UNDERWAY
22
cruisingworld.com
L
ast November marked
the 15th annual Cruis-
ers’ Thanksgiving cele-
bration, hosted by St. Marys,
Georgia, residents for those
heading south.
The gathering is held at
the Riverview Hotel, which
has been in the Brandon fam-
ily since 1920. Jerry and his
wife, Gaila, have graciously of-
fered up the hotel since the
event’s inception. As Jerry tells
it, back in 2001 a storm blew
through, forcing several boats
to seek refuge in the harbor.
That night in Seagle’s Saloon,
the hotel’s pub, the sailors
asked if there might be a
restaurant open for a Thanks-
giving meal. Sadly, there was
not.
Southern hospitality being
what it is, however, several of
the local residents at the pub
offered to share their holi-
day turkeys and hams that
night, and the sailors agreed
to bring side dishes. Since the
hotel restaurant was closed on
Thanksgiving, the Brandons
said they would open up the
room so they could all meet
there for dinner.
The gathering grew slowly
by word of mouth, helped by
the fact that many cruisers’
boat insurance requires them
to be north of Florida until
December 1. (The border is
about 5 miles away.)
This year’s event drew 108
cruisers and 58 locals for a to-
tal of 166 guests. There were
57 boats, 28 of which were an-
chored in the harbor; another
nine were on the hard, and
the rest were in marinas.
The various events ran
over five days, with nightly
gatherings at Seagle’s Saloon,
including an oyster roast on
Wednesday. For more infor-
mation, or to RSVP to the
2016 Cruisers’ Thanksgiving,
visit the Riverview Hotel’s
website (riverviewhotelst
marys.com). — David Gillespie
CRUISERS’
THANKSGIVING
October 23, 2015
March 6, 2016
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Every year, southbound sailors gather in St. Marys, Geor-
gia, for a Thanksgiving feast at the Riverview Hotel. Other
events during the holiday week include a swap meet, pot-
luck and nightly gatherings. DAVID GILLESPIE