I plucked the little gem below from the AGLCA mail list. There’s some good info here about both Hinkley Yacht Services and Thunderbolt Marina, both located directly on the AICW, south of Savannah River.

I would suggest Savannah over Beaufort if you need to travel by air. Savannah has two excellent facilities to consider: Thunderbolt Marina an Hinckley Yacht Services. They are within a mile of each other at approx. MM 583 on the ICW. They are both actually in the little town of Thunderbolt, GA, a suburb of Savannah.
Hinckley advertises outdoor storage, while Thunderbolt doesn’t talk about storage, yet I have walked among the boats blocked in their yard. Either can easily haul and block your boat. Either can do full service on your boat. We had Hinckley do extensive fit-up on our Monk 36 and were very pleased with their work.
Hinckley is at 912-629-2400, and Thunderbolt is 912-352-4931.
Both Savannah and Beaufort are delightful towns for visitors, Savannah being much larger, of course.
Bill Donovan

Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Hinkley Yacht Services

Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Thunderbolt Marine

Below you will find two interesting comments concerning St. Augustine Creek. Both messages confirm that a gambling ship does use this stream. However, note that Capatin Crafton was able to find a good place to anchor anyway.
Nevertheless, all cruisers who contemplate dropping the hook on St. Augustine Creek should be aware that the large ship described below will very likely come along at some point.

Claiborne – re St. Augustine’s Creek – it is shown as an anchorage . . . but is NOT SAFE. There is a gambling cruise boat that comes along after dark – anchoring in the creek puts you in its way and there is insufficient room to swing. When it happened to me, I pulled the boat close to shore with a second anchor to shore until after the ship had returned, after midnight.
It’s not safe and cannot be recommended. It’s just fortunate that the ship’s captains are aware of the problem and watch for it. Not a trip goes by that I’m in the area and don’t hear the ship calling out to someone anchored there.
To repeat – not safe, not to be used.
Wally
s/v Gypsy Wind

Earlier today we decided to use this anchorage; but had failed to check out the above comments. Needless to say, when the SunCruz vessel, returning from sea, called us on the VHF to inform us that he would be using this creek to return to his dock, we were taken by surprise. He was very courteous and suggested a spot farther into the creek where it is wide and we would not be in his way. Our electronic chart (not visible on our paper chart) showed a creek up ahead on the starboard side which has 9 feet MLW. We continued on and anchored in a very pleasant spot with plenty of swing room. We are now in a very protected spot, good holding and can rest knowing the gamblers will not disturb our sleep. This only goes to show the importance of these up=to=date additions to our normal cruising guides. And with that, a good night
Martha Crafton

Click Here To View the Georgia Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For St. Augustine Creek

Captain Griffin’s note below is copied from the T&T (Trawlers and Trawlering) Mail List. She has certainly captured my thoughts on Isle of Hope Marina,but, of course, I’m prejudiced, as this facility is a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!

I second the recommendation made by some, for Isle of Hope Marina just south of Savanna. I’ve stopped there more than once and was pleased. I’ve also stopped at Thunderbolt and the private marina on Skidaway Is through a friend who lives there. Of all I prefer Isle of Hope.
My Skidaway friend had an interesting comment re the Savanna area…saying the land curves west there which offers more protection from storms than say Hilton Head of Charleston.
I love the city of Savanna. I also love Hilton Head for a vacation, but it is pricy! I think personally, either Savanna or Charleston re more fun.
Marge Griffith

My wife and I are currently at the Isla of Hope Marina (11/26/09.) It is quiet, spotlessly clean and the staff is excellent. They have two courtesy cars (two hour limit) and there is a Walmart Super Center, a Sam’s Club and all sorts of other shopping within 4 miles of the marina. We went into Savannah yesterday on the local busline. A short walk to the bus stop and 50 minutes later, we were walking along the Savannah Waterfront. If you stay in Savannah after 3:45 pm, it’s a $22.00 cab ride from the waterfront to the marina parking lot. We highly recommend Isle of Hope Marina.
Gordon Jump

Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Isle of Hope Marina

On 9/22/09, as part of a “Georgia Wish List,” I posed the following question:

7. Who has anchored lately on the waters of Herb River (Statute Mile 584.5). On what part of the river did you drop the hook? Did you find adequate swinging room and/or holding ground?

