I have been performing orientation training lately for members of Savannah's Freedom Boat Club in the new 28' twin-engine NauticStar offshore fishing boat. This is a beautiful machine with two Yamaha 300 horsepower motors. It is "fly-by-wire" with computerized monitoring systems, so we can see exactly how much fuel we are consuming at any speed, with an additional miles-per-gallon readout.
At 30 miles per hour with full fuel and 3 on board, total fuel consumption is at or near 14 gallons per hour. This is pretty amazing, as a single engine 24' boat running the same speed burns a comparable amount of fuel. But what is REALLY amazing is what happens to that fuel consumption number when I have a customer advance the throttles during training.
A relatively small increase in speed increases fuel burn--in a word--significantly! At one point during training yesterday I pointed to the consumption indicator and we noted 52 gallons per hour being turned into speed, noise, and excitement.
"Okay, that's enough of that! Back it down to 30 miles per hour..."
Speed, noise, and excitement are expensive! Because marinas are few and far between with limited competition, they can charge much higher prices for fuel than a corner gas station does. They do have to pay more for fuel from the supplier, and the fuel is higher quality, but today's marina fuel price is $3.50 per gallon versus less than $2.00 per gallon for fuel from a gas station. 52 gallons per hour at 3.50 per gallon comes to $182.00 dollars per hour for fuel costs. Maybe you have "different money," but if you're the average boater, the fuel bill matters.
If fuel cost does matter, check your speed and consumption. Every planing hull has a planing speed at which fuel consumption is least per mile traveled. This corresponds to the minimum drag speed for the hull in conjunction with the engine's power-production characteristics. It's usually between 25 and 30 miles per hour for all the boats I operate. Go faster than that and you are just burning money!
Thanks to friend and fellow FBC member Keith P. for sharing this story. We can either learn from history or repeat it. Here is a Savannah Boater challenge. The next time you are on your boat with passengers, do a drill. With everyone on board and the life vests in their normal storage location, see how long it takes for every person on board to don a vest and prepare for going in the water. Ready, Set, GO! You are going to be surprised, and better prepared.
While stationed at NAS Kingsville, two buddies and I decided to rent a boat from the base motor pool to fish in Baffin Bay. We got more than we bargained for...
The bay is about 3 miles wide at it’s widest and around 10 miles long. None of us had any formal training in operating a boat in open water. We all just assumed it was not much different than a large lake. The boat was 18 feet long and well designed. Like any other boat, it possessed strengths and limitations.
I can't recall the horsepower, but it also had a small trolling motor on it that we used my car
battery to power.
We arrived early in the morning and launched the boat into the bay. We motored around
to various areas near the shore for several hours, with none of us was really paying attention to the
boat's position because we were all 3 drinking and fishing. Eventually, we noticed that we were
roughly ¾ - mile from any shoreline. We decided that we should head back after seeing a storm building off to our east and realizing we could probably not outrun it.
In those days, we didn’t have GPS or apps to warn us of predicted winds and tide. As one would
expect, the seas started getting rough and water was entering the boat from the rain and waves.
Ironically, we were all in the Navy but not one of us knew exactly how to navigate the waves and
they were growing more intense. At the time we were running parallel to the waves – big
mistake. We were quickly swamped by the waves and the boat capsized in an amazingly short period of time.
One person in our party did not know how to swim, so we secured him to the boat with a
piece of anchor line. None of us had life jackets on and I couldn’t swear that there were any on board to begin with. We lost everything – my car battery, wallets, tackle and gear, and the trolling motor.
We clung to the capsized boat for what seemed an eternity and were all stung at least once by jellyfish. It was miserable and terrifying because the waves were still very choppy and the wind was not helping anything.
Fortunately, the storms there are similar to the storms here, it came in ferocious but
didn’t last too long. After an hour or so we saw another boat and got help. We
towed our capsized boat slowly to shore and had to leave it on a rocky beach because the ramp
was quite the distance around the bay.
We retrieved that boat once a wife brought us some keys for the truck. We attached a winch and pulled the boat up that embankment along the beach. Needless to say, the boat was badly damaged.
