Eagle Island Adventure

A long weekend with 10 women stranded on an island has the potential to become a disaster, especially when you factor in that most these women were virtual strangers before the trip, each one connected only to one or two other ones. But Eagle Island is not the place for disaster, it is an amazing place. It brings out the best in everyone and touches places inside you that you have forgotten exist. You leave your stress, worries, and inhibitions at the dock in Darien and relax into the adventure.

Click here to visit Eagle Island

www.privateislandsofgeorgia.com

Linda Hopkins

Linda's first experience kayaking was July 2008 when we entered her in the Libertyfest kayak race.

She came in 4th place. That lead to her buying her own kayak, aptly named "Lipstick Sunset" for the beautiful sunsets we watch from the porch. After each coastal experience she can't wait to come home and share her stories and pictures with her boys Brett, Kris, and Corey and her granddaughter, Bryce.

"Lipstick Sunset" by John Hiatt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzwm_y0sqKc

Rhonda Rhoades

Rhonda is always ready for the next yacht club adventure. You wouldn’t know that she is leery of water except for the life jacket very near by. (Hey, we didn’t have coastal waters in Indiana!:) Besides kayaking in her Cherry Bomb, she loves hiking, cycling, and most of all, spending time with her daughters Anna, Lauren, and son-in-law Dave. Lauren and Dave are showing an interest in kayaking, so the membership may be growing soon.

John Mellencamp's "Life Is Now"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj6O-HD0SlI

Hell Bent and Coastal Bound

Little did we know that a "girl's weekend out" at the coast would begin a wonderful tradition. Every chance we get we are "Hell Bent and Coastal Bound". (We thank Leo for that name).

These are a few of our favorite coastal things....

• Kayaking on the Medway River
• Boating to St. Catherines and Ossabaw
• Sitting around on the dock at friend's house at Half Moon
• Paddling with feeding dolphins
• Eating crab cakes at the Sunbury Crab Company
• Napping in the hammock
• Marsh combing on spring tides
• Observing shore birds, eagles, fiddler crabs, dolphin, loggerhead turtles, sting rays, and other wildlife
• Listening and boogeying to music
• Fine dining at Jerome's Old School Diner (well worth the trip to Eulonia)
• Making a low country boil with shrimp right off the boat
• Picking and eating muscadines and scuppernongs right off the vine
• Grilled oysters and Key lime pie at Uncle Bubbas
• Antiquing in Savannah
• Pralines from River Street Sweets in Savannah
• Watching the storms roll in over St. Catherine's Sound
• Sunrises in Sunbury and sunsets at Half Moon
• Sleeping with the windows open and the breeze blowing in off the water
• The locals making us Atlanta girls feel very welcome
  

Chicken Fried - Zac Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6tyuOQCP1E

Deep River Blues - Doc Watson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gv4va8Y8lg

Let it Roll - Little Feat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgmgErncC_A

Oostanaula River (Craig's surprise birthday paddle)

Labor Day 2007....

Time to see a new river. We paddled about three miles upstream on the Oostanaula from the boat ramp at Highway 140 just west of Adairsville. We didn't see another person on this river all day. We did see several of the protected "lake sturgeon" they are trying to reintroduce into this river, many groups of large fresh water mussels, some snapping turtles, and blue heron. Craig thought it was just another day to paddle, but we surprised him when we stopped for lunch with some "Happy Birthday" strawberry shortcake!

Take Me To The River - Talking Heads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg05vcpLKKc

Nita and Craig Watson

Our newest members have been canoeing for many years and have gotten into kayaking since they joined our ranks last year. Nita is always ready for an adventure, and they will both load up to go paddle with little or no notice. Craig is the only male member of the Sunbury Yacht and Pleasure Club. (He doesn't seem to mind.)

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdNnw99-Ic

Suzzette Bradfield

Suzzette is the trip planner for the Yacht Club. Even though she stays on the road with her job all week, she is always willing to load kayaks and hit the road on the weekend. In the picture above she spends Mother's Day 2007 kayaking with her son Hunter.

Don't Blink - Kenny Chesney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ySSg4QG8g

Call Me The Breeze - Lynyrd Skynyrd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeDuZhi52iU

Gail Demchik

Gail considers herself the entertainment chairperson of the Yacht Club. She is responsible for music, theme songs and recording memories with photography. Kayaking is her newest passion, but cycling is her life long passion. She enjoys celebrating anything or any occasion with friends and family, including son Steven (in picture).

Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWzuLAHnGBQ

Diamonds on The Inside - Ben Harper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gpGv0gG9fk

Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vaughn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdYRzH10L2M

A Three Hour Tour?!!?! The Ogeechee River Trip

A fellow Savannah paddler (who will remain unnamed) was our "tour guide" for what was to be a three hour paddle down the Ogeechee River. Morgan's Bridge at Hwy 204 was our launch point, and our destination was the landing at Hwy. 17 just past Love's Seafood. When we left a car at the take out it was about 13 miles back to the launch. That should have been clue #1! The Ogeechee is a beautiful river complete with cyprus trees, an abundance of wildlife, and some fascinating wildflowers that were unknown to us. A portion of the river passes through Fort Stewart property. There is no development so there is nothing but wilderness on both sides of the river. FOUR HOURS into our THREE HOUR paddle we realized we were not even close to our take out. Fortunately, a good supply of water and a couple of granola bars supplied us with the energy we needed to paddle the SECOND FOUR HOURS of our trip. Three hours away from our destination the tide started coming in and a headwind of 20 mph came off the Atlantic. When we got to the take out EIGHT HOURS after we begain our journey we were thankful we had enough strength to load our kayaks on the Jeep. The Sunbury Yacht and Pleasure Club now has a library and we are proud owners of "A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Georgia" by Welander, Sehlinger, & Otey, and "The Georgia Coast Waterways and Islands" by Zydler & Zydler. The moral of this story is do your own research before you paddle any river.

