tadhana: cumberland island, GA

from fernandina beach, FL, we crossed the st. mary's river and then we were in georgia. we only had to travel seven miles to the anchorage, dropped the dinghy and went ashore. tom flashed his senior citizen national parks pass at the ranger and then we were free to wander around. since we'd been at cumberland island before, we passed on the places we had been to and took a walking trail north then went out on the beach and walked along it on the way back. it was nice to be back among the live oaks and spanish moss. the beach was mostly deserted, just the way we like it. the sand was hard packed and there wasn't much in the way of shelling. the atlantic can be brutal that way. it was also warmer than it had been when we were there last december.

on the way back to the ranger station and our dinghy, we encountered an armadillo who didn't seem to know we were there - so engrossed in foraging.

armadillo video

we went back to the boat for lunch just as love and luck (less), one of the boats that was with us in the SAIL rally, showed up. they and another boat, suenos (formerly ryajen but had a name change in key largo), had been shadowing us since cocoa. i swear, we will never lose these people hahaha.... well, folks are making their way north now that spring has sprung.

after lunch, we got back on the dinghy with the plan to explore the north part of cumberland island. we put 25 miles on the dinghy that afternoon. i don't think we have to worry about carbon build-up on the outboard now. it needed the exercise anyway. i don't think the marshes we went through have seen much in the way of people. we also had to pick our way back when the tide went out. we are back in the land of the serious tide swings.

even though i had to work that night, it was very pleasant being anchored - the night was pitch black so that the stars were clear and bright. there was no road noise or ANY noise of any kind, just the sound of the atlantic surf crashing on the ocean side of the island. unfortunately, though, i was having an issue with the internet signal - it always happens, of course, when i need to play catch-up at work and am in a hurry. i ended up creating a hotspot with my iPad and tethering it to the laptop and that worked out okay. it is ALWAYS something...

we got up early the next morning and after checking weather, decided that we would go on the outside that day and make some miles. upon getting out into the ocean, however, it was a bit rolly. it "looked" flat but it certainly didn't feel that way and a little later, some fog rolled in, however, it wasn't that bad and we just kept going. the original plan was to go back on the inside at st. simon's sound but when we reached there, we changed our minds and pushed on for doboy sound, and with that move, we were essentially bypassing two of the ICW trouble spots where one would have to wait for high tide to negotiate the shallower areas. after studying and calculating, the time spent cruising would have been the same but the distance covered would be much more. as i said earlier, it wasn't exactly pleasant on the outside, but on the other hand, it wasn't that bad or even dangerous . we lost internet signal on the atlantic side of cumberland island and then it returned as we approached st. simon's sound. some day soon, i hope, the whole earth will be one big hotspot and no one will ever lose communication again. still having to work for a living while cruising sucks. on the other hand, it's better than not cruising at all, but it sure would be easier if i didn't have to fight with the internet all the time!

we made it in through doboy sound okay despite the fact that some channel markers were missing. from there, it was just a short cruise inland and we were back on the ICW. we anchored amidst the marshes in new teakettle creek, a lovely desolate place with no shore access. the only problem with the marshes at night.... no see-ums! now that it is warmer, we've been noticing them. i suppose that together with the bruises on my legs and arms from banging into things on the boat, the insect bites are part and parcel of the whole experience (sigh). i can't say how many different kinds of bottles of bug juice i have on the boat. should i have bought that bottle of NO NATZ that i saw over at fernandina beach? i hate to use the deadly stuff after a shower. it would be one thing if i was out in the woods camping but this is my home! in any case, they are gone in the morning but then again, this raises the question - where do they go??? if they manage to get through the screens and into your home at night, where do they go during the day? grrr..... i hate the little buggers :(

we got up at o'dark early the next morning and got going as soon as we could see to time high tide at the hell gate shoal, as well as at the entrance to the delegal creek marina to visit some classmates of mine from medical school - cynthia and edgar - who live on skidaway island, GA. i hadn't seen them since graduation in 1981! what a welcome - a bouquet of yellow tulips AND a sushi lunch! at least we got the boat cleaned up before cynthia arrived haha... delegal creek marina is situated in an absolutely lovely spot with marsh all around. we are here for a few days.