I cannot stress strongly enough that a person should not attempt using a watercraft
without some sort of formal training. I also cannot stress enough to inspecting the boat ahead of
time to ensure there are lifejackets onboard, and that they are readily accessible if not being
worn.
Also, one should always check forecasts and ensure someone knows where you are going.
A person should be cognizant of their surroundings at all times and tides as well as
understanding the limits of the equipment which you are operating. I tell this story to people
today in a joking manner, but I can assure it was terrifying at the time. All of us survived but the
story could have ended very differently. We were very lucky and I would advise others to get
educated on safe-boating practices and not just rely on luck.
Kids love the water, and boating. They also love to dip their toes and fingertips in it as they ride.
But law-enforcement sees this as a ticketing offense, bow rail notwithstanding. If the motor is on and the boat is making way, no part of a passenger's body may be outside the boat.
My friend Brian was returning to Savannah from Daufuskie last weekend. South Carolina DNR was responding to a flood of recreational boat-traffic with a significant on-water presence to ensure safety and sanity on the water. Brian observed a DNR boat coming his way and announced to his passengers, "okay guys, we are going to get stopped and checked, could everyone sit down and be quiet, please."
Just then, another boater on the far side of the DNR boat entered the "no-wake" zone at "plow" speed. This is a relatively slow speed with the motor pushing hard enough to raise the bow and bury the stern, and it results in a massive wake that rocks boats violently and can damage docks and erode shorelines. A novice boater might not understand the logic and intent of a no-wake zone, but trust me, law enforcement is ready to explain.
Plowing is a visual "screw you and your wake zone" signal to any officer of the law. As the DNR officer approaching Brian's boat swung his head and saw the other boat's massive wake, he smoothly swung his bow in that direction. That guy got the blue-light special.
Don't be that guy.
This weekend I had a charter trip with a family on a USCG-inspected vessel with rails taller than 39.5 inches above the deck. The high rails negate the requirement for children younger than 13 years of age to wear a life jacket.
While idling through the Isle of Hope section of the Skidaway River I was explaining to my African-American passengers the history and etymology of Freedom Creek. I was on a roll and working the tip hard.
As this was happening, the mom moved to sit on the front deck of the boat, with her feet and legs inside the hull and railed area, but her upper torso out. The mom then lifted her toddler onto her lap. So now the toddler was just outside the railed area as well. And that was when we idled by the Chatham County Police boat.
I waved at the officer while giving my spiel, and saw him giving us a long look. That look raised my situational awareness antennae and I quickly discerned what he was thinking. "Are they in compliance? Is that kid--not wearing a vest--being protected by the rails?" I snapped out of my tour-guide role and back into role as the safety-monitor.
"Hey mom! Could I get you and your baby to come all the way back inside the hull of the boat please? I need you both inside the rails." She smiled and complied immediately (and I still crushed the tip.). Story continues below...
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A small vessel captain has to be both host and safety-monitor, no matter the size of the boat or ratings held. If you captain a recreational boat and take guests on a ride, this applies to you too. It's hard to think of everything and have your attention everywhere at once, but it's part and parcel of being a successful and safe boater. You must be prepared to shed distractions and ignore distracting passengers. (Note to self!)
If you get stopped by law enforcement for a safety check it's best to remain calm, polite, and helpful. Keep in mind that these are the folks who deal with the aftermath of violent and sometimes fatal boating accidents. They have been there and seen what happens when things get out of hand, and their job is to protect us. Sometimes from ourselves.
There are things you must have onboard your boat, like the previously mentioned life-jackets, and depending on where you are and what type of boat you are in or on, flares that aren't out of date, and a daytime distress signal. (There is a newer approved signal device that uses batteries instead of pyrotechnics). It's common practice for folks to keep out of date flares in addition to "fresh" ones, as they will probably work fine in an emergency, and more is better, right?
