Saturday, November 11, 2017

A Day on the Water (Updated with New Photos!)

I found the photos I lost from my camera. I had taken a few shots with my camera for work, and I had moved them (along with the others) to my work computer.  So now you can see the cute crab!

I took last Friday off and for the first time in a month had a full day to kayak. It was a beautiful day for early November, clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s. Leaving  the Landings Marina on the north end of Skidaway Island, I paddled out into the Wilmington River with the falling tide.  Along Cabbage Island, which sits on the north side of the Wilmington River, I stopped to relieve myself of some coffee and explored a little creek that flowed through the marsh.

Creek on Cabbage Island
                                                                            At the mouth of the river, where it opens into the Wassaw Sound, I turned left, skirting around Cabbage Island toward Little Tybee Island.  Here I saw a magnificent bald eagle circling above, it’s white head and tail feathers very visible..  Sadly, the only camera I had with me was my iPhone, so I was not able to get a decent photo.







 I’ve paddled to Little Tybee before, but always from Tybee Island, so this was a first from this direction.  There are some long shoals around the east side of Cabbage Island and I made it just in time as I pushed my boat through 6 inches of water.  Another few minutes and I would have been walking and toting my boat across sandbars.  The shallow water continued on until I was in the waters of the Bull River, which also flow out into the Wassaw Sound.
On Cabbage Island,
looking back across the Wilmington River

I ate lunch on Little Tybee and found a place to sling a hammock, but the bugs were pretty bad as the island was blocking most of the wind on the southwest side.  Instead of being annoyed by bugs, I set out to paddle across the face of the sound, where it empties into the ocean.  It was slack tide, which meant the shoals from the Bull River extended out into the ocean.  The only encounter with any waves this trip (and these were small) was when I crossed those shoals.  Had I tried to stay further inside the sound, I would have run aground on sandbars. 


Approaching Wassaw
(Battery Morgan is to the left of the trees)


Coming up on Wassaw Island as the tide was turning, I noticed the remains of Battery Morgan is now well out into the water at low tide.  This “fort” was built during the Spanish American War to prevent ships from getting to Savannah through the Wilmington River, but was abandoned after only a year or so.  Today, all that’s left is a large chunk of concrete that is slowly eroding away from the island.

It was much more pleasant on Wassaw Island, as the wind coming from offshore kept the gnats and flies away.  There are tracks of ghost crabs running on the sand and I spot one and chase it into the nook of an old tree where I capture some incredible photos (however, when I started posting to this blog, I can't find those photos).  I then nap before riding the rising tide back into the Wilmington River and to harbor.  I’d been gone a little over six hours and had paddled somewhere around 13 or 14 miles. 

The Lost Photos:
Ghost crab

From Wassaw, looking at Little Tybee

Inland Lagoon on Wassaw

Kicking back on Wassaw

Battery Morgan at low tide

25 comments:

  1. Looks like a lovely nday for going out with the kayak! Is Cabbage Island as rich in cabbages as its name suggests?

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  2. Not sure where you are ... could be Maine, could be North Carolina, could be Georgia, friend Sage ... but I see you had a fun outing ... Son Paul, daughter in law Leanne and cat Benny are travelling Canada and the States for a year ... they did Alberta all the way to New Newfoundland in their van ... and just entered the US via Maine ... in case you want to follow them, here are 2 links ... Instagram is: @paulleanneandavan ... and blog is: paulleanneandavan.wixsite.com/paulleanneandavan ...
    Love, cat.

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    1. I love road trips (almost as much as long hikes and paddles) and it sounds like your son and daughter-in-law are up for a big adventure. I live just outside of Savannah, GA.

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  3. I see that you had a great day in your kayak, seeing an eagle soaring in the sky is always a beautiful sight, I have only see one actually flying overhead once and it was amazing to me, picture or not you will always have this image in your head.

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  4. Beautiful blue sky. Looks like you had a fantastic day out on the water. I hope you find your crab photos. I've done that before--I hate when I can't find photos that I know I've taken. Probably for me, it's a sign that I take too many of them. :)

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  5. Glad you got a refreshing day out on the water and I don't blame you for escaping the bugs. I sometimes think gnats are worse than mosquitos!

    When you find those photos (and you will), they can be a post of their own. I look forward to it! :)

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  6. Hi Sage - must be a wonderful area ... looks so fabulous - no wonder you wanted a day off ... cheers Hilary

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  7. Sage, I delight in your kayak forays. When our youngest children were old enough (and I was earning enough) we bought an aluminum canoe and set out on the reservoirs and and rivers that converge on this city. That was long ago and all the kids have scattered into jobs across the world. I'm no longer the mighty thing I was when they were little either, so I delight in your photos and explorations.

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  8. Good morning, I see you've been enjoying yourself and we get to ride along as well! What rich blue waters, you found a perfect place to be.

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  9. I know you enjoyed this day, good for the soul no doubt. Love the pictures.

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  10. I could use a whole lot of that right now (as I'm suffering through 29 degrees)

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  11. Great post! Looks like a really fun day! That crab is HUGEE!!!

    http://tropicalcolours.blogspot.com.au

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  12. Was looking at your photos and getting depressed. I love that area of the coast but we're not supposed to head that way until July.

    But as I was reading your post my wife told me we have Disney Vacation Club points to burn off will be taking a long weekend to the Disney Hilton Head resort in February.

    Feeling much better now.

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  13. As always, lovely photos. It’s cold and foggy here, and there’s snow on the ground. I’d rather be where you are.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. So lovely to see this post.
    I enjoyed seeing all of your photo's

    All the best Jan

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  15. I liked all your photos. They look amazing!

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  16. Awesome crab! We had to put our kayaks away this weekend. It's too cold up here on Lake Ontario. :(

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  17. Great photos as usual. I especially liked the picture of the ghost crab.

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  18. This sounds like the perfect day, Sage, except for a few bugs. What lovely country you live in! Have a good one, my friend!

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  19. Sounds like you had a beautiful day. I always enjoy seeing your pictures. Thank you for telling me about the Savannah Children's Book Festival. I'll have to find out more about it. I'm not sure that I can do it this year, but I'll try for next year when my new book, Bubba & Squirt's Big Dig to China comes out.

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  20. It's always a treat to do things you love. This day was clearly a treat for you. Thanks for the photo and word "tour" of your area. Very beautiful, and so much history there.

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  21. There is no question left as to why you left Mi. Your writing reads more contentedly these days.

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  22. Love the photos! I wish we had time to be on the water more. Life is just too chaotic in the fall. Hoping to be back to it soon.

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  23. Love it when you share on-the-water photos!

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