Brown Eyed Girl: Jacksonville Beach, Cumberland Island and Jekyll Island

Jacksonville Beach, FL

Palm Cove Marina

April 14,2012

We left St. Augustine Municipal Marina on Saturday morning at 7:00 A.M. and traveled about 30 miles to Jacksonville Beach and the Palm Cove Marina. I had read that the entrance was narrow and shallow - and it was. The fairways were also narrow and shallow so backing into the slip was tight but the captain prevailed once again with some encouraging words from the first mate. There is a shopping center close by with a Publix so I went shopping. The marina said we could use one of their carts to haul the groceries which was nice. The problem is that the Publix is on the other side of a very busy highway and unless you want to walk up to the traffic light it is a challenge to cross. You can cross to the median and wait for the traffic to clear the other way and then go. I of course did not want to walk another 200 yards to the traffic light so I crossed with my two wheeled cart both empty going over and full coming back. There is a restaurant on site which is obviously pretty good because we could not get reservations for Saturday night. We ate on the boat and went to bed because we were leaving early on Sunday for and anchorage at Cumberland Island (YEAH !!!!)

Coming into Palm Cove Marina

Leaving Palm Cove Marina with "Passport"

St. Marys, GA

Lang's Marina

April 15, 2012

We got to our anchorage at Cumberland Island about noon and let out 100 feet of line. I felt pretty good (not really) about the anchor holding and put down the dinghy so we could go ashore to visit the island. John and Mary on "Passport" had also anchored by this time and they were getting ready to get in their dinghy. We waited about 1/2 hour to see how things were and all (I have 4) of the anchor alarms went off. Ginny said we should reset the anchor but I said we should pull anchor and head for a marina up the St. Mary's River about 5 miles away. I got my way and we called Passport and told them we were going to a marina and headed for Lang's Marina on the St. Marys River. I called the marina and they were at lunch and said to call back at 1:00. I calculated that we would be getting to the marina just about then so I was a little nervous. I got in touch with the Nat the dockmaster/owner and he said the only thing he had available was a face dock about 1/4 mile from the main marina. I had also read stories that Nat was probably not going to run 1/4 mile and help us dock so we were on our own. Nat said the dock was empty but I told him that I saw two boats on the dock and he said there shouldn't be anyone there. Well, it actually was very fortunate that there were boats there because they had just arrived and they helped us get tied up in a very stiff wind and current. We had all of the essentials, a dock, electric and water. We visited the town of St. Mary's and it is a neat little town even on a Sunday. We ate dinner at a local restaurant and retired for the night. I was planning on going to Jekyll Island the next day when the tide was rising. I planned to leave about 1:00 P.M.

Old telephone booth at Lang's Marina East

Safely docked at Lang's

An old inn which is now a Bed and Breakfast in St. Marys

The submarine museum was open but we did not go in (Sorry Al)

Our pier to the boat from land

Leaving Lang's Marina

Cumberland Island, GA

Sea Camp day dock

April 16, 2012

After we got up late and had breakfast it was about 8:00 and Ginny said why don't we go to Cumberland Island and try to anchor again so we could see the island. The wind was calm and there was plenty of water depth so I said why not. Actually I had read that there is a free day dock at Cumberland so I was keeping my fingers crossed that it was free. Maybe because it was a Monday or maybe because it was early but the dock was open so we took it. This is the same dock that the dingys tie up to from the anchored boats. The sign said public dock and nobody told us to leave so we secured the boat and went on a walk about of Cumberland Island. I am very glad Ginny suggested this because it was a great. We saw a lot of nature and a bunch of free range horses. There were ruins of the Carnegie mansion called Dungeness and a large beach on the Atlantic side of the island.

In the jungle

Another great shot of the live oaks in the South

Wild horses

The ruins of Dungeness

A mother and her baby

The back yard of the rich

Our free day dock in Cumberland Island at low tide

This is the entrance to Kings Bay which is a military facility - heavily guarded

Jekyll Island, GA

Jekyll Harbor Marina

April 16-17, 2012

We left Cumberland Island at about 12:30 and timed our arrival into Jekyll something after 4:00 so we could be on a rising tide when we arrived. The trip was not very long but a little boring because the river winds around and there is not much scenery. Before you get to Jekyll Island you need to go into St. Andrew Sound for a short time which is really part of the Atlantic. It was pretty windy so I was expecting a rough ride but it was not bad and most of the time the wind was behind us. I had also heard horror stories about the shallow water in the Jekyll Creek which is why I wanted to come in at high tide but we seemed to have plenty of water so all was good. We got tied up about 4:30 and had a late happy hour with "Passport" and "Mary Francis IV". Both of those couples are named Mary and John and they are both from the same marina in Mackinaw City, MI. Both of them left on Tuesday headed for Savannah (Isle of Hope Marina) but Ginny and I wanted to see Jekyll Island so we stayed and I am glad we did. We spent the day in the historical district and had a very nice lunch at the Jekyll Island Club.