Well, some law-enforcement folks will take you to task if you have the old flares stored together with the newer ones. Another sticking point is not having your throw cushion (or throw-ring on an inspected vessel) "readily available." If you have the throw cushion stored in the center console under a pile of stuff, the officer may ask you to keep it closer to hand, perhaps hanging from a rod-holder behind the center seat. Some of the rules are subjective and the officer is the one doing the interpretation. Best to politely roll with that interpretation and thank them for their advice. One Type IV throwable device must be on board all vessels except Class A vessels (boats less than 15’ 11” which also includes personal-watercraft, canoes and kayaks).
In most cases a law enforcement officer (or team) will not board your boat. They will put large fenders out and pull up alongside you. As long as you are polite and aren't obviously impaired, you will probably come through this experience with some advice, maybe a verbal or written warning, and maybe even a citation. If you are drunk you are going straight to jail. If there are illegal drugs on the boat it's getting impounded. Marine law-enforcement officers have breathalyzers just like their brethren on the roads. The Coast Guard may board you if they stop you.
Law enforcement is familiar with Freedom Boat Club boats and they know that these boats have all required safety equipment. This may preclude you from getting a safety check on a Freedom Boat. Even so, it's a good idea to periodically refresh yourself on exactly where on the boat these items are. In an emergency you might need something in a hurry. The fact that someone else takes care of the safety stuff on a Freedom boat can lead to complacency, and complacency is the key that unlocks the brain-box in which all other hazardous attitudes are waiting to have their way with you.
For the foreseeable future, this virus is going to affect how we socialize. Even as things work their way toward a new normal, being in a group with other people will be accompanied by nagging thoughts.
"What if I or my family is getting more from this experience than we bargained for?"
A kayak trip is a safe way to experience fun with others.
As we enjoy one of the most beautiful spring seasons in memory, with fresh cool mornings and comfortably warm afternoons--keep one thing in mind-- it's wonderful to live it at water level. Gliding through our maritime history and ecology is a fantastic way to put your mind at ease and restore the peace within you. Tranquility outside becomes tranquility inside.
Image of kayakers on the Skidaway River; from Skidaway Island State Park.
Image courtesy "thedyrt.com"
Want to spend quality time with others but don't want to risk the spread of infection? A kayak tour is the perfect way to do this.
Michael Neal and his team of guides at Moon River Kayak can make this happen for you and your friends. They can show you what is--in our humble opinion--the most beautiful stretch of water in the Savannah area. The Skidaway Narrows was created by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1905, and in creating the Narrows they engineered a masterpiece of natural beauty. Johnny Mercer's Moon River is waitin' round the bend. You can cross it in style...
Ospreys and eagles live, hunt, and raise their families here. Manatees use the Narrows to move up and down the coast. Dolphins frolic and froth the water. Wildlife abounds. At times you will talk and laugh and tell stories. At other times your entire group will be spellbound by the boundless beauty that surrounds you.
It's that good. No kidding.
During the Great Depression work crews with the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) dug channels deep into Skidaway Island State Park. You can explore these creeks, get into "skinny water," and see things that other boaters can't. Your kayak is the perfect stealth transporter, allowing you to observe the workings of the natural world without disturbing it. Your friends can be with you, but not too close.
The creeks here are gorgeous. uncrowded, and off the beaten path.
Moon River Kayak Tours and Rentals depart from the Rodney J. Hall Boat Ramp on the Skidaway River at the Narrows, and must be scheduled in advance! (912 398-7400) Diamond Causeway takes you there. Tours are $50 per person with a minimum of two and a maximum of six paddlers. Each tour lasts between 2 and 2.5 hours. Kayak rentals are also available for self-guided exploration, the cost for 4 hours is $40 for a single-seat boat and $55 for a two-person "tandem" boat.
Call Michael Neal, owner of Moon River Kayak Company and Bull River Cruises (and a Savannah movie industry icon) to schedule your tour. (912 398-7400) Check his operation out on Tripadvisor to read reviews like this one, "Moon River Kayaking was amazing, both the journey down the river and their customer service. Michael took care of us, made us feel like part of his kayaking family, and kept us interested and amused the whole time. Totally recommend!!"