Responses follow:

We are anchored as I write on the Herb River, Came in at high tide so had great depths. Anchored in 15 feet around the first bend to the port (west) just short of a large dock on the south side. Oodles of swing room at this point. The section you recommend in the guide where the land is closest to the water is lined with docks on the west side and was very deep (20+ feet). I am much happier with the extra swing room and a little less protection – still trees to the south but a little further away from the water. Doesn’t matter tonight – little breeze.
Jean Thomason

Click Here To View the Georgia Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Herb River

On 9/22/09, as part of a “Georgia Wish List,” I posed the following question:

Have any of you brave cruisers out there tried to anchor on Moon River lately (near Statute Mile 595)? I took this body of water off my list of recommended anchorages several years ago, as we had difficulty in finding an adequate entrance channel. Did you have the same or a dissimilar experience?

Responses follow:

Hi Claiborne,
Thanks for all you do. I don’t usually chime in on these things, but your mention of Moon River struck a chord. I’ve been traveling up and down the ICW, alone with my dog, for a couple of years now. And anchoring in remote areas is always an adventure. On the way north this past Spring, I was heading for Thunderbolt and ran into some really nasty weather that slowed my progress. Also, ‘Hell Gate’, not my beloved ‘Hell Gate’ on the East River in Manhattan, but that nasty muddy ditch that I had to plow through with my 5’8″ draft on the way south, was being dredged (Finally!!) and I had to slow down and wait for clearance from the dredge. It was getting dark and I decided, against the advice of all the cruising guides, to pull in to ‘Moon River’ for the evening. Here’s my log:

1500 – Entered Hell Gate, a dredge, ‘˜Richmond’ was working told me to go ahead and pass through, wasn’t much help, the regular buoys weren’t there.

1800 – Realized I wasn’t going to make it to Isle of Hope so I cancelled the reservation. Found a spot called ‘˜Moon River’, the same Johnny Mercer and Andy Williams ‘˜Moon River’, that showed as an anchorage on the chart but not recommended by any of the guides. Took a chance and entered, anchored in about 9′, let out 90′ feet of chain and felt very secure. Lots of bad weather predicted for tonight. Now I’m going to find a place for my buddy (Salty Dawg) to go to the bathroom. He hasn’t gone in 2 days. T’storms passed and it’s a pretty nice evening.

1830 – Lowered the dink and pulled into a private boat club, no one was around until I pulled in and then all the neighbors decided it was a good time to take a walk, or a bike ride or a jog. Well Salty went, and went and went. One of the residents, who was very friendly, happened to mention that there was a 7′ rise and fall of the tide. That made me very nervous, but at least if I’m aground I can’t drag. Back to the boat, going to cook the crabs tonight. Salty’s very mellow.

Monday, May 18, 2009 ‘“ Moon River

0200 – Awakened by the weather, cold and very windy. Checked the holding, excellent. Winds NE 20-25. NOAA radio is calling for three or four days of gale conditions. Worried about not being able to get out of here before the full gale arrives.

0600 – Got up and was going to take Salty for his walk but, conditions had deteriorated and I had all I could do just to get the dinghy back up top. Now the challenge was getting the anchor up. First the snubber then maneuvering the boat for the hoist which went very well, minimal amount of mud and got out of Moon River with a lowest reading of 8’.

1030 ‘“ Pulled into Thunderbolt Marina, Anthony the assistant dockmaster is from Pelham, friend of Tom Lyons son Chip. Going to stay at least two days depending on the storm. Slip $1.80/ft. Very accommodating place.

I’ll be leaving on Tuesday the 29th and heading for Annapolis for the boat show and then it’s Morehead City to visit my mother and then to Florida with many stops along the way. I’ll try to contribute to your ‘Wish List’.
Regards,
Joe Nekola
MV Sea Pearl
53′ DeFever RPH
Lying New Rochelle, NY

On 9/22/09, as part of a “Georgia Wish List,” I posed the following question:

10. Has anyone abandoned the ICW as it enters the Vernon River (near Statute Mile 597), and cruised upstream to anchor off charted Beaulieu or Montgomery?

Responses follow:

This is a great place to anchor! There is a deep channel on the east side of the river, and a broad area to anchor in 8 feet on the west just downstream from charted Beaulieu; after checking the area we preferred anchoring there rather than in the deeper water from Beaulieu to Montgomery. There are several shrimp boats which seem to be permanently anchored in the area, and we anchored upstream from the two shrimpers. It is a great alternative to the marinas from Isle of Hope to Thunderbolt.
Bob McLeran and Judy Young
MV Sanderling

Click Here To View the Georgia Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For the Vernon River Anchroages

On 9/22/09, as part of a “Georgia Wish List,” I posed the following question:

6. I’m sure any number of you have docked at one of the many facilities at Thunderbolt (Statute Mile 583). Please describe your experiences, good and bad. In particular, did you find Bahia Bleu Marina to be as wonderful as we discovered? Who has stopped or had repair work performed at Thunderbolt Marine? Please describe your experience.

