Meandering Joy: Thankful Thursday--St. Simons to Amelia

January 17, 2013

We left the marina this morning with a rising tide to make it through the shallow Jekyll Creek and with plans to arrive in Jacksonville by late afternoon. It is about 70 miles by water to Jacksonville which would take us about seven hours if we average 10 knots. Yes that is about ten miles in one hour--we are truly meandering our way down the ICW.

St. Simons sound is quite wide and deep presenting no problems crossing into Jekyll Creek. There are many shallow water reports for the creek, we missed shallow water. There are some confusing areas where the buoys have been moved. It can be quite nerve racking to maneuver around these buoys not knowing for sure if we are making the right move. We did it and made it through without any problem. We crossed the Jekyll Sound and headed down the Cumberland River hoping to see some of the wild horses that are known to live on the Cumberland Island. We passed a beautiful set of cabins and marina that we determined to be Cabin Bluff a retreat area. It can accommodate up to 40 people and can be used for conferences, weddings and family reunions.

After the serenity and peace of Cabin Bluff and the Cumberland River, we entered the Kings Bay area. Kings Bay is the home to a naval submarine base. The area is full of historical significance that you can read about it here.

We we entered the area, the channel markers became numerous and somewhat confusing. We were not confused, however, by the message sent to us by the police vessel that came out to greet us as we came closer to the base. Without saying a word, or calling us out on the VHF, we understood that we were not to come into his area. We made our turns and headed into the Cumberland Sound. It was here that the wind started to pick up and the seas became churlish. We were convinced the that the wind would die down once we were out of the sound and in the Amelia River. We crossed over into Florida at mile 712. We saw Fort Clinch at the north end of Amelia Island as we entered the river. Very quickly, the wind began pick up speed and the waves grew. The sky became gray and unwelcoming. While there was an anchorage in view, we decided it best not to ride out this storm.

I quickly readied the lines and called the Fernandina Harbor Marina to request a slip for the night. They referred us to the next marina about 3 miles out because the only slip they had available was on the outside T head. They thought the weather would be too bad to put us out on that side of the marina. We called to the Amelia Island Yacht Basin who welcomed us. It was a rough three mile ride with the wind kicking up. While Mr. Adventure was keeping us on course, I prepared two bowlines, two stern lines and two breast lines on both the port and starboard.

Just before the bridge we turned to our port side into a very narrow passage way into the marina. The wind at this time was the strongest it had been but now we had to be concerned with other boats in a narrow space. We declined the first slip as it seemed impossible to enter and chose a smaller slip but easier to get into with the high winds. Mr. Adventure got us in and the dockhands help tie us down. The rain began to fall but we were secure. So for this Thankful Thursday--I am thankful for safety and security in bad weather.