If comfort is your thing, this boat will make you sing. It's the perfect 'toon.
Chance: Hey again, it's me; Water Dog number one with another story to tell about my day on the water! Jump on! Let's go!
Leo: Yeah, right. You forget that I was there too no-nuts!
Chance: Oh geez, are you sensitive much? Why don't you go stare at your person for five minutes and drive him crazy trying to figure out what you want. Let's talk about the boat ride!
Dan: There's an old saying about boats. "The two happiest days in a boat-owner's life are..." As a member of Freedom Boat Club, there is only one type of happiest day, and it get's repeated over and over each year. It's the day a new boat shows up for us to enjoy. With around 35 boats in Thunderbolt and the Richmond Hill fleet growing steadily, and all of them being replaced every two or three years, that new boat smell is a regular pleasure.
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Like any new love, a new boat starts out being pure pleasure. It's only later that you learn how much work is involved in the relationship. Cleaning, storing, transporting, maintaining--not to mention launch and recovery. The list is long and the chores don't go away until you sell her or sink her. After a while you begin to wonder if you are the owner or if you're getting owned. Eventually a labor of love turns into straight-up labor.
With Freedom Boat Club? It ain't like that! It's just fun!
Get on the boat. Go have an adventure. Return to the dock. Step off and leave. That's it.
While the COVID 19 Pandemic has required enhanced safety and social distancing procedures; now more than ever, Freedom is the easiest and least complicated way get out on the water.
Not that she needs enlarging, but tap or click on picture to enlarge.
Leo: Any day on the water is better than being stuck inside four walls! You never know what you will see!
Dan; "Leo! Chance! Look at this beauty coming up the Wilmington River. She is (reportedly) the second largest privately owned sailboat in the world! She is visiting Thunderbolt Marine. Boys, I am glad we got to see her!"
Chance: Bow Wow! That's a BIG boat! Wonder if they are looking for a dog? Hey Leo, you are always looking for a better deal, right?
Leo: Nope, that's all an act to keep my person on his paws. I am happy right here on this shiny new boat. And doggone! Is it ever comfortable. There are seats everywhere; some in the sun, some in the shade. Hey, that sun is warm! Glad we got to do this today! Have you noticed that our people are around a lot more these days. I like this new way of living. I hope it lasts a long time!
Need more room? There you have it! Chance (L) and Leo (R) are happy!
Leo: You know, this feels like a good time to take a nap. And this boat is perfect for that. I hope we got to do this again and again and again.
Dan: Me too Leo. Sweet dreams buddy. I love you and I'm glad you and Chance are here today. You both look pretty good for ten year old dogs.
Chance: Later Leo. Don't worry. I'll wake you up when the biscuits get handed out. Yeppers! You can trust me.
Dan: So, while our club acquired several new pontoons a couple of years ago, and while we have enjoyed them many times, they didn't go very fast with any kind of load on them. It seemed like a power problem, and Tommy began replacing the 115 horsepower motors with 150's. That helped big time.
Now, any of them are fine for a slow cruise on the river with lots of friends and cargo. And the "150" powered boats will run noticeably faster. But it always felt like we were missing something on these
two-toons.
And now I know what was missing! A third pontoon running right down the middle! The tritoon offers all the benefits of a pontoon with none of the sluggishness. She comes up on plane, thanks to 33 percent more lifting surface, and as she does her bow drops down just like a runabout--albeit a BIG runabout. These boats are going to be very popular for members with lots of kids, or groups headed to Daufuskie. With two adults and two mutts we ran about 25 miles per hour at 4000 RPM. The motor was turning quiet and easy, and that speed feels pretty good and gets you there in good time. A color GPS with depth sounder and a Bluetooth stereo pushing four speakers work well and make for more fun.
Ain't nothin' like that "new boat" smell.
As the motor is new, we didn't push it hard or leave it at one power setting for too long. We treat all these boats as if they were our own personal boat--out of respect for the machinery, the club, and the other members. We try to "be gentle to man and machine" (And dogs).