Responses follow:

Stayed at Thunderbolt Marina at the beginning of July this year. Chose this marina because I had heard that it was a good place to get repairs done and we needed some work on our A/C unit. First the good news: Friendly and helpful dock hands. Easy on and off the ICW and a good place to fuel up. One of the employees has a great business delivering fresh produce and shrimp to your boat – just get an order form in the office and call her the day before. Your food will be delivered the next morning. Everything tasted great, especially the shrimp. Took a short walk to Tubby’s Tank for lunch. This will be a `must do’ the next time we pass through. The not so good news: I felt as if the management was a lot more efficient at computing billable hours than actually fixing our mechanical problems. After staying over an extra day just to resolve our problem, we couldn’t even get a call back from our repairman. We did get the bill right on time, however.
Shel Rabin (mv Evening Star)

Click Here To View the Georgia Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Thunderbolt Marine

The upstream portion of Vernon River, abandoned by the AICW, lies northwest of (now being dredged) Hell Gate. There are several good places to drop the hook here, as noted below by Captains Judy and Bob.

Subject: Vernon River anchorage
Cruising News: The Vernon River northbound beyond Hells Gate, north of the ICW cut off heading to Isle of Hope, is a great anchorage with room for a number of boats. The depth on the northwestern side of the river runs around eight feet at low tide. Anchor in the shallow area just beyond the two “permanent” fishing trawlers.
Bob McLeran & Judy Young

Click Here To View the Georgia Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Vernon River

Thunderbolt Marina, since it changed ownership some years ago, has been, and remains, an excellent facility.

Spent the past week in the yard at Thunderbolt Marine in Thunderbolt, GA. Can't  begin to explain how nice it was (if being stuck for repair is nice) Great facility, Great people and Really good service. They fixed everything they promised to do and provided solutions for what would take longer than our stay allowed. Small marina attatched for transients. Wonderful place to spend a few  days. Quiet safe and secure, Tranquil setting, but easy access to downtown Savannah without staying on the waterfront.
Not an advertising plug, just a satisfied client.
Mike Frazier
Tortuga

Just a quick laudatory word for one of my favorited Georgia marinas, and a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!

Isle of Hope Marina at mm 590 was a great stop for us. Very nice facility, loaner car, and easy ride to downtown Savannah.
Robert & Kay
C-Life

We spent a couple of nights at the Isle of Hope Marina in the last year. We used one of their two loaner cars to go to West Marine and to eat out. Very nice except there is a 2 hour limit on the cars so no time to go out for a leisurely meal. I cannot remember the restaurant but the marina was helpful suggesting places to eat.
Marina was nice and all were helpful. We were placed by the fuel dock on the Waterway so not a great spot but it worked while we were there.
Joe Spears

Of course, Isle of Hope Marina is a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR!

I'd look into Isle of Hope Marina, on the ICW, on the SE side of  Savannah. It's a great place, reasonable rates, easy drive into Savannah, friendly staff, and secure.
Bob McLeran and Judy Young          

Two good sets of recommendations!

I have heard good things about Hinckley, but we use Thunderbolt Marine. Their primary business is mega yacht type boats, but they do plenty of smaller boats too, including sailboats of every size and description. Their hourly rates are good, but a few notes:
1) they are very thorough, and don’t do things half baked, so those cheap hours mount quickly
2) they charge for everything: dockage, “yard fee” etc.
On the other hand 3) they will give you a very thorough work order/estimate in advance, which tends to estimate on the high side so that “surprises” are minimized unless something is discovered once they open ‘er up.
4) They stand behind their work with the highest degree of integrity.
Our most recent experience with them was pretty amazing in this day and age. The project manager for boats under 100′ is a younger guy named Phillip Howe. He was a QC guy (I think) with
Mainship prior to Thunderbolt, so is familiar with trawler and simpler craft. He will not BS you, and will steer you away from unnecessary or ill advised repairs and projects.
There is a “captain’s lounge” at the yard, and the marina across the basin, which is part of TMI, has very nice shower and laundry facilities.
George
“Incentive” Hatteras 56MY
currently anchored off Cocoa FL.. actually wore a T-shirt on the
flying bridge yesterday! Headed to Vero Beach later on.

