Wednesday, November 3, 2010 – Fernandina Harbor Marina - slip, Florida (ICW mile 716.5)

 
 
 
It was a very pleasant morning. We weren’t in a big hurry since it was only about 30 miles to our next stop so we watched the world go by for a few hours and didn’t pull up anchor until shortly before 11 am.

At low tide, around 2 pm, we were in Cumberland Sound just before King’s Bay and came through some spots in the channel with less than two feet of water under the keel. We were okay with our shallow draft, but most cruising boats would have run aground.

We heard some traffic about a naval escort in King’s Bay where there is a submarine base and wondered if we might get a glimpse of a nuclear submarine. Somehow, maybe it was the grey skies or that the military detail was focused towards the ocean, our arrival in the vicinity of the base was unnoticed until we were right in the middle of things. The Coast Guard finally hailed us and told us to get out of the channel and head toward the shore. We were to move as close to the long pier as we could safely manage and hold our position. There was a helicopter flying very close overhead, large escort ships on either side of the submarine, smaller vessels flanking the larger ones and even smaller patrol boats with lots of flashing lights and large machine guns, to the front, back and sides of the detail. What a thrill! Once the submarine and the escort ships went by our location, we were free to move on our way.

We arrived at Fernandina Beach around 4 pm and took a slip at Fernandina Harbor Marina. Most transient cruisers tie up to the face dock where there is plenty of water at low tide, but we were able to get a good deal on an inside, more protected slip, because of our shallow draft.

 
 

As we were fueling up, Bob and Stephanie of September Song walked up to say ‘Hi.’ They were traveling with Sea Pearl and planned to meet Joe and Julie downtown for drinks and dinner and we were invited to meet them. We walked downtown after settling in and found a very quaint, nicely renovated downtown area. We checked out the Palace Saloon, the oldest saloon in Florida which was once the haunt of America’s most famous, including the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, DuPonts and Carnegie. While we were enjoying a drink, our friends happened into the saloon and found us there. Joe tried the Pirate’s Punch and found it to be similar to a Long Island Iced Tea.

We ended up having a marvelous dinner at Espana, featuring traditional flavors from Spain and Portugal, where we all shared servings of fresh fish, paella, tapas and flan.

 

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 – Jekyll Creek, Georgia (ICW mile 684.5)

It looked like rain was approaching when we got up so we made sure everything was secure and waited for the shower to pass. At 9 am we had the anchors up and left on a falling tide. We found the creek very shallow in spots, but were able to travel the eight miles and leave Blackbeard behind at 11 am just before the lowest tide at noon.

We entered Sapelo Sound to find the wind blowing strong and the water a bit rough. The headsail steadied the ride and allowed us to pick up speed. The wind blew from 18 to 30 knots all day long, with gusts as high as 33 knots, which helped us to cover 50 miles in 6 hours – probably a new record for Blue Heron. For a time, we were motorsailing at a speed of 9.5 knots. We even overtook two trawlers along the way – a rare occurrence, indeed!

At 5:30 pm, we anchored in Jekyll Creek near Jekyll Harbor Marina in approximately the same spot we had anchored on our way to the Chesapeake Bay three months ago.

Monday, November 1, 2010 – Blackbeard Creek at Blackbeard Island

It was another lovely day for a beach walk. We were the first ones out there at 9 am and walked the tidal line for an hour where we found several cat’s eyes and a few olive shells. On the return trip, we walked at the water’s edge and enjoyed the soft, sugary sand in our toes. By the time we got back to the spot where we had left the dinghy, some of the other folks were out trying to fly the kites that Norm and Vicky of Tide Hiker had brought for everyone – however, with barely a 5 mph breeze, there wasn’t much flying going on.

Life’s 2 Short left the anchorage shortly before noon with a rising tide. The other boats waited until after 2 pm when the tide was a little higher before they departed. It was such a beautiful day, we decided to stay another night.

Gale went out in the dinghy in the afternoon to see if the fish were biting yet and to scout out the ocean inlet at low tide to determine if there was any possibility of leaving the anchorage that way. We were only about a mile from the inlet; whereas, we were more than 8 miles up the creek off the ICW. While Gale was checking things out, he spied an alligator sunning himself on the beach. Both Gale and the alligator were surprised to see each other! Gale watched as the alligator slithered his way off the bank and into the water.

FYI: No fish were caught during the outing and Gale also determined that there was no way we could leave via the inlet even with our 18-inch draft.

Sunday, October 31, 2010 – Blackbeard Creek at Blackbeard Island

Happy Halloween! It was a beautiful morning for a walk on the beach so we landed the dinghy shortly before 9:30 am and walked until after 11 am. We didn’t see as many sand dollars or horseshoe crabs, but there were several interesting creatures whose photos have found their way into the blog.

