Day 55: Orange Park, FL to Hilton Head Island, SC

After a weekend of demo rides at Orange Park for clients interested by the Swift Trawler 34, it is time for the Greatest Loop to continue her trip…

We are on the boat at O’dark thirty to get underway to meet the Charleston St. Barts Yachts Crew at Hilton Head.  Onboard is our good friend and Beneteau Monte Carlo owner Marty Greenberg, Jerry Scally from North Florida Cruising Club and myself.  We are off the dock by 05:45AM heading North down river.  Yes, the St. Johns River flows North.  About 08:00AM we stop in Mayport at Morningstar Marina to top off the fuel before we head out into the ocean. 

Just before we get out of cell phone range Captain Dave Block, one of St. Barts Yachts professional delivery skippers, calls to say he has just arrived at Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah Georgia on a catamaran he had sailed up from the Caribbean.  After a couple of calls and a change of plans, it was decided we would meet him at Thunderbolt and drop the boat off to him.  He would meet with another crew from Charleston the next morning at Windmill Harbour in Hilton Head to join up with another Swift Trawer 34 “Colt” that is also going to Charleston for St. Barts Yachts Rendezvous and 25^th Anniversary Celebration.

Great day, clear skies and almost flat seas. Dolphins, sea turtles, flying fish sighted along the way.  Again, 2800 RPM and 16+ knots.  We cruise the rumb line.  Our fuel burn is a little better today because of the flat seas.  We get to Wassaw Sound inlet at 1430 and follow the markers into the Wilmington River.  We tie up at Thunderbolt, fuel the boat, and hand it off to Dave at about 5:00PM.    Hertz picked us up and we were back at the office by 7:30PM. 

Dave cruised on the Greatest Loop without any problems until Hilton Head Island, where he arrived around 6:30PM. And great surprise: an other Swift Trawler 34 was also docked in Hilton Head Harbor!