Cumberland Island and area

On Monday evening at 5:30pm we arrived at St. Mary’s Intercoastal Marina. Colin caught our lines and docking was a challenge but we did it with no damage to Lorena. In the evening we walked the town and ate.
The following morning we took looooong showers, did 3 loads of laundry, washed boat, had GF breakfast sandwich and coffee and Kraken Cafe and went to a bookstore (Hope for the Flowers and Norse Mythology) then at 2:30pm we rode the outgoing current down the river to Cumberland Island, where there was only one other boat. I called Dad once we were anchored but in the middle of conversation Brian spotted something close to shore so I cut the call short and helped to get the dinghy down fast and see if something needed rescued— alligator, manatee, whale. Turns out it was just a couple of Mantees close to shore. We paddles back, in a stiff current. The tides here are 6-7feet and the currents run up to 3knots. The live oaks and Spanish moss from the shoreline was breathtaking.
Wednesday we explored Cumberland Island, seeing more manatees at the public dinghy dock. We wandered around the Carnegie house ruins at Dungeness and saw lots of wild horses, including foals, one of which I touched. We had a long walk on the beach in the Southern End between Dungess and the Sea Camp, and Brian took a quick dip in the ocean.
Thursday morning is reserved for Ashlynn (she is in NB) this week and I always LOVE our catch-ups! We saw a Submarine leave the channel (from the Kings Bay nuclear submarine base), and we went back to the island and walked on Cumberland Parellel Trail and back via the beach and Sea Camp (bugs bad)… saw lizards with red heads and others with blue tails and a turtle in the dunes. The beach was also full of horseshoe crabs. While on the beach we saw a sailboat coming in the channel and determined it was our friend on Carioca (Fiona and Chris), as we left the island, we motored out to welcome them to the anchorage which now had 10 boats and invited them over for drinks (water is all we have, but they brought beer). We caught up with them in the evening after they had walked the shore.
On Friday we headed into Cumberland again for a quick walk to the salt ponds (hoping to see armadillos and alligators), we saw the white foal and another one in front of the castle. Our plan was to go to Amelia Island, but instead we decided to sail the night and go to Wassaw Island on the Odingsell River.
After a passage with not much sleep again… I snoozed alot on Saturday . We arrived at 8am and slept till noon, surprised to see so many weekend boats enjoying the beach on both sides.
On Sunday I had a board meeting for Freeing the Human Spirit and then we took the dinghy to the beach and went for a walk, again, amazed at the number of dead horseshoe crabs… I was able to save one and get it back into the water.
Monday was a holiday (Memorial Day) so still several boats on shore, although the weather was threatening rain so no as many as previous days. We dinghied down the river, through a marsh area to a public dock. We got a the main road, and then took Pavilion trail…which took us over a ridge and to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean which was deserted for miles either way. We enjoyed a nice walk (and my brother Pete called while there). Brian forged for gifts while I was on the phone, bringing me sand dollars, sea urchin and snail shells.
Both Brian and I read Untamed (The Wildest Women in America and the fight for Cumberland Island) by Will Harlan. Normally I am not a fan of historical books, but this one about the islands history and the life of Carol Ruckdeschel was awesome!
As a Canadian I have to figure out the I-94 form and try and determine how much time I have left in the country as they didn’t acknowledge my departure back in November. Brian was dealing with trying to close the KLEB llc and email.
We left on Tuesday at 6:45am to catch the high tide (which was actually at 4:30am), and head to Hilton Head, only 30nm away.Baca lagi