More on Jekyll Island

Bear and the crew of Keeln Time (that's right I misspelled it for a long time) and I took a tour of this place.  It has a great history and it was a place that the club members owned one sixth of the world's wealth during the time.   The Jekyll Club was most exclusive and it included Goodyear's, Cranes, Rockefeller's, Morgans, and Vanderbilt's.  It was developed to allow the super rich to go fishing and clubbing out of the sight of the common man.  The cottages were intentionally built to downplay the opulence of their lifestyles and served as a three month escape from the city life.

A typical cottage on the island

It is a grand place which tells of the time when there was a true aristocrat class in this country.  The place had only a few members and it was patrolled by armed horsemen with orders to shoot to kill.  Only accessible by boat, it was easy to control.  If one landed in a location other than the formal dock, one was shot.  Simple huh?

We had a chance to eat soul food for Texans today.  We had, for the first time in five months, chicken fried steak.  It was done perfectly. Now we are re-calibrated.  Felt good, dang good.  We can go on.

Tomorrow, we sail for St. Simons Sound and for we will be out of Georgia the day after.   Bear's back is serviceable and we will continue until she hollars "calf rope".  The folks in Georgia are more our style than Floridians.  There seems to be no pretensions here.  What you see is pretty much what you get.  We are looking forward to the Carolinas since this boat was a product of Marion SC and once, several years ago, I stood at the swing bridge at Onslo Beach (Camp Lejeune) and said that someday, we would sail through that opening.  Soon, very soon, we will do just that.

The Chesapeake is now withing range.  If I do not manage to  mess up, we will be in that place soon also.  We have a goal to sail past two places: Fort Sumter and Fort Mc Henery.  Not sure if I got the spelling right.  Stay with us as we try not to make artificial reefs.

Wind, Tides and Thunderstorms

 Along side looking at the Jekyll Creek south entrance

Due to shallow water through the Jekyll Island, GA area, we decided last night to go offshore all the way to Charleston, SC.  This morning we were under motivated to do a 154 nautical mile passage in the heat particularly due to the fact that the winds are forecast from the right direction but at speeds of 10 knots or less.  The heat index is forecast to be at least 108 degrees thus we decided to do a short sail to Jekyll Island then wait for high tide to transit the Jekyll Creek on high tide.  That short stretch from Jekyll Sound to St. Simons Sound is only about four miles long but it has not been dredged for some time due to lack of funding.  It is one of the places in Georgia that is "thin".  Nevertheless, we wanted to see some of Georgia in shore and decided on the short day. 

 The marina office, restaurant, pool and even a ship yard are all behind that hedge row.

In transit today, we passed the Sub Base, Fort Clinch and Cumberland Island.  The latter was owned exclusively by the Carnegie family but was given or sold to Georgia with the proviso that any family members, en perpetuity, could live on the island.  One such decedent does live on a boat in Fernandina.  Wild horses roam freely on the island. 

Jekyll Island is equally historical since it was the exclusive playground of such tycoons as the Morgans, Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts.  Is was the site for a secret meeting in 1908 for the meeting that developed the modern monetary system that led to the Federal Reserve System.  The private ownership declined in the Great Depression and during WWII.  The State of Georgia purchased the island in 1947 and started restoration of the mansions of the previous owners.  Many movies were filmed on the island including "Glory" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance".  The first transcontinental telephone call took place here between Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Watson and President Woodrow Wilson.  We might just take the tram tour of the restored houses. 

It is just past 1500 hours and the thunderstorms (biguns) are stacking up to the west.  Good to be tied up.  Bear made it the whole way today without too much pain and lots of sleeping in the cockpit.  She said she was up to 75% of full capacity.  We will take that and make the most of it.  At least she is smiling. 

So Many Forts

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Time is flying and we cannot believe that it is approaching mid July. The events of the past few months are a blur and we have trouble keeping which port at which date in proper order. It is a good thing we are keeping a log of our cruise. Several times daily, some place or someone comes to mind for which we discuss when it was or where we were. We are now 716.5 statute miles from the zero marker on the ICW in Norfolk, Va. This is right at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, our destination unless weather allows us more northern ports.

From this place north, things get more congested boat wise. This is mostly due to commercial and military traffic. Sub and surface Naval activity seems to occur every few miles or so from here north. The ICW gets narrower in spots and shallower in others. Tides will play more of a roll in the planning. Just yesterday in this marina, the tides were almost 8 feet. We depart tomorrow and the tides will be plus 7 at 0900. Guess that is a good shove off time since at low tide we are sitting in the mud at this slip.

We have enjoyed this place with much history within walking distance. The dock master and his staff are very professional and helpful. Being at the inlet to sea, we have seen some really interesting boats of all kinds, we have seen no submarines to date. My guess is that they might depart or return in the middle of the night (something about those pesky satellites).

Amelia Island is the place where a Third System Fort was built in the 1840’s, Fort Clinch named after General Duncan Lamont Clinch of the Second Siminole War. It is the most preserved one we have seen thus far. It actually has a supply room with supplies, barracks with beds and even living history troops. They actually do reenactments here on certain holidays. The fort was never completed but was occupied by Union Soldiers during the Northern War of Aggression as well as several Confederate Infantry regiments. Like all Third System Forts built of brick and stone, the invention of the rifled barrel cannon with heavier shot and greater accuracy spelled an end to this technology. Nevertheless, it was occupied off and on thru 1945 with elements of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard keeping spies out of these waters. Now comes the dilemma; if we are to get north, given the number of forts from here to the Chesapeake, I will have to skip a few lest we get nowhere. Dang, so many forts------.

Mooring Field at Fernandina Beach

Bear terms her readiness at 75 to 80% which is not great but she is ready to get underway again. We know that to get back to 100%, more drastic measures will be required should she choose to play rugby again. Then again, has there ever been a crew that hit on all cylinders?

Keeling Time left for Jekyll Island where they will leave their boat for about six weeks. We will catch them again on Monday and sail past. Methinks we may not see them again until the Chesapeake.

Last stop in Florida

A Junk

One thing that influenced our decision to stay in this marina for a week was the plan to get Bear's back fixed or substantially resolved.  We will have to settle for the latter since no amount of non surgical therapy can fix two ruptured disks and some other related issues.  The stop for the past few days with attendant clinic visits has given her substantial relief.  We now know how to prevent further deterioration non-surgically.  The pain is now mostly dull and manageable and it is her decision to continue the cruise north.  As plan B, we know of a place to receive fairly quick minimally invasive laser solutions to the problem should they flare up again.  So, we leave this place Monday morning on the tide.

Bear decided today that it was the last day of treatments and she will not be going in tomorrow.  We have the rental car for another day and two more days at this marina (paid in advance and non-refundable).  Tomorrow we take to the road and scout out marinas to the north.  Then there is the Fort Clinch here in Ferdandina that is a must see for the Capt. 

Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina, A crossroad of the world

We have gotten questions about the cruise at this point.  The bottom line is that we have thoroughly enjoyed it with the obvious exceptions.  It has exceeded our expectations and we have met some wonderful and entertaining folks along the way.  Heck, at times they were both.  As we sail past the Atlantic inlets, we see boats from everywhere on the globe.  One hears languages from everywhere in the local eateries and bars.   This place, being a port of entry, has one of the friendliest Customs and Border Protection offices we have enountered.  Usually, those guys are humorless.  In one stop lasting fifteen minutes we applied for and received our "Local Boater's Card".  It is a way to cut through the re-entry red tape without having to actually visit the CBP office.

We, as we have said, will continue this cruise until we cannot.  So far, so good.