Chance: I like how nice it is to sit up front in the breeze. The river is full of good smells and I get them first. This is fun! Let's keep doing this!
DOLPHIN! HEY COME HERE FRIEND! HEY OVER HERE!
Leo: Really dude? Really? You spazz out every freakin' time! Okay, lemme look! Move! Gimme some room to look!
Chance: You know! I wish we could spend more time with dolphins. They seem pretty cool.
Dan: As wonderful as it is to see dolphins in our midst, please don't attempt to attract them to your boat. Don't bang on the sides, and for their sake, never, ever feed them. As a tour boat captain, I see the aftermath of dolphins getting prop-struck. It's tragic. They have a natural shyness around us and our boats unless we feed them. A fed dolphin turns into a beggar, exhibits beggar behavior, and won't teach the babies to catch food. Feeding a dolphin is akin to killing one.
Love them, look at them, enjoy them. But do it from a distance. Please! (It's the law, yo!)
Leo: Hey! What's that big thing over there! DOG! That's BIG!
Chance: I could have been a dolphin you know. I can swim, and I can go under water. And I love the water.
And I want to swim with a dolphin. Do you think they would like me? Would they play "you can't catch me!?!" I could have been a dolphin!
Dan: This is what keeps the Savannah River deep enough for Post Panamax ships to get to the port. This is also what brings the shark teeth up for collectors to find as they stroll the beach of Shark Tooth Island (in the background). The crew is working to clear the dredge head. It looks gnarly, aye?
Okay captains. Where in "the pecking order" (rules of the road) does a dredging
vessel lay. By virtue of what characteristic? (answer at the end). You can see
a big electric motor used to turn the dredge-head. The Dredge Vessel Savannah!
Dan: I wrote a bit on the Facebook page that goes with this blog about collecting specimens at Savannah's Shark Tooth Island. This sits adjacent to the Savannah River, and it is one of the locations where the spoil from dredging the river goes. As bottom that has lain undisturbed for hundreds of thousands of years is sucked up and deposited in a pile; lots of shark teeth see the light of day. Even megalodon teeth that are as big as your hand. If you go, take care that your boat doesn't get swamped or even flipped when a ship motors by in the river. The water goes out. Then it comes back--hard. It's a thing. Be careful.
The dredge barge gets pushed around. Charleston style.
If you have flown low over these spoil areas, you have seen the berm or dike that
surrounds the perimeter. Here you can see the pipe emerging from the river to
take the spoil up and over.
If you ever approach a dredging operation, slow down and see what's happening before proceeding. A dredging vessel displays day marks and special lights at night. Black diamonds or green lights indicate the clear side for passage. Black balls or red lights indicate the side that is not clear.
Back in business! Floating pipe marked with white buoys.
Leo: I just want to say that I love this boat. Today was so much fun, and I love Maggie and Billy for having this wonderful new boat ready for our ride.
Chance: You cheeser.
Dan: We had a fantastic day, and rode the tritoon much further that we normally do. It just felt good to be back on the water after being cooped up for a while. Thanks to Freedom Boat Club for putting procedures in place to get folks back out on the water. If you decide to check them out, tell them SavannahBoater.com sent you, and most importantly;
Have fun and stay healthy!
Jeanne approved.
P.S. A vessel "restricted in her ability to maneuver" (RAM) is second on the "pecking order" list. She must give way to a vessel "not under command" (NUC). All other vessels must give way (alter course and speed so as to avoid a collision) to a RAM vessel - such as the working dredge vessel in the pictures above.
When Europeans came to America, they used the rivers of the eastern seaboard as highways and lines of communication for people and goods. Moving overland was difficult and dangerous. There were few roads until the early 1900s, and what roads there were became muddy slogs when it rained. Most often, any cargo was limited to what a pack-horse could carry. Boats, on the other hand, could float tons of cargo with relative ease, even upriver as long as the downstream current wasn't too extreme.