I too heartily agree with Bill and his recommendation for Hinckley Yacht Services. We were at Hinckley off & on this past summer. We left Life’s2Short there for 5 weeks when we went back to MO to visit friends & family. We also had to return back to Hinckley after heading north when we had an elcectrical fire on board just south of Hilton Head. The guys in the yard are outstanding and really know their business!! I never met Dustin when I was there but you can call Mike Pranschke @ 912-629-2400, Mike is the Service Operations Manager. We also found that Hinckley had the best in-the-water transient rate of anyone in the Savannah area. Note that the tides are between 8 & 10 foot in that area, plan your approach at slack tide if at all possible, high slack tide if they are going to put you on the inside of the face dock!! Hinckley is not a true marina when it comes to all the bells and whistles a transient might need but they have clean showers and a great crew to support your
mechanical needs!! Tell them Life’s2Short sent you.
Brenda & Todd Lanning
M/V Life’s2Short

We stayed at Thunderbolt Marina last year. Very nice. The laundry and restrooms are air-conditioned. There are a few restaurants in the town of Thunderbolt and it is an easy run to grocery store (new Piggly Wiggly) and Home Depot. Bussing into Savannah is easy. Big yard across the harbor has excellent service. The marina delivers newspaper and Crispy Cream donuts to your boat every morning. Try to tie on inside of dock as current can be swift here and there are numerous crab pots in stream.
Isle of Hope a little further downstream is also nice. It is harder to get into town from here but they have a courtesy car. Marinas up the Savannah River are run by hotels and are expensive.
B. Deans
OCEANUS

Turner Creek intersects the ICW south of Thunderbolt. I have never considered anchoring here, as the Herb River is close by and usually makes a good overnight haven. There are also two facilities on this stream, Sail Harbor Marina, which is primarily a repair yard, and Hogan's Marina, which is somewhat small craft oriented.

Subject: Anchorage
Message: Nice anchorage short ways up Turner's Creek-Just south of the avannah River.!2 feet in the Creek but Hogan's Marina will lert you tie up for $5 not $10.
Howard Glaser

Moving south, the Georgia portion of the Atlantic ICW follows the Vernon River for a brief stretch, before heading through shoal prone Hell Gate. As Captian Rick notes below, it is a simple matter to depart the Waterway, and cruise upstream on the Vernon to some nice anchorages. Both of the havens he describes below are covered in my “Cruising Guide to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia.”
We have never had trouble with the holding ground near “Beaulieu,” but after reading about Rick’s experience here, we’ll take another look during research for the next update.

After a false start due to anchor dragging, we spent a pleasant night on the Vernon River last week (9/28). Our first attempt was near Beaulieu (N31d55.99m/W081d06.92m) in calm wind and ebbing tidal current. The hook set well for the first hour or so, but then an 8mph SSE wind and the newly incoming tide started us moving upriver. We relocated around the bend, past Breakfast Creek, to Montgomery (N31d56.25m/W081d07.69m) and stayed pegged to the spot in 7 feet (at low water) to 15 feet (at high water) through three tide swings. Next day we departed about one hour after high water and passage out the Ossabaw Sound north channel was pretty much routine.
Rick George, MV Hale Kai

Who is suprised, (NOT me) to hear that the name Hinkley is associated with quality service. I’ve always been impressed every time I’ve visited on of this famous company’s repair yards. Sounds like the Thunderbolt, Georgia facility lives up to this proud tradition!

After a recent electrical fire on board Life’s2Short I wanted to take a moment to thank the crew @ Hinckley Yacht Works in Savannah (Thunderbolt) GA. It’s so refreshing not to hear “Hmmmm, never seen this before?” from a mechanic when they step on board. The guys (Tim & Michele) who helped me rewire a number of items that got fried were fast, very knowlegeable & professional! I would highly recommend Hinckley to those of you who might need assistance as you travel the ICW!
I would also suggest to those of you who have a davit motor to check and make sure that it has some type of fuse or breaker in-line, ours did not. What happened was that over years of use the wire on the control box of the davit motor wore through, shorted itself out on the crane and melted the wire and every other wire that was touching it as it passed along 30′ of chase.
It’s quite scary when you’re anchored out enjoying the evening on the sundeck and all of a sudden your smoke alarm goes off. You then open the salon door and can’t see 3′ in front of you because of all the smoke rolling through your home! However no one was hurt (physically) and we were able to head back south to Hinckley under our own power.
Just thinking about this has made me thirsty, anybody for a Bloody Mary?
Brenda & Todd Lanning
M/V Life’s2Short