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Here is a little history of Blackbeard Island: it has been in continuous Federal ownership since 1800 when the 5,618 acre island was acquired by the Navy Department as a source of live oak timber for ship building. From 1880 to 1910, the island served as a yellow fever quarantine station, managed by the National Board of Health, then by the U.S. Marine Hospital Service.


Other colorful notes relating to the history of the island deal with it’s namesake, Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard the Pirate. Legends tell of his murderous and plunderous activities along the coast and his periodic retreats to the island for “banking” purposes. Rumors of Blackbeard’s buried treasure still flourish, however, so far no one has found a single doubloon. The island’s history as a refuge began in 1924 when it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Biological Survey. In 1941, Blackbeard Island was designated a National Wildlife Refuge.

 
 
 
 









After lunch, we met several of the cruisers at the ranger station dock and hiked the East Trail on Blackbeard Island. The trail was a bit longer than any of us had anticipated so when the mosquitoes swarmed us, we didn’t take long to decide we’d rather turn around than keep going. Besides, it was getting late in the afternoon and we knew the bugs would get worse before they got better!

About 6 pm, we all gathered on the southern beach to share appetizers and great company. The evening was mild and we kept the bugs away with another terrific bonfire.

Saturday, October 30, 2010 – Blackbeard Creek at Blackbeard Island

 
We spent some time cleaning and straightening the boat up during the morning hours in anticipation of our friends’ arrival at the anchorage later in the day. Life’s 2 Short came in around noon. Todd and Brenda had brought along their friends, Steve and Lisa, who were joining them for a few days of cruising. A couple of hours later, September Song, Sea Pearl and Tide Hiker filed through Blackbeard Creek and into the anchorage where they surrounded Blue Heron as though the wagons were circling around to protect her. All of these boats were 40 to 50 foot trawlers, and everyone was heading to Florida. From there, some had plans to head to the Bahamas after the winter cold fronts quit coming through from the north.

 

After everyone had settled in, several took their dinghies out in search of firewood for tonight’s weenie roast on the beach. Before sunset, everyone gathered on the southern point of the island for drinks, hot dogs, snacks and a lot of fun. We met Norm and Vicky of Tide Hiker, Joe and Julia of Sea Pearl, Bob and Stephanie of September Song and Todd and Brenda’s friends, Steve and Lisa. It was a perfect night for a bonfire! 
 
 
 

Friday, October 29, 2010 – Blackbeard Creek at Blackbeard Island

What a beautiful anchorage! And what an amazing thing the tide is! In Georgia, the tide is typically around 8 feet or more and there are two highs and two lows each day. It was fun to be anchored in one spot and watch the ebb and flow of the tide and the resulting change in the landscape.

Gale did some fishing during the day but only had a couple of nibbles and couldn’t boat anything. He spoke with various fishermen coming through and none of them were catching anything either. They told him the water was a good deal muddier than usual due to yesterday’s storm and that probably had something to do with it.

Early in the afternoon, we were on the boat enjoying the day, when we looked up to see what looked like a balloon in the distance. It turned out to be the Goodyear Blimp!! And we thought we were in a very remote location. It must have been traveling to a big football game. . .

 

Later in the afternoon, we decided to cross over the sand dunes and check out the beach on the Atlantic side. With the tide going out, all we could see was miles of deserted beach with lovely sand that felt like finely granulated sugar. It was fairly flat, easy to walk on and had very little debris from the ocean. There were hundreds of sand dollars, dozens of dead horseshoe crabs and along the tide line we found many cat’s eye shells and a few olive shells without looking very hard.
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The evening was peaceful with a light breeze blowing. The sunset was stunning and when the stars came out, we were in awe!
 

Thursday, October 28, 2010 – Blackbeard Creek at Blackbeard Island near ICW mile 635

 
 
 
 We left Isle of Hope at 7:20 in order to make the 8 am opening at Skidaway Narrows Bridge, three miles down the way. The current was in our favor, so it took less than twenty minutes to get to the bridge. It was a very pleasant traveling day with temperatures in the mid-70’s to mid-80’s, a light southerly wind and partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. We covered the forty miles to Sapello Sound and the mouth of Blackbeard Creek in good time and then slowed down for the last eight miles as we snaked around the many bends in the creek to our anchorage at the southern tip of Blackbeard Island.

As we were deciding exactly where we would anchor, we could see there was a storm quickly approaching from the north. The clouds were dark and building rapidly. A check on the weather radio indicated that the wind was going to be from the southwest for the time being then switch to the northwest and blow 25 to 30 mph sometime after midnight. We set two bow anchors at about 45-degrees to each other, attached the bridle for a smoother ride and less tangling, wound up and tied down the burgees so they wouldn’t get as beat up in the wind, closed and latched the hatches and made sure everything else was secure. We were grateful to have had the time to settle in and ready for the storm before it hit around 4:30 pm.

After dinner, Gale hoisted the antenna up the mast a short distance and was able to get a few television stations. In honor of Halloween, we watched ‘Amityville II’.