We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and I couldn’t resist another opportunity to take the golf cart to several small shops that are part of the Beach Village shopping complex. It had a wonderful mix of souvenir shops, beach apparel and outdoor stores. There were also several restaurants and a Westin with a Starbucks! After window shopping, we headed back to the boat to prepare for our next 32 miles to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach. We left on a rising tide and even though the miles were short the journey was long. Just past Jekyll Island we had our first and my least favorite sound crossing at St. Andrews Sound. Even though its a very large sound it is known to be shallow and isn’t recommended for boaters headed into the ocean who are traveling outside. The magenta line also took us to the edge of the open ocean, before taking a 90 degree turn to head back inland. We saw several small fishing boats cut off the corner but we decided after reading several charts and books to stay with our line just to be safe. It was a bit unnerving to be in the open ocean however!
After a successful crossing we started the journey past Cumberland Island. The island is known as one of Georgia’s largest barrier islands with beautiful marshes and unspoiled beaches. It is rich in history and looked like a great spot for a day trip or camping on another occasion. We added it to our ever growing list of places we would never have known about and now want to visit thanks to these Intracoastal trips. It is quite a long island with most of our trip today just west of its marshy shoreline. As we cruised thru the skinny channel we noticed what appeared to be a hunting cabin up ahead. I pulled out the binoculars and, as we got closer, we discovered Cabin Bluff. It was originally founded in the 1800’s as the first members-only hunting club in the US. It became Cabin Bluff in 1928 and served as a hunting and fishing lodge for wealthy southerners and northerners alike. Today it is the perfect corporate or large family retreat. Although we weren’t able to get too close, we could see a gorgeous dock and beautiful, rustic facilities. It appears to have a pond on the property, a pool, tennis courts and even a golf course.
We continued meandering thru Fancy Bluff Creek and on to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. According to my waterway guide, this area is very restricted and you must not only pay close attention to the channel markers but also stay alert for the safety boats who are in the water patrolling with the submarines. If a sub was in the water during that time, then you would be escorted thru the area by one of these boats. Oh joy! As we got closer and closer, we ran into another Navy dredger. Double Joy! Philip, the ever mindful captain, slowly navigated us thru the treacherous waters following all the different and lesser known waterway markers as I babbled on in his ear telling him everything my Waterway Guide book said to do.
We made it through and found ourselves finally in Florida and the beginning of Amelia Island! We crossed the Amelia River and marveled at how industrial the island appeared to be. Soon after, we passed the downtown marina, Fernindina Harbor Marina, where we had hoped to stay. However, thanks to Hurricane Matthew and what seems to be a two-year cluster of government red tape, they only have 3-5 slips available at any given time. We instead went a little further down the island to the gorgeous Amelia Island Marina. Not a moment to late, we pulled into our slip and it started to pour down rain again, more remnants from TS Alberto. Once the rain finally passed, we showered and Ubered back up to the town of Fernindina Beach.
Another small, cute town with shops and restaurants, we walked around and explored a bit before having some Mexican for dinner. I could eat Mexican every day and we hit a jackpot at Pablo’s Mexican Cuisine. We then went up to the second level of the Salty Pelican and watched the boats pass by on the ICW. Peyton loved watching the train and walking around the fledgling Fernandina Harbor Marina.
