Cumberland Island|Sailing Georgia Coast|Machine Guns|Dungeness Mansion|Wild Horses|PILAR|EP50

Cumberland Island | Sailing Georgia Coast | Machine Guns | Dungeness Mansion | Wild Horses | PILAR | EP50

Stuck in the US because of Covid, we found plenty of excitement in our recent sailing travel along the Georgia coast. Cumberland Island was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Our adventure includes:
00:00 Departing St. Simons Island Marina
1:48 MV Golden Ray Salvage
5:38 Entering St. Andrews Sound Inlet to ICW
6:15 King’s Bay Submarine Base – Machine Guns pointed at us
7:58 Ice House Landing Dock – Cumberland Island, GA
8:49 Dungeness Castle Ruins – Cumberland Island, GA
12:31 Walking the ocean side beach – part of the 50 trail miles on Cumberland Island, GA
17:17 Saiing to Fernandino Harbor – Amelia Island, FL
18:56 Fort Clinch State Park – Amelia Island, FL
19:16 Neighborbor Belle Vita
19:22 Fernandina Beach Town
19:47 Leaving The Dock… Another Challenge
22:21 Late Afternoon Fishing Trip
23:03 Cumberland Island – Oysters for Happy Hour
23:48 Unidentified Mystery Ship headed to King’s Bay Nuclear Sub Base in the dark of night
26:11 Sea Camp Dock Cumberland Island
26:26 Biking Cumberland Island, GA and visiting Stafford Beach
30:51 Head Back to ST. Simons Island
31:30 A rough ride departing St. Marys Inlet, FL

12/28
Today we sailed down from St. Simons Island to the south end of Cumberland Island. With no wind in the forecast, we decided to cruise down the ICW, something that we don’t do very often. It was a beautiful stretch of marsh river, but as always pay attention to marked shallow areas on your charts. We passed two boats stuck in the sand on our short 4 hr. trip. We passed the St. Mary’s nuclear submarine base, a 16,000 acre base with 5 subs carrying ballistic missiles with over 20 warheads each – with a little unnerving machine gun pointed at us as we passed an anchored sub.

We anchored in East River right across from the Ice House, aptly called that because it was the literal ice house for the Carnegies when they lived on the island. Dinghy parking available on first come first serve basis. We visited the old Carnegie mansion that afternoon.

Cumberland is the largest of Georgia’s Sea Island. We walked to the Dungeness Ruins, then to Dungeness Beach, and north to the Trail back to Sea Camp, which is a reasonable 6 mile hike that took about 3 hours. Cumberland Island National Seashore became official in 1972 when it was donated by the Carnegies. Wild horses roam the island freely, descendants of horses left behind by early settlers. The Dungeness Castle Ruins, which was destroyed by fire in 1959 is the main attraction. A remnant of the gilded era, it consists of the main castle, the Gardners’ tabby house, the recreational facility, cemetery, gardens and grounds. Carnegie also built several other mansions for his children, one called Greyfield – now an expensive hotel, and Plum Orchard, which is open for tours. Both more towards the north side of the island, you will need bikes or take a bus tour. There is also a “settlement” on the northern end by former slaves in the early 1890s. This contains the First African Baptist Church where JFK Jr. got married. 50 miles of hiking trails criss cross the island. Camping is also available.

12/29
Today, we sailed to Amelia Island, where we walked around town and visited the Fort for the afternoon.

12/30 After a morning on Amelia, we returned to Cumberland for a relaxing night on anchor again. We collected oysters and enjoyed for appetizers.

12/31 Today, we biked from the SeaCamp to the Stafford Beach and back. Tip: Arrive early at Sea Camp if you hope to rent some of the park’s bikes. Get in line before the ferry arrives so you have first dibs.

1/1 Sailed back to St Simons today, did a little boat maintenance upon arrival. Stephen and I spent the afternoon fishing down by the church.

1/2 Pauline and Bill returned home today. Stephen and I washed the boat, did general maintenance and cleaning and prepped for our early departure the next morning. We visited St. Simon’s Goulds Inlet and the local drive through liquor store.

1/3 630 AM depart for Charlotte.

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Blue Dot Voyages is a Sailing Adventure Company. On our #Leopard48 Sailing Catamaran PILAR, we sail, fish, snorkel, scuba, and we offer travel advice on our blog and vlog. We offer charter trips when we can. Watch our videos and live vicariously through us!

Master Captain: Stephen Bell
First Officer: Dawn Bell

#CumberlandIsland #SailingGeorgia