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Early out of Jekyll on a somewhat grey, but otherwise pleasant morning, 13 nm cruise south on the ICW…no subs at King’s Bay…but we did pass this interesting structure? Charts would indicate something, but let’s move on.

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After being delayed by not one, but two, hurricanes (Ian and Nicole), we finally made it to Amelia Island!

And on to our dock at Fernandina Beach Marina.

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After squeezing in between those two big Cats (trust us, it’s tighter than it looks!) and no sunset to be had, we were still excited to have arrived and to be expecting special guests. So, what’s first? You guessed it. A thorough wash of the boat to de-poop.

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Just as we wrapped up the long day of boat chores, our ears picked up the sound of a marching band. A Christmas parade?! Let’s go! So, we threw on dry clothes and sprint-walked into town, where we enjoyed a whimsical parade. First time we’ve seen a Christmas parade that included pirate ships and cannon fire. Cool! Sure wish we’d grabbed a camera or a phone. Oh, well. You’ll have to take our word for it. It was fun. More Hallmark Movie moments. Ha!

Now with the boat all clean and sparkly, and the owners worn and weary, we hit the hay. In the wee hours, the first mate got up for a drink of water, only to be startled by a large heron perched on the bow rail. (The photo isn’t great – taken at 0100, without glasses, through the pilothouse screens – but he’s out there, just waiting to make a poopy mess. Which… he did, for two subsequent nights.)

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Time with family is always relished, and wandering around downtown Amelia Island with Mike and Jackie was just that, fun! A few shops, a distillery, and great company. Siblings should seriously spend time together more often! I know. I know. Our lives have taken us to different places. Guess that just makes the together times that much sweeter. (We missed you, Shel!)

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Break of dawn start due to slack tide and getting out from between those Cats led us to Kingsley Creek Railroad Bridge at about 0830…. to find it….

No signs, no notice, no bridge operator for this “supposed” to be open short bridge! Hail to VHF Bridge Channel. Call to the nearby marina, no knowledge. Radio to other now stuck boats behind us, nada, nothing. About 45 minutes later the Coast Guard announces on the VHF that it would be closed until NOON! What? Oh well, drop the anchor, shut down the engine and relax… while planning a different destination anchorage.

A little past noon, we were on our way. Not much to report, just more beautiful lowlands of Georgia. We are on a mission to get to Saint Augustine! In the late afternoon, we anchored just off the St. Johns River as it goes through Jacksonville. Time to watch the world go by.

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Tuesday morning, again up and at ’em at the break of dawn – we gotta get to the oldest city in the country for our month-long holiday dockage (been planning it since April). Let’s go! We slipped out at first light.

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South of Jacksonville, the ICW really earns its name, “the Ditch,” but Christmas spirit was alive on the docks!

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Getting to St. Augustine means back through the beautiful Bridge of Lions. This time we are continuing a bit south past St. Augustine city proper and then making a sharp right to come back up the San Sebastian River to sneak up on the “backside” of the old city. Tucking into our December home port was a very tight fit, but we handled it after a brief stop to wait for full slack.

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Now, a month of more wondrous family visits and Christmas events. We are truly blessed.

Tybee Island, next to Savannah in the north, and Amelia Island down at the bottom of Georgia (actually in Florida), along with St Simons Island in the middle, get most of the press and tourism for the coast of Georgia. But lying south of St Simons is an island that once was the playground of some of the wealthiest folks in America. They owned the whole wonderful island and developed it during the turn of the 20th century, right up until the late 1940s. During this time, boy did they take care of it! It was so exclusive, they only allotted for 50 building lots, and just 16 actually got “cottages” built. Since 1947, the state of Georgia has owned the island, and after years of neglect, the state finally realized the unspoiled gem they had acquired. Today, it’s basically a state park that people live in! The grounds of the historical district built by the uber-rich are just breathtaking, and someone wisely figured out bikes and golf cars were less impactful than cars and trucks. Interestingly, the island/state park is self-supporting, as it gets NO funds from the state.

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Driftwood Beach

On our first day, sensing a possible rainstorm, we used the golf car to zip to the northeast coast of the island to take in the notable Driftwood Beach – maybe a half mile or more of what looks like a forest that has been turned into driftwood. Whole trees!

Sometimes we make numerous attempts to get shots worth saving, which leaves us with comical outtakes…

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Quintessential holiday magic

After grabbing a quick bite to eat and enjoying an absolutely spectacular sunset,

we used the “ol’ shoe leather express” to take a very pleasant stroll through the holiday light display in the Historic District. Just like a Hallmark movie! (Susie even vamped it up. Ha!) It’s hard to describe the massive live oaks, they are spectacular!

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Playing tourists

The next day was warmer, and we just had to try the bicycles! Heck, ashamedly, it’s been years since either of us has ridden, but with nerves of steel we set out…and discovered it’s true what they say, “It’s like riding a bike!” Oh, wait. it is riding a bike. Well, we even managed to pass and operate the camera with one hand while riding! TaaaaDaaaa!

Lot of work, lot of fun. Break time?