By Unknown author - http://www.wqed.org/erc/pghist/photos/PHLFarch/keelflatboats.jpg - originally Pittsburgh History & Landmarks, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1219600
The picture above shows two types of riverboats using three different forms of propulsion. In the foreground, we have a Flatboat or "flat." These were built upriver to carry many tons of cargo and a crew. Flats used the current for primary propulsion, with sweeps and a long rudder for maintaining position. They were built to float downriver to a port city like Savannah, where their cargo would be trans-loaded to oceangoing ships. Having served its purpose, this Flat would be sold for its lumber. There are probably some old wooden structures in Savannah incorporating planks that floated down the river in the form of a flat; carrying cotton, rice, or lumber.
Next to the Flat is a Keelboat or Poleboat. These boats were designed to go upriver against the current. This was hard work and required strong men wielding long poles and searching for a bottom to push against. When the rearmost man reached the stern, he lifted his pole and walked back toward the bow to repeat the push. The gent sitting on top of the cabin appears to be playing the fiddle, for entertainment perhaps, or to keep a rhythm to the work being done.These boats were narrower than Flats, so as to present less drag against the current. When poles could find no bottom, the boat could be pulled by the men on the bank hauling on lines. Hard, slow, work. Cargo pushed or pulled upriver would be much more expensive than that floated down. In the distance, a Keelboat with a square-rigged sail is shown.
So that's how cargo got moved on the water highway, but the highway had its limit. Up each river, there is a spot where the Atlantic coastal plain rises up and becomes the piedmont (literally "foot of the mountain"). At that place, there are waterfalls, and the river is no longer navigable by larger vessels like the ones pictured above.
On all the big rivers, a city sprang up at this "end of the road." In the case of the Savannah, that city is Augusta.
So-called Petersburg Boat, a pole boat of ten tons carrying capacity used on the upper Savannah River between Augusta and Petersburg, Georgia. From Harper's Weekly, February 26, 1887, 159. (accessed at Wikipedia)
River travel beyond Augusta was possible in purpose-built boats from Petersburg, a town situated at the confluence of the Savannah and the Broad rivers. These were called "Petersburg Boats" and their width was determined by a narrow gap in the rocks upstream. They transported a tremendous amount of cargo in their time. Petersburg is now underwater.
Do you know any other Fall Line cities? Do you know the number of the US highway that joined them together in a line, north to south, almost a century ago?
I feel like a Georgian. I came here from Fort Bragg in 1989 and was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. After retiring from that duty in 1998 I stayed - like many other damned Yankees. Savannah has changed greatly in my 30 years of loving her, but her waterways are mostly the same today as when I first rode on them.
The ships in the river have gotten bigger, but the river is
much the same (albeit deeper) as it was in the 1730s.
While cruising the river I reflect on the decades of memories; places visited and friendships made. But compared to my favorite local historical figure, Philipp Von Reck, I am a newcomer. Compared to Von Reck, we are all FNGs. He was here first.
Philipp was only 23 years old when he came to Georgia with the first transport of German religious exiles, the Salzburgers. In 1734 he helped them settle Ebenezer - Hebrew for "stone of help" - about twenty-five miles northwest of Savannah on a small creek with the same name. Von Reck went home to Augsburg in the south of Germany and came back with another group of exiles in the spring of 1736.
Upon his second arrival with the third transport of exiles, Von Reck convinced Oglethorpe to permit the upriver settlers to move their town from its initial and unsuitable location on Ebenezer Creek to the place where that creek joins the Savannah River. It's inspiring and indicative of the quality of his character that at such a young age he felt obliged to do everything in his power - to risk life and limb and fortune - for others.
He almost died for his endeavors. If he were alive today, I would be tempted to call him the Badass Baron from Bavaria.
That new town up the river was named "New Ebenezer" and it is part and parcel of Georgia history, even impacting the prohibition on strong spirits in effect during the colony's early years. You can read about the rum-for-timber scheme in the "Rum Runners" post on this blog.
