We Made It to Florida!

12/3/07 Jekyll Island to Amelia Island
ICW 721

Today I saw my first nuclear submarine in the water as we passed Kings Bay Submarine Base in the Cumberland Sound. My docent at the helm provided a running commentary on these Trident Ballistic Missile nuclear submarines. Bob’s memory for numbers astounds me with the information he can roll out. Tridents are the largest submarines of any kind in the world – 40’ beam, 540’ long, and over 18 thousand tons displacement. Bob was managing the Kesselring Site in West Milton, NY during construction there of the navy’s land-based prototype for the Trident nuclear propulsion plant (the back half of the submarine) and has vivid memories of being awed by the immensity of the submarine’s interior with its four floors of living and working space – especially in comparison to that of the 16’ beam, single floor diesel-electric submarine he sailed on for a year as a young sailor in the late 1950s.

A very attentive Navy patrol boat with machine gun mounted on it positioned itself squarely between DeLaMer and the docked submarine during the entire time we were close to it. Bob was concerned that the repeated flashing of my camera as we went by might result in our being boarded and the camera being confiscated, but I guess they weren’t on camera patrol today…

We tried to get a reservation for Fernandina Harbor Marina this morning. There is a small craft advisory with 20-25 knot winds predicted for tonight and we had planned to stop for two days to see the town anyway. They only had room on the outside of their megadock, with full exposure to the winds. They openly discouraged us from taking it and, although disappointed, we appreciated their honesty.

We called Amelia Island Yacht Basin, four miles south of Fernandina, for a reservation; they did have room. (Now I know why!!!) They asked what our draft was. That’s a usual question, I told them 5’1.” They didn’t mention their channel into the marina is only 4’3” at low tide. Arriving two hours after low tide, we hit bottom four times in the middle of their narrow channel coming in; our depth gauge read 4’7.” Bob plowed through each time!

Although the marina itself is nice, the fairways are very narrow and difficult to navigate if there is any wind -- and there was when we arrived – 15 to 20 knots! We had a near collision with a docked catamaran; a strong gust of wind came while Bob was doing a U turn to dock the boat. The dockhand jumped on the cat pushing on DeLaMer and I grabbed the tending hook and pushed the cat. It took both of our efforts to avoid the collision.

There is no way the winds will rock our boat tonight! We are sitting solidly on the bottom at our dock. We are now at low tide -- the water depth is reading 3’1” and we are listing eight degrees to starboard. Our poor fenders!!! The things this marina didn’t advertise in their full page ad in the Waterway Guide or tell us when we called!!! Bob will be at the office when they