"ICW Trip 2001 Leg 20 - Before Thanksgiving" Top 5 Page for this destination Jekyll Island Travelogue by grandmaR

STRUGGLER with barge

Pulled the anchor and were underway about 7:20. The boat way up the river proved to be WITCH DOCTOR which came down and passed us. We passed a very large motor yacht and also a small cruise ship called NANTUCKET CLIPPER (with very smoky engines) coming north. In Altamaha Sound, we saw a shrimp boat named STRUGGLER towing a barge.

Typical landscape in Georgia sounds

As we came across the Brunswick River and turned down into the creek by Jekyll Island, we saw WITCH DOCTOR anchored in what appeared to be a very bad place - near a lot of riprap. Later saw a SeaTow boat darting around at random in the inlet. Still later, saw WITCH DOCTOR being towed west

We got to Jekyll after 50 miles and tied up and got fuel by about 3:45. They put us on the fuel dock pointing up north. A little power boat with no name from MD (the owner said he was vacillating between naming it after his girl friend or his grandson, so was calling it ERIN D) that was in Thunderbolt across the dock from us is also here. There is a data port on the pay phone for email, but there is no power cord connection there, so the dockmaster let me use his office again. I didn't get to swim in the pool. They have a nice little restaurant with good service and not too expensive. I got some Brunswick stew to go.

Looking back at island

The guy from ERIN D gave us some help getting underway (we are very close to the bridge and have to get out against the current). The big power boat that came in last night, and two sailboats have already left

Several guys with big power boats at Palmer Johnson indicated that they wanted to spend Thanksgiving at Fernandina, so I am a little nervous that we won't have a space available. Bob put up the jib, but pulled it down again when we were in the lee of Little Cumberland Island.

Cumberland Island

The waves in St. Andrew Sound are one or two feet - Bob rigs the whisker pole. The current is with us - the GPS says we are doing 6.5 knots or 7.4 mph. Bob has a brain fart and takes us down the wrong side of the river (there is a high spot in the middle). We could possibly get through at the end as there is a reported 5 feet there, and the tide is coming up, but he elects not to try and turns around, backwinding the jib. KNOCK OFF passed us while we were working our way back to the channel against the wind and the current. The CG came up and tried to pass CONSORT (a sailboat which was behind us). CONSORT didn't slack up, so they eventually just passed and let them deal with the wake. We had a good pass. Did not see any wild horses on Cumberland Island.

Degaussing Range

Went by the Kings Bay sub base but did not see any subs. Mustard and white signs on the beach said "Waterway Closed, Stay Back 500 feet".

We did see the degaussing range again. I took some pictures, although Bob said I should not. It is marked on all the charts, so it's not as if it is a big secret.

Fernandina Docks 2004

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