And then, we reached somewhat of a proverbial fork in the road:

Suitably refreshed, of course, we pedaled over to Faith Chapel. Built in 1904, the non-denominational chapel is fitted with gargoyles to ward off evil spirits and contains an original Tiffany stained glass window (lower right) that was installed in 1921 in memory of Frederick Bourne, President of the Singer Sewing Machine Company and the Jekyll Island Club. They get the color variety by stacking and carving the glass. Just beautiful!

After the chapel, we perused the little museum to learn some history of the island before and after the rich folks got it.

After which, to take a break from pedaling, we loaded onto a tram for a guided tour of the Historic District and the Millionaires Row of “cottages”…. you know…. 5 to 10 thousand square foot “cottages”….

After soaking up some local knowledge, we disembarked the tram, and jumped on the bikes to race back to the boat for sunset watch.

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So much fun, we stayed a couple more days! Which means? Another day, another bicycle adventure.

And we then had a full day of Christmas shopping, Jekyll Island style!

Who knew biking could be such fun? The folks that put in miles and miles of bike paths on Jekyll, that’s who. Not sure any part of the island is NOT accessible by bike. Just an amazing place, since most of it is shaded by the magnificent Live Oaks, and the sunsets are stunning!

Just sell the boat and stay? Nah. Time to move on and see more of the wonderful world. We’ll be back…. after we rest our legs! Ha!

Okay. Okay, it’s bird guano…

A few posts back, we mentioned how fun it was to get pictures of the seagulls tagging along with us. After all, two years into this adventure, we’d never really been followed by the gulls. They typically ignore us in search of better pickin’s elsewhere.

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The birds usually harass the fishing boats, like this guy. After all, he’s bound to have tasty bits around, like fish guts, shrimp, and crab parts. Yum.

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Well, the bird-following situation has gone from “aww, how cute” to “NO, please go away.”

When we went up the river to Two Way Fish Camp Marina near Brunswick, we were shocked at the condition of the docks and the boats. (Insert portent of things to come.) The dockmaster said they’ve never seen so many gulls. We spent only one night, and by morning, our bimini top, and much of the boat, was seriously plastered with – you guessed it – poop.

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When we left the South Altahama River to anchor on the Frederica River, thunderstorms were forecast to hit the next day. We happily broke out the stepladder, boat soap and long-handled brushes to go out on the pilothouse roof to “prewash” the disgusting bimini (and the decks after the poop we’d washed off the roof ran down the boat), then sat back to await the storms for a really good rinse. Bring on the deluge!

We waited.

And waited.

Alas, not to be. All we got was about 90-seconds of very gentle sprinkles.

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Then we got to Jekyll Harbor Marina, only to be visited not only by seagulls and loons, but crows. Lots and LOTS of crows.

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So, should the SaltyMare pass through your town sporting a ridiculous amount of ick, please don’t judge. After all, (sigh), Poop Happens!

Gunkholing, right? Okay let’s go! Oh first, let’s backtrack a bit to pick up some fuel. Sure, got the perfect place. That’s right, one a bit off the beaten track.

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After several calls to various marinas with fuel, we decided to mosey up Kilkenny Creek to check out Killkenny Marina, a humble but friendly spot. Boaters might notice, no cleats… just 2 x 6s sticking up. Family run since the 70’s with a handy boat-launching service.

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After taking on fuel and water, we bid the gang adieu and went a short 10 nm back south (with the traffic flow this time) to anchor behind a barrier island called Saint Catherines. The island is both privately owned and a National Historic Landmark. Huh?

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Thanksgiving Day on Walburg Creek dawned cool and cloudy but beautiful. After many wonderful family phone calls, Todd managed to rig a way on our little gas grill on the bridge to smoke the tiniest turkey breast ever – think of a child’s football! But delightful!

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In this section of Georgia, it was quite grey for most of the several days around the holiday. On Black Friday, while others hit the malls, we headed south on the ICW toward a wiggly river called Frederica. Given the coolness and overcast skies, it seemed most of the flying folks were hunkered down. Nearly every marker had occupants.

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Then the day that started a bit dreary got worse. Yep, actual thick fog! So, thick, Susie had to break out the manual for our VHF so we could sound the proper 5-second blast every 120 seconds!

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It was fun to pretend we were someplace exotic, like south of England! It lasted about 40 minutes, and as we came out of it, we passed a river that Captain Todd had researched and, on a lark, he says, “You want to go up that one?” Sure! So, we slam on the brakes! Ha! More like do a U-turn and turn again off the beaten path and up the South Altamaha River. Heck, why not? We’ll hit the Frederica River tomorrow. “Honey, just what’s up this river?” Well…. “I think there’s a small marina up there?”

We get docked up in the slack tide – wait, “Captain, did you plan this arrival time?” “Nope,” was the sheepish response.

First to visit us was more FOG rolling down the river, followed by large chunks of water hyacinths. Odd.

Well, we’re here. Might as well hit the restaurant….Mudcat Charlies! Actually, it’s only about a 10-minute detour off of I-95 (by car) and has a reputation for good eats. Fare sampled by this couple was yyyuuummmm and filling!