"Whipping Post" Allman Brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3RWqFlvJs

http://www.ogeecheecanoocheeriverkeeper.org/

http://http//www.savannahga.net/dining/lovesseafood.html

The Altamaha Gator Encounter

Exploring an oxbow on the Altamaha River in February 2007 proved to be a memorable experience. We were enjoying the primeval surroundings of cyprus and live oak trees when the oxbow narrowed and the banks kept getting closer and closer. Mesmerized by the stunning scenery, movement on the bank caught Gail's eye. When we turned to look we saw and heard a very large alligator hit the water coming toward us. Speechless and unable to turn our 14' kayaks around quickly while dodging cypress trees, we paddled like hell until we got out of the oxbow. Locals assured us that the alligator would not bother us, but we were certain that alligator wanted two blondes for lunch.

Flirtin with Disaster - Molly Hatchet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOyXLYadgzI

Born to Be Wild - Hinder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrAdflj54K0

http://www.altamahariver.org/

Community Service on the Silver Comet Trail

The Sunbury Yacht and Pleasure Club along with Team BOBB (Babes on Bodacious Bikes) are the very proud sponsors of a half mile section of the Silver Comet Trail in Cobb County. Our section of the trail is located west of the Florence Road rest area. We do trail clean up four times a year. We can't always clean up rivers!
If Everyone Cared - Nickelback

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QfLJbEN3k

Waiting - John Mayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXWXQeHCWpo

http://http//www.pathfoundation.org/index.cfm?event=showSilverComet

About Us - The Atlanta Chapter

SUNBURY YACHT AND PLEASURE CLUB

"Our Yachts are Paddle Powered"

Mission Statement:

We are an environmentally aware social group focused on the pleasure of kayaking the rivers of coastal Georgia and the Southeast.

Theme Song:

Toes by The Zac Brown Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u94NyCDBGhk

The Chattahoochee, Our Local River

When responsibilities keep us in the Atlanta area we paddle the Hooch. This was an early morning launch from Azalea Drive in Roswell near the Atlanta Rowing Club's dock. Paddling upstream to the shoals provides us with a good workout. Weather permitting we fill up several trash bags from the shoals and haul them back with us on our leisurely paddle back to Azalea Drive.

Home -Marc Broussard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC1v5trmB1E

Oh Atlanta - Little Feat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3wdLGnnEco

http://www.ucriverkeeper.org/

http://www.nps.gov/chat/

Tybee Island Paddling

In the prologue of Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons there is a description of a "savage and beautiful ballet" that occurs in the low country tidal rivers and creeks. During neap tides dolphin use these low tides to herd mullet onto the banks. Our first naive observation of this noisy ritual was that something was terribly wrong. We were stunned by the sights and sounds. It was amazing to be in the center of this bi-annual rite of passage.

Where the River Flows - Collective Soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk8XluskVMs

http://www.tybeeisland.com/kayaking.shtml

Naming of the fleet

The weeks following our first paddling trip lead to many trips to "Go With the Flow", our favorite outfitters. Our $350.00 budget soon blossomed to over $1,000.00 for each of us with the purchase of our Wilderness System Tarpon 140's and a multitude of accessories. Taking the advice of the owners of the store and spending almost our original budget on a paddle was well worth the investment (as we later learned paddling in Jamaica with rental paddles). Naming our kayaks became a community event with a flurry of emails giving ideas for songs to use as names. Suzzette chose Keb Mo's "Dangerous Mood", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U37JOVoDIE Gail's choice was Outkast's "Idlewild Blue" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dkpZhEcaMI, Indiana girl Rhonda picked John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGoQNXWgopg. Two founding members have yet to name their kayaks. Our two newest members, are working on names for their kayaks.

http://www.gowiththeflow.com/productcart/pc/viewcategories.asp

http://www.wildernesssystems.com/

Party on the sandbar at low tide

The unplanned inaugural paddle started with a large stingray at the dock as we tried to get in our kayaks. As we rounded the bend in the river, dolphins swam between the boats. Since it was our first time paddling we took a break at a sandbar among the feeding shore birds. Nature lovers that we are, we were hooked at this point. We are fortunate enough to have cabana boys with boats deliver adult beverages to our sandbar. Partying on the sandbar quickly became a Sunbury Yacht & Pleasure Club tradition.

Rolling on the River - Beyonce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYtnNk7xCRE

Higher Ground -Red Hot Chili Peppers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS3hEuAbuLE

Founding Day Sunbury Yacht & Pleasure Club

In August 2006, Coastal Georgia was the setting for the founding of the Sunbury Yacht and Pleasure Club. An afternoon kayaking with friends on the Medway River was such a pleasurable experience that the five founding members decided to continue to paddle together on an irregular basis. Our home port would be Sunbury Marina in beautiful Sunbury, Georgia.

Find Out Who Your Friends Are - Tracy Lawrence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qPcmNdduVU

Hey Ya - Outkast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNdk8C-ARxw

Sunbury Crab Company http://www.sunburycrabco.com/