June 25: A Good Day Gone Bad

Scoping out the lighthouse. (Does that look like a stormy sky?)

We awoke on Saturday morning determined to carry on in the fine tradition of our friend, Judy, as intrepid tourists. First on our agenda was a walk on the beach. We chose to go southeast toward the Atlantic, since our walk the day before had been north along the Sound. We strolled the beach and then cut back through town, ending up at a small coffee shop and bar we'd scoped out the day before.

Our next stop was St. Simon's light house, where we climbed to the top and then toured the museum at its base. The museum is housed in the 1872 lighthouse keeper's house. We were short one dollar of the entry fee, but the nice lady at the entry said we could bring it back later, which we happily did.

The walk to the light house was short, but the walk UP the light house stairway was not so easy. One hundred and twenty-nine winding steps later, we reached the top in triumph. (Also a little breathless.) The view was worth it.


There are actually two museums associated with the lighthouse. One is the keeper's house, and the other is the old Coast Guard station on the Atlantic side of the island. That was our next stop, and we had a great time learning the story of the station and the men who'd worked there over the years. A great exhibit covered the 1963 hurricane that did away with the original beach house in front of where the Johnson beach house now sits. Another told about a U-boat attack on an oil ship just off St. Simon's during World War II. Another showed the Liberty ships that were built in Brunswick just across the Sound from St. Simon's during World War II. Both of our fathers came home from the war in Europe aboard one of those same ships.

View of St. Simon's village from lighthouse

After that, we adjourned to the beach house to fix a late lunch/early dinner: Low Country boil! A late afternoon thunderstorm rumbled outside, and we spent the evening planning our next day's trip to Cumberland Island. Not long after dark, our phones rang. It was our neighbors at the Jekyll Harbor Marina, advising us of the incredible news that Mulligan had been struck by lightning...AGAIN. 


We jumped in Judy's car (so thankful to have it!) and raced to the Marina, where we found Mulligan dark. We surveyed what we could using flashlights, made sure her bilges were dry, and left her at the dock unlocked in case she started to go down. Then we went back to the beach house and went to bed in shock.


Suffice to say that the next two days were spent in mourning, as we cast about for what to do next. Take Mulligan back ourselves? With no electricity or pumps to run faucets, we had no water, running or interior lights, bilge pumps, fridge, freezer or AC. A trip to Savannah allowed us to give Judy back her car and rent one of our own for the rest of the trip (and the drive back to Chattanooga). We also met with the staff at Thunderbolt, who were very helpful. After going back and forth with the insurance claim adjuster, we finally ascertained that our insurance company would pay for a tow captain to pull Mulligan back there for repairs, since it is the only "nearby" marina equipped to pull her out of the water. So we drove back to Jekyll to help get her ready for the tow. Tuesday morning, when we emerged from our hotel room, this is the sight that met us right outside our door:

Maybe we should be using this for our adventures
instead of trying to sail a giant lightning rod?

Now we are back in Chattanooga, and have been here for more than a month, waiting for engine parts to be installed. (It feels so familiar, and if we let ourselves think too much about it, we get depressed.)


This morning we went walking on the bridge over the Tennessee River here. At the dock below the bridge was a neat little 30' sailing catamaran. We sat on a bench on the bridge and observed it. Before long, a nice little family emerged from it and went traipsing off down the dock toward the breakfast delights of downtown Chattanooga. Not fair, we told ourselves. THOSE people are having fun on their boat. We're not. Having whined to each other, we bucked up and walked on. We head back to Savannah next week to check on the progress of the repairs. 


No more cruising news for a while, readers! Keep your fingers crossed for speedy repairs and a happy ending, OK?