 21, 2014, 05:53:52 PM
Could they be Deer flies, dont know, imagine we all have regional variations on names of such critters, but PITA is universal for calling them....

LOL Could be for sure- - and PITA is appropriate

Grime · July 22, 2014, 09:20:11 AM

I believe you are talking about the Yellow fly (Diachlorus ferrugatus) Also known as the Yellow Fly of Dismal Swamp.

Cyric30 · July 22, 2014, 10:26:58 AM

Grime, pretty sure thats the one we call a deer fly :) and certainly a PITA, good to know what its universal name is though. :)

Grime · July 22, 2014, 11:29:48 AM

The deer flies I'm use to come with a more delta wing and black. I could ride into a swarm of them and within 50 feet be out of their territory. It was like they had a home base and stayed there. Wouldn't see any for awhile then hit another swarm.

w00dy · July 25, 2014, 12:19:55 PM

Hey Bonzai, we're a bit south of you at St. Mary's inlet and will be heading in your general direction soon. If you're game, we could meet or raft up with you at some point. Our plans are generally loose, but unfortunately we're pushing for time so we probably won't stick around for too long. Still, let us know if you're free and we'll try for a Sailfar get together of some sort!

w00dy · July 28, 2014, 06:33:59 PM

Sorry man, but I guess we will miss you this time. We're going to head out tomorrow and shoot for cape fear. Hipw you have a good trip

Grime · July 28, 2014, 09:26:53 PM

Fair wind guys. Stay in touch.

w00dy · July 29, 2014, 08:20:47 AM

Well the winds aren't actually looking so fair this morning, or at least not favorable all the way to BC. We may just do short coastal sails rather than get headed or Bob around offshore in light and variable wind. In which case...we might pull into st Simons tonight or tomorrow. We'll see.

Bonzai · August 02, 2014, 09:13:53 AM

Hey Woody! Been working and not had chance to ck forum lately. Hope u guys made it fine. I am still docked in St Simons at Morningstar Marina. Gonna be end of August looks like before can get out of work to go further. If u r still in area gimme a call, I am heading back to boat this week. Hate it if I missed u but will catch u next time around! How has the weather been lately? If u need local contacts for anything I will b happy to help. 706-463-2144... hope to cya out there!

w00dy · August 03, 2014, 09:27:27 AM

Sorry we missed you bonzau. We were anchored off lanier island for a day and a half, waiting for better wind. Today were in sc and pushing north. She you on the return trip maybe :)

Bonzai · August 03, 2014, 09:35:48 AM

Sounds good Woody. Will be watching here for your progress. Fair winds!

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August plans for S.E. boaters