Sidebar:
Along with Michael Neal, owner of Bull River Cruises and pictured here, I do tours up the Savannah River to Ebenezer Creek and the site of New Ebeneezer. The river we traverse today is little changed from its appearance when Von Reck was here. If you are interested in riding through history and seeing these sights - and today's modern Port of Savannah - contact me at:
foulds.daniel@gmail.com
or call 912 657-5222
The Savannah River. It is unspoiled, largely undeveloped, and exceedingly beautiful. Georgia lays to the left and South Carolina to the right. In Von Reck's time, "Indian trade" boats - long narrow-hulled dugouts - plied the river regularly. Paddling or poling upriver was a slog. The return was an easy drift with the current. Larger cargo vessels - flats - were built upriver, floated down to Savannah, and sold off for the lumber.
Ebenezer Creek, a blackwater stream, was a source of cypress tree trunks; excellent for making dugout canoes and periaguas. The creek was the path for much Salzburger timber to be floated to the Savannah River and thence down to Savannah. Remains of piers and old pilings exist today. This ride is a trip back through time.
Ebenezer Creek is also the location of a civil-war tragedy in which hundreds of newly-freed slaves drowned while attempting to follow a column of Union soldiers as Confederate troops closed in on them. This event led to General Sherman's Special Field Order Number 15 which ceded the barrier islands and lands adjacent to the St. Johns River in Florida to Freedmen. You may remember references to "Forty acres and a mule." This order was rescinded after President Lincoln was assassinated.
Now, back to our story...
There was a flurry of simultaneous activity taking place in Georgia as New Ebenezer was coming to life. Oglethorpe directed the construction of a new church and pier at Savannah. He also sought to establish and strengthen outposts south of Savannah to serve as a defense against the Spaniards at St. Augustine. The Spanish were incensed at the British incursion into - what they viewed as - their lands. Both Darien, settled by Scottish Highlanders, and Fort Frederica, a military garrison supported by immigrant-settlers, were created for this purpose.
Fort Frederica when fully developed. Image courtesy National Park Service
Wanting to further coordinate and secure Oglethorpe's support for the Salzburgers, and also perhaps to learn and see more of Georgia, Von Reck became part of a party making a journey by boat from Savannah southward - in effect he was chasing Oglethorpe who had headed south himself with a contingent of people and supplies, prior to Von Reck's departure on the 19th of May. Von Reck is remarkable not only for his copious note-taking about the things he was seeing but also for his detailed sketches. In an age before cameras, Philipp did us the tremendous favor of creating images with pencil and paper. These images were almost lost to history.
“In 1976 a Danish scholar, searching through heaps of manuscripts in the Royal Library at Copenhagen, found an old sketchbook, lost and forgotten for two hundred years, with some fifty beautiful drawings of colonial Georgia. The drawings belonged to and were presumably made by a twenty-five-year-old German colonist, Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck, who came with the Salzburgers to Georgia in 1736. When he died in the 1790’s the drawings were given to the King of Denmark, in whose library they remained unknown for two centuries…Von Reck kept a vivid diary and made detailed pictures of what he saw in Georgia ..." Kristian Hvidt in "Von Reck's Voyage to Georgia in 1736")
After leaving the Savannah River on their journey to Frederica, Von Reck passed through what was then known as St. Augustine Creek (perhaps because it was the beginning of the inland passage to St. Augustine - today's Wilmington River) and passed by what would later become Causton's Bluff.
Von Reck's sketch of 1. An Indian trade boat working up the Savannah River and
2. Mr. Causton's design for a cargo vessel (top and bottom view). Von Reck
derided Causton's design as being unsuitable for the river, but Causton's Bluff
is on a tidal river. Twice each day that river goes each way.
His party rowed, sailed, or drifted past Thunderbolt and "Skidoway," and in the evening passed through "Skidoway Marsh." He might have been describing today's Romerly Marsh, lying between Skidaway and Wassaw Islands. or they might have taken the Skidaway River past the future Isle of Hope and Wormsloe Plantation of Noble Jones. (Jones was an all-purpose can-do kind of man. He surveyed New Ebenezer and much or all of Savannah and Augusta.)
