continued
Another day, another 50 or so miles. It begins to feel as though Florida is so far away! I’m not complaining, just painting the picture of the monotony of the days. Even though it is beautiful and we are seeing things that are new and different for us, it does get a little weary. We found a nice anchorage just off the ICW and threw the hook out for the evening. A pretty uneventful day, but I’ll take those of long and stressful anytime.
Shellbine Creek on the ICW, GA – MM - 697 Mon Nov 17
Today we passed by Brunswick, St. Simons, and Jeckyll Islands. We had wanted to stop at Brunswick Island but we could not get the one and only marina to respond to us so we pushed on to finish another “50 mile day” and anchored in a creek off the ICW.
The forecast was for another cold front to push through and bring with it server thunder storms and high winds so we decided to head in early up the St. Mary’s River to a marina just a few miles up the river. We pulled into the marina just after 11:00 a.m. and EUREKA! Monica finally found a pal her own age, Robin, and they are both in the 8th grade using the same home schooling program. Her family is from Minneapolis and is making the same trip we are. They have two girls, one Monica’s age and a five year old. The parents, are wonderful and promptly introduced us to another sailing family from Martha’s Vineyard, Edgar Town, MA who had three kids on board, ages 8, 7, and 5. We all met up at the park and all six kids got along swell, and the adults all bonded, swapping sailing adventures with one another.
The storm came through early Wednesday morning and brought with it rain and high winds. All three boats decided to stay put and let the storm pass. By late afternoon, the sun had broken through and we all got together for a happy hour and made a plan to head for Cumberland Island the next day.
We left the marina in St. Mary’s that morning and headed back to the ICW a mile north to the entrance channel for Cumberland Island National Seashore and Park. This is one of the last truly unspoiled barrier islands. The only access to the island is via boat as there are no bridges to the island. There is a ferry that leaves from St. Mary’s that takes passengers to the island.
The three boats, now three sailing families traveling together, anchored right off the island. There is a dingy dock at the ranger station so we headed on shore with our picnic lunches. The island is a national park with a beautiful beach on the Atlantic Ocean that is accessible by hiking across the island, just under a mile, to the beach. The island is full of beautiful moss dripping live oaks and other vegetation that is tropical. There are wild horses that live on the island, although we did not see them. We did spy an owl in the forest as we hiked across to the beach.
