Cumberland Island November 4-9 2015

Leaving the Brunswick shipping channel where the marina is located

We left Brunswick Landing Marina at an invigorating hour of 7 ... ish.  And that's AM.  We followed the channel out in to St. Simons Sound to the inlet and the ocean.  The ocean swells were a moderate 2-3 feet.  We went out 4-5 miles off shore and proceeded to start the generator and check for leaks and any malfunctioning device.  None.

Next I fired up the water maker. Again no leaks!  I had replaced a leaking copper flare fitting on one of the hi pressure lines, with one of the ones I bought from Flare Tight which are Teflon coated.  And the fitting wasn't leaking even under 800 psi.  These Flaretight fittings work!

So we enjoyed several hours of swaying in the ocean on a reasonably nice day and making water.  It was good to get our sea legs back again.

The yellow one is a Trumpy

We came in the St. Mary Inlet which leads into Cumberland Sound.  We headed right for the anchorage at Cumberland Island dropped the hook in front of the Park dock, our usual spot.   There were maybe half a dozen boats already anchored there, two lager yachts, one being an old  Trumpy but the anchorage could accommodate a 100.

 It only took us 6.6 hours versus taking the ICW which would be more like 5 hours.  For the extra time we were able to flush the water maker with fresh sea water (I had pickled it back in Late June) and run it out there too.  Sea water is basically free of some of the nasty sediments found in some spots of the ICW which can clog up the filters.

The Park Ferry right in front of where we are anchored

And being out on the ocean allowed us to avoid notorious Jekyll Creek which is better passed through at high tide.  High tide there was around 1 PM.

Once Upon a Time (Brent & Susan) and Quimbee (Em and Bev) arrived a few hours later.  They stayed inside, using the ICW.  They opted to anchor about 1 half mile further in where the water is shallower.  Once Upon a Time rafted together with Quimbee after they had set their anchor.

Overcast but very comfortable temps

Soon after Untide (Monica and Warren) arrived and also anchored up near them.  We didn't get together that night and just enjoyed a non party night on the boat.  It was cool and calm.  Perfect.

The next morning we all met on the Park dinghy dock (we had gotten our dinghy down earlier in the morning) and trekked off across the island to the expansive beach.   Warren & Monica elected to stay aboard their boat so didn't join us.

We met the couple on the Trumpy who charter the boat for travel up and down the east coat.   They didn't join us for the walk to the beach.

The brave waders undeterred by cold water

The Park Service is refurbishing the access to the beach which is a walk away over the dunes.  They  had laid out a trail of sorts through the sand and around a few piles left by the thoughtful horses.
Everyone but me dove in the (cold) water and then we all walked several miles up the beach looking for the wild horses that occasionally wandered down from the interior of the island.  No luck though.

Hortence

With everyone petered out we hung around awhile and were entertained by "Hortenece" (my name for the little guy), a small little sea bird who would stride right up to us and poke around on the blankets we had laid out.  Precocious little fellow.  After a time we made plans to made plans to have dinner on Quimbee and then play Farklee.   After the short planning session we walked back to the dinghy dock and headed to our boats to get ready for dinner on Quimbee.

Deciding dinner plans

Our dinghy was experiencing some hard starting and I thought it was the neutral safety switch.   I ended up calling Ocean Outboard Marine located and they agreed to slid me into their que if I could get there by 7:30AM the next morning.  It'll be an early start to the day for me.

Ocean Outboard Marine is in Fernandina Beach, about 6 miles across Cumberland Sound.  I managed to get the dinghy started and made the run there and up Eagens Creek to their dock.  Ken and Mike were there along with the shop cat who unceremoniously jumped up on my lap as soon as I sat down.  It was a dead ringer for Belle, our sons cat.

Ocean Outboard Marine dock on Eagens Creek

Mike did a battery load test with his fancy Load Tester and determined it was a weak battery.  This was a 5 year old AGM battery so I guess it was past it's prime.  Oh well.

We wrestled the old battery out and installed a new (non AGM) battery and it started just fine.  I paid up and drove back out the creek, across the Sound and met  Brent and Susan and Quimbe on their way out of the Anchorage.

We wont see them again until January when we head back south.  They all loiter around Ft. Pierce until after the holidays, but this year they plan on heading over to Bimini in the Bahamas and then stay in the Berry Islands for a month or two.  We may join them.  We spent several weeks at Great Harbor Cay where they are planning on staying.

Later that day we  took dinghy back to Fernandina in the afternoon and had lunch at Cafe Karibo, but before we even got to the marina we were stopped by FWC because we ignored a No Wake sign sitting over half a mile away.  I could hardly make out the general shape of a sign much less read it from the channel where we were stopped.  They did a safety check and only gave us a warning, I think realizing that a citation would have been sort of silly.  At least now we know that between red marker 10 and the marina is a no wake zone.

The food was pretty good at Karibo and they had a delicious Gavilan Pinot Noir,   It was $45 but I, using my best, "we are poor cruisers who would love to buy this but cant afford such a lofty price" spiel and the bartender, Ann (I think that was her name) sold it to us for $35.  That's only $15 more than what we'd pay in a wine store.  But, the closest liquor store was 6 miles away.   Another Oh Well moment.  Seems like we're having a lot of those lately.

I will divulge it right now.  I've grown weary of rum and seltzer water.  Not surprising I guess, having consumed an embarrassing volume of Captain Morgan over the last few years.  Now, however, both Mary and I have turned an alcohol corner as it were, and have reverted to our wine habits developed years ago when we lived in Green Bay.   So I have plenty of Rum if anyone cars to drop by for a drink.   And wine as we begin to stock up.