Skidaway Narrows was not the route used by commercial traffic until the Army Corps of Engineers dug and dredged a waterway there in 1905. Prior to the dredging, the Narrows were described in a Corps report as being so narrow that a rowboat would have its oars in the marsh on each side. But passage through the narrows must have been possible or else Wormsloe wouldn't have been built where it is, to warn of Spanish attack ( I have been told that Wormsloe, on the Skidaway River south of town, is situated such that a rider on a galloping horse could warn Savannah of an attacking force coming up the inland passage. Any further south and the horse would collapse...)
Von Reck wrote that after passing through Skidaway Marsh "our boat had gone on a sandbank, so we had to jump into the water and push it until we found deep water." It might please Philipp to know that Savannah boaters still find themselves on sandbanks and have to jump in and push for deeper water. After all, there are two kinds of boaters here; those who have run aground and those who will. Our nutrient and sediment-rich waters obscure the view to a few feet in the winter and inches in the summer. The swift tidal currents created by 6 to 9-foot tides scour deep holes and create massive bars, and these two features are often located within a few yards of each other.
When Von Reck ran aground he was probably in some part of Ossabaw Sound, maybe in the area that we now call "Hell Gate." (Or Hell's Gate) As the inland passage to Fort Frederica (and on to Florida) proceeds southwest from that point, it makes sense that they would have passed through there. In his account of the journey, Philipp next mentions that they came upon a "petiager" - perhaps returning to Savannah from Darien or Frederica - and he drew a picture of it. The name, in all its forms and spellings, is derived from the Carib-language word for a dugout canoe hewn from one or two solid tree trunks. The periagua was the pickup truck of the river and it was as important to the history of "here" as anything ever was.
His sketch of the Sloop-rigged Periagua that Von Reck saw near Ossabaw Island while traveling to Frederica
on St. Simon's. The establishment of Oglethorpe's southern defenses required a multitude of small-craft capable of navigating the inland passage. Accessed at Google Images "Von Reck's sketch of a petiager."
Passing south inside of Ossabaw they observed the fires of native-American hunting parties, but the "ebb" of the tide prevented a visit. This raises a point worth noting. I think travelers on the inland passage would have made as much of a favorable tidal flow as they could - as I do when I ride the circle-loop around Wilmington, Whitemarsh, and Oatland Islands. While strong-backed men or a favorable wind in the sails could pull against a tide, it makes sense that they would time departures and select routes to coincide with a favorable flow.
They landed at St. Catherine's for freshwater, They passed Sapelo Island and Sound, Doughboy Island and Sound, and shot birds and gathered eggs on Egg Island. They sailed throughout the night and reached Fort Frederica on the 22nd. A "Captain Delegal" was serving on St. Simons, so that explains "Delegal" Creek and Marina on the south end of Skidaway Island.
When Von Reck got to Frederica, preparations were underway for a foray into Florida and action against the Spaniards at St. Augustine. Von Reck decided to join that trip as well. He writes, "I decided to make the trip south together with my brother and the people we had brought along in order to find a convenient occasion to speak with Mr. (General) Oglethorpe."
This young man was determined and fearless!
The return from Florida to Georgia went as so, "On the 17th of June we departed Fort St. George and reached Frederica on the 18th and Savannah on the 24th and Ebenezer on the 26th ..." All in all a remarkable journey across the very waters we traverse today. Imagine for an instant coming around a bend in the river and encountering these people in their periaguas.
Von Reck remained in Georgia until he and his brother both became ill with dysentery and fevers. Georgia was a hard place to live for the first Europeans that settled here and most of them died. On the 18th of September 1736, Philipp Von Reck and his brother were taken to Savannah and cared for by the Reverend John Wesley and Charles Delamotte. This evacuation and care probably saved their lives. They left Savannah for Charleston on the 12th of October. Von Reck returned to Germany, studied law, married Elizabeth Sophie, and became a privy counselor and magistrate. He died on March 13th, 1798, aged 87 years, 6 months, 3 days.
What an amazing man and how I would have loved to have met him!
(information for this post obtained from JStor (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1920702?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents), Google, and of course the fantastic "Tidecraft" by Rusty Fleetwood. Yes, it's that good.)
