Southern Charm
"Do you have a transient slip for tonight," Lee asked when she called the Sunbury Crab Company Marina upon leaving Brunswick. Our friends Bill and Lisa told us about this place and the cruising guidebooks all say it's a good spot to stop while waiting for the tide at Hell Gate. (More about Hell Gate later.)
"Hold a minute, let me check my book. What is your length, draft and beam?" replied the sweet southern drawl. A couple minutes later she said she could accommodate us. But call ahead when you are about an hour away and Kenny will meet you on the fuel dock. He does maintenance at the restaurant too. And if we want to eat in the restaurant, let her know an hour and a half before we want to be seated so she can put our name on the call list.
To get to Sunbury, Georgia, we had to take a 2 to 3-mile side trip off the Intracoastal Waterway in an unmarked channel up the Medway River. At the marina's suggestion we called up a chart off their website and plotted a similar course on our chartplotter. We arrived at Sunbury Crab Company marina and found it nearly empty, with a very polite and friendly dock hand, Kenny.
With space for some 30 boats, there were two skiffs and two larger (local) boats. Kenny helped us tie up and add a little fuel after a 60-mile run. He said he doesn't get much call for diesel around here so he had to prime the pump. We paid him for the fuel and dockage - his "office" was an upright cold soda/drink cooler with the guts taken out and Mountain Dew on the side. He demurred to Miss Elaine, the proprietor of the Sunbury Crab Company restaurant and marina, regarding WiFi and shower facilities. The guidebooks say showers are available with a reservation.
To ask about the showers, we found Miss Elaine up the dock at her restaurant, built right next to her house with a pool. The restaurant is a fun open-air establishment that does a brisk business serving up southern fried seafood and house-made desserts. It was like old home week, with Miss Elaine walking us through the restaurant kitchen/clean-up area (step over that hose there) past the pool and her large home, to her pool house/guest cottage. She said she allowed reserved cruisers to use her shower and we could even try the pool, but it was a bit chilly yet. She only offers her pool to her boaters, not restaurant customers!
While we enjoyed an appetizer of peel-n-eat shrimp in the restaurant, Miss Elaine approached our table. We talked about her having to file state sales tax and how difficult it was to figure it out this month. Then she told us not to lock the pool house when we were done - she hasn't had a key since 1994. So, please leave it unlocked or she'd have to break in. The way she said it, it seems like this may have happened a time or two in the past.
After so many great meals eating out, we opted to cook in and try out our new cooktop. The induction stove is perfect for the boat - fast, safe, and controllable. Evening came and after our showers (yes, we left the guest cottage unlocked) we returned to the dock to see the tide had rapidly turned and exposed deep rifts and mud banks.
Unaware of our presence on the dock, we were able to spy on the teeming life of the marsh from our elevated perspective. A raccoon searched a rivulet for crabs, a tricolored heron hunted prey at the water's edge, and rays patrolled the shallow shore to ambush small fish draining out of the marsh. An eagle flew overhead as the sun sank behind a veil of an overcast sky, while swamp sparrows telegraphed their identities by distinctive vocalizations that we could research with a phone app.
What a pleasure to be in an interesting place, with a rich history we don't fully know, but apparently dates back to pre-Revolutionary War times and a fort (Fort Morris) that had a role in the War for Independence.
One of the amazing discoveries of the past few days in coastal Georgia is the enormity of the salt marsh and estuarine waters. Seeing this landscape from the water side was a gift of awareness for the coastal geography we would have never known just by visiting the sea islands and places you can access by car.
"Hold a minute, let me check my book. What is your length, draft and beam?" replied the sweet southern drawl. A couple minutes later she said she could accommodate us. But call ahead when you are about an hour away and Kenny will meet you on the fuel dock. He does maintenance at the restaurant too. And if we want to eat in the restaurant, let her know an hour and a half before we want to be seated so she can put our name on the call list.
To get to Sunbury, Georgia, we had to take a 2 to 3-mile side trip off the Intracoastal Waterway in an unmarked channel up the Medway River. At the marina's suggestion we called up a chart off their website and plotted a similar course on our chartplotter. We arrived at Sunbury Crab Company marina and found it nearly empty, with a very polite and friendly dock hand, Kenny.
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| Seems like Sunbury Marina was able to squeeze us in to have the place nearly all to ourselves. |
To ask about the showers, we found Miss Elaine up the dock at her restaurant, built right next to her house with a pool. The restaurant is a fun open-air establishment that does a brisk business serving up southern fried seafood and house-made desserts. It was like old home week, with Miss Elaine walking us through the restaurant kitchen/clean-up area (step over that hose there) past the pool and her large home, to her pool house/guest cottage. She said she allowed reserved cruisers to use her shower and we could even try the pool, but it was a bit chilly yet. She only offers her pool to her boaters, not restaurant customers!
While we enjoyed an appetizer of peel-n-eat shrimp in the restaurant, Miss Elaine approached our table. We talked about her having to file state sales tax and how difficult it was to figure it out this month. Then she told us not to lock the pool house when we were done - she hasn't had a key since 1994. So, please leave it unlocked or she'd have to break in. The way she said it, it seems like this may have happened a time or two in the past.
After so many great meals eating out, we opted to cook in and try out our new cooktop. The induction stove is perfect for the boat - fast, safe, and controllable. Evening came and after our showers (yes, we left the guest cottage unlocked) we returned to the dock to see the tide had rapidly turned and exposed deep rifts and mud banks.
Unaware of our presence on the dock, we were able to spy on the teeming life of the marsh from our elevated perspective. A raccoon searched a rivulet for crabs, a tricolored heron hunted prey at the water's edge, and rays patrolled the shallow shore to ambush small fish draining out of the marsh. An eagle flew overhead as the sun sank behind a veil of an overcast sky, while swamp sparrows telegraphed their identities by distinctive vocalizations that we could research with a phone app.
 | |
| Wildlife was unaware of us watching from the dock above the marsh. |
What a pleasure to be in an interesting place, with a rich history we don't fully know, but apparently dates back to pre-Revolutionary War times and a fort (Fort Morris) that had a role in the War for Independence.
One of the amazing discoveries of the past few days in coastal Georgia is the enormity of the salt marsh and estuarine waters. Seeing this landscape from the water side was a gift of awareness for the coastal geography we would have never known just by visiting the sea islands and places you can access by car.
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| Expansive coastal marshes along the Georgia ICW |
Love that they said they had to check their log book to see if they had space.
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