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It was a fun, remote stop for a night, but not really gunkholing. So, back down the river to the ICW and moving on to the Frederica River and its Fort! As we once again, get off the ICW, we are struck by the interesting “terrain” – “islands” created by 100’s, if not 1000’s, of acres of marsh grass.

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Fort Frederica National Monument

Finally! When we passed this way last year, we simply anchored nearby for one night before pushing on. We vowed to return with enough time to take in the fort. So glad we did.

Although, on second thought,

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We had a great time on the Frederica River, but the time came to move on and leave the fort in our wake, wiggle down the rest of this wonderful river and head to Jekyll Island.

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Picture of a bridge? Well, it’s big, like really, big. Clearance for us boats is 185 feet! Port Brunswick needs it, as it’s one of the major ports on the east coast, second only to NYC/NJ.

Next stop? More gunkholing? Sure! This is fun stuff! And then… we hit Jekyll Island! Whoa! More on that to come.

We’ve been trying since April to secure a reservation in Florida for the month of December. Many, many phone calls, and numerous replies of, “Call back closer to the date,” “We’ll try,” etc. Last week we got great news, “Show up December 6, and you can stay a month.” Success! Now we have a safe place for the ‘Mare while we participate in family Christmas events before returning to the Bahamas.

Last year, we were in the mad dash of snowbird cruisers rushing south to either winter in Florida or head for the Bahamas. The pace, combined with the inherent challenges of cruising in Georgia – the tidal swings, shoaling, shallow areas, and the less than cruiser-friendly legislation – left us unenthusiastic about a repeat. Sigh. Can’t we just go offshore and skip Georgia? Nope. Heck, Bull Creek is a great stop, maybe there is something similar in Georgia? We have plenty of time to take our time. Let’s embrace it and explore!

We began with a 3.5-hour cruise from Bull Creek to Isle of Hope Marina, south of Savannah.

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After we availed ourselves of the marina’s loaner car to hit Wally World in Savannah for some warmer, fuzzy jackets, the sunny afternoon warmed things up enough for us to enjoy an afternoon stroll on Isle of Hope…without the jackets.

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Since we have the luxury of time, it’s time for some gunkholing, SaltyMare style. The term gunkholing originated from small boats exploring out of the way coves and anchoring in the “gunk,” or mud. Cruisers now use the term more generically to mean seeking out the serenity of isolated anchorages over the crowds of larger, modern marinas and popular bays. A shallow draft vessel allows for going further up and into the gunkholes. Well, SaltyMare has a 6′ draft, so we can’t go as far up the rivers and creeks, but we can get off the AICW (think I-95) to explore the rivers.

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First side trip, the Medway River

Several cruisers have recommended we detour eight miles up the Medway River to Midway, Georgia, site of the once thriving port town of Sunbury. Founded in 1758, the coastal town played an important role fighting the British in Georgia during the American Revolution, and three signers of the Declaration of Independence have ties to the now-a-ghost town of Sunbury.

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Finally – Sunbury Crab Company!

The area history is interesting, but the real reason cruisers make the trek is to eat at Sunbury Crab Company, established more than 20 years ago and featured in many magazines, including most recently, Southern Living Magazine as, “One of the South’s Best Seafood Shacks.” The whole family has embraced the endeavor. Husband Barney caught the dock lines while Elaine handled the warm welcome in the restaurant, and their grown sons did the cooking! Friendly, simple but surprisingly good fare make it a great stop.

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Fort Morris State Historic Site

Since we liked the vibe, we decided to stay for a few nights to explore the area (umm…and, truthfully, to dine at the restaurant again). On Sunday, needing to work off some of that food, we planned a walk to the Fort Morris State Historic Site, just over a mile from the marina. We anxiously eyed the thermometer, vainly rooting for it to top 50 degrees. Alas, didn’t happen, but shortly after noon, we layered up and headed out anyway. Oh lord, look at those outfits!

One of our favorite tales from the fort’s history took place in November 1778, when one Colonel John McIntosh commanded the garrison. At the time, there were fewer than 200 men, mostly actual Continental troops, but a bunch of locals also. The British, led by Colonel L.V. Fuser, cruise up the river to land 500 ground troops supported by armed ships. Fuser makes his formal demands – the immediate surrender of the fort – to which our man McIntosh, in true American spirit responds, “Come and Take it!” you bunch of %$#@ Okay, Todd ad-libbed that last part, thinking history surely left it out. Anyway, what do the English do? That’s right, they leave! Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there though. A little more than a month later, the British returned with even more guys and wiped the place clean. History has given Colonel McIntosh props for standing strong, and Todd gave him a sailor’s mouth!

Back to the present day, after several hours of exploring the museum, the earthworks, the displays, and the nature trails, the park ranger, Danielle, kindly offered us a lift back to the marina.

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This morning, we cruised the eight miles back to the AICW and then backtracked north a bit for a short jaunt up Kilkenny Creek to check it out and what the heck, take on fuel. After which we cruised back just a bit south. We made very little forward progress, but we found a lovely spot to anchor for the upcoming holiday. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!