Tuesday, April 15, 2014 – 8 PM – Leg 10/Day 16 – 39.1 Miles

It finally happened, the dreaded grounding. The anchors were dropped and set and the alarms were entered on the GPS. The depth was 15' at the end of the evening before retiring to bed. During the night the anchors pulled just enough to get over a shallow bottom, not quite far enough to set off the alarms. Upon awakening, everything was a little slanted, and me more than a little surprised. So breakfast was cooked a little cock-eyed and eating only filled up one side of my stomach. All that could be done was to pull in the anchors and wait. Fortunately, the tide was rising so it was only a short wait until it was up enough that the motor could be used to rock it back and forth. In time, my little Tinkbug let loose, the food in my stomach leveled out, and the day's cruise began.

It was a sunny and still day, clear and cool. There is a lot of time to think in this area. Long periods went by today without seeing anyone else. Even though civilization was not far off, usually only a mile or so, it felt more remote than reality. The landscape is mostly marsh with little river inlets everywhere. To be sure, there will be other places along this trip where there are long stretches between marinas, but today was the longest encountered so far. There may be marinas around, but none that show up on any of the maps or marina sites. The ones that are listed are quite a ways off the path. 

Leg 10 and 11 are being split into three segments and with that as the plan, Tinkbug is currently about midway between Sapelo Sound and St. Catherine's Sound just off the ICW on Cattle Pen Creek. Also part of the pan is to anchoring out fully tonight. There is a marina about five miles away inland, but with everything running smoothly and plenty of supplies, there is little concern.

For a route that is supposed to be going mostly north, it appeared every glance at the heading was anything but north. There were two spots where the heading pointed completely south. Though in the end a little over 39 nautical miles were traversed today. If the same can be done tomorrow, then there will be a short trek into Hilton Head.

Personally, the solitude has settled in and that desire to always wanting to be somewhere else has also kicked in. I fought off the feeling by remembering that I am on a long journey and each moment is a gift. It was my biggest concern when starting this venture. Remembering when I had my boat on Lake Pleasant in Arizona and I would go out alone all the time; The anxiousness to get where I was going was overwhelming, and then once there, boredom quickly settled in and I would pull up and head somewhere else. I want this trip to teach me to learn to be comfortable in the journey, not the destination. It is a rough way to have lived your whole life. I guess they call it living in the present. I want and need that. As I reminded myself of my fortune that has brought me here, I calmed down and soaked in everything as it passed by, trying to force myself to make memories of each moment.

Blessings on all my lovelies tonight, my thoughts, prayers, and love extend through all time and space to bless you tonight in our Father's Name.