Strangely similar to the A-Team van 

Main street of Fernandina

We strolled around the main streets of Frenandina for a short while before waddling back to the dinghy and zipped back to anchorage.  We had paid the startling price of  $3.21 for the privilege of tying up our dinghy to the dingy dock.   Very odd price,  $3.21.  It's the odd tax amounts that contribute to the 21 cents.  So now I have all this change sloshing around in my pocket.

The dinghy dock

We had eaten so much for lunch we all but had a drink and a piece of cheese while watching a West Wing episode before going to bed.  Wild and exciting times here at Cumberland.  But I did notice another half dozen boats arrived replacing a few that had left earlier in the day.

Approaching St. Marys

The next morning we took the dinghy up across sound the 8 or so miles over to St. Marys.  But first, having noted the big blow that was moving its way towards us that night, we moved the boat about 3/4 of a  mile up the anchorage for better protection in the expected storm.  There is a bit more wind protection there than the open flats where we had been across from the Park dock.  And the storm is supposed to be a rather strong one.  Cant wait.  Another, "oh well" event waiting in the wings.

I should also mention that St. Marys is in Georgia, and Fernandina is in Florida.  The state line runs down the middle of Cumberland Sound which puts the Kings Bay Submarine Base in Georgia.  The St. Marys river is sort of the state boundary.

St. Marys dinghy dock

We followed the National Park Service Boat into St. Marys.  This is the same boat that docks at the Park dock 4 times a day.  The crowds all like to visit the Cumberland National Sea Shore Park which is basically most of the island.  There is a privately owned area on the north end of the island but most of the island is a national park.   The beach, wild horses and Dungeness Castle are big draws.

St. Marys farmers market

St. Marys has a small marina,  Langs, but best for us is the free public dock where you can tie up a dinghy for free.  Which we did.

We stopped at the small Farmers Market.  While Mary was picking over trinkets there, I walked up Osborne St, a broad, scenic boulevard, looking for interesting places and stumbled on The Blue Goose Cafe.   I's a laid back little cafe that looked inviting so I went back to fetch Mary.

I took the "stuff" she had purchased back to the dinghy while she walked the three blocks to the cafe.  Once were both there we were trying to decide on a wine and ended up conversing to a man seated at a table with just a bottle of wine.  He went so far as to get two glasses and pour us each a some of what he was drinking, while discussing the virtues of it and other choices on the wine list.  I dont recall a thing about it except to say the wine was, well, unremarkable.

The Blue Goose Cafe

The food though was really good.   when we come back this way again, it will be a pre-determined stop for us.

Sine we had some perishable items in the dinghy we walked back to the dinghy without too much shopping along the way.  The trip back to the boat was not rough but the skies were beginning to gray up heralding what was to come the next day.

Pumpkin yogurt eases the pain of a failed shopping expedition   

It was still rather early in the afternoon so we took the dinghy to Fernandina again.  Mary was searching for this doll, the Damn It Doll.  All the stores we trudged into did not have it.  What else would you do if you couldn't find a Damnit Doll?  Of course.  Eat Pumpkin Pie frozen yogurt.  I, not nearly as distraut as some, chose vanilla.

We loitered along the docks for a few minutes gawking at some large yachts that had recently arrived.  All 100+ foot boats.   And there were many more loading up the dock.   At this time of the year there is a mass migration of boaters that are up north in the Chesapeake and beyond.  They bolt from the chill winds of the north to the warm air of the south.  Just like us.

We did gas up the dinghy before running back to the anchorage where we found less than a dozen sailboats.  Guess everyone was running for cover.  Winds were forecast to be north easterly and Cumberland Island gave us a large wind break so we felt pretty confident we'd be able to ride it out.

Cumberland Island Anchorage

It was still mild and calm out so we took a bottle of wine and two chairs to the bow and enjoyed the scenery.    And the wine.

In anticipation of the expected high winds and rain we hauled the dinghy back aboard when I started the generator around 7pm.  The storm was expected to arrive the next morning.

It was worse than it looks

And sure enough, the wind began to howl around 8AM.   Rain soon followed.  Its going to be a stormy day and probably night.  We seem to be anchored securely here along with the sail boats.  Our move to this more protected spot seemed to be a wise one although the increased wind and swell protection is minimal, its still better than remaining across from the Park dock.

Sitting here all day with 30+ knots gusts. That's 35 mph.  The sustained winds were between 20 and 35 mph all day which made for some bouncing. We were faring better than some of the sailboats which were wildly moving around.  We're too heavy for these high winds to jerks us around like that.. But thankfully most of the winds will begin to die down overnight.  And we haven't dragged on the anchor.  The downside to that is trying to yank it up since its most likely buried rather deep in the thick mud here.

Boy, and I happy we got the dinghy on board.

Running the generator again the next morning morning I noticed our batteries are appearing to get weaker and not holding a sufficiently large charge to get us through the day any longer.  Our average current draw is between 15-20 amps an hour.  It's the freezer, and two refrigerators that suck the bulk of the power.  Normally, when the batteries are in good shape, we have 700+ amp hours available which gives us plenty of power.   But we definitely have a weak battery bank.   I'm afraid to calculate the large expense we will be shelling out.  These are 90 lb. 6 volt batteries.  8 of them although I think we only have one bad bank, or even a single bad battery.  But we have to be in a marina where I can get a tester to check them out.  Oh well?