The wind died down and we felt it was a perfect day to motor up the ICW to Jekyll Island, Ga.

Leaving Fernandina Harobr Marina, FL

As the picture indicates, it was going to be an overcast day in Fernandina Beach but no rain.  We could handle that.  Cooler temperatures meant we had to put on light jackets to keep warm.  We did get sprinkled on just as we were entering Jekyll Marina but nothing major.

The paper mill was working full tilt.  Isn’t that a huge pile of saw dust?  Or wood chips?!

Papermill in the morning

If you ever lived in Atlanta, GA you will know that “Peach Tree” is on almost every sign.  Peachtree Avenue, Peachtree Lane, Circle, St., and on many of the business signs.  So, too is the Cumberland area.  There is Cumberland Island, Cumberland sound, Cumberland River, and more.  Cumberland Sound joins St. Mary’s River and the Cumberland River.

Cumberland Sound – port side view

Cumberland Sound – starboard view

To the east is Cumberland Island which is noted for the wild horses that run free.  We didn’t see any horses from our vantage point.  Just marsh, marsh, and more marsh.  I actually marvel at the kind of grass, bushes, and trees that are able to grow so abundantly in the brackish salt water.  I wonder if there is a way to tap that ability to desalinate the ocean for drinking water?  hmmmm science project in the making?  There are no roads over to the island.  You have to boat over or take the ferry.  Preservation of the barrier island is important to the Georgia shoreline.

Cumberland Island

I mentioned St. Mary’s River.  It has has deep water to ensure the naval submarines can come into the Naval Base from the Atlantic.  Deep water.  It is charted to be at least 42 feet deep.  Very deep considering most of the ICW is dredged to be 10 – 20ft.  I think we found almost 52 ft of water at a couple of places.

Per wikipedia, “The Submarine Base is the U.S. Atlantic Fleet‘s home port for U.S. Navy Fleet ballistic missile nuclear submarines armed with Trident missile nuclear weapons…”

We were on the lookout for subs.  Some folks have seen them moving in/ out of the area.  We didn’t this time.  I am surprised that the charts indicate this monster metal object as a naval degaussing area.  It is used to removed any magnetic signature of the subs to reduce their detection.   Or so they say.

Degaussing area

I guess if Wikipedia has information about this base, it certainly isn’t a secret.  The charts all indicate this degaussing unit as well as the base with “alerts”.   As we motored past the degaussing unit, we saw the ever present naval ‘go fast boat’ guarding the entrance to the base.

Naval Guard Vessel

The ICW took us up the channel and it looked like we would go right into the base.  We tried not to look dubious.   They powered up and kept pace with us for a few minutes.  Then the ICW abruptly make a 45 degree turn at the last minute to the east and away from the base.  They backed off and went back to their surveillance.

That was the excitement for the day.  We arrived at Jekyll Marina mid-day.  The wind kicked up and it took us 2 tries to dock the boat.  The current pushed us in one direction and the wind another.  Wayne handled it like a pro.  The dock hands gave us a lot of help also.  Whew!  Parallel parking a 44,000 lb boat between two other boats with very little room to spare is nerve wracking to say the least.  But, we made it and relaxed the rest of the day.  Rain was in the forecast overnight.

No sunset picture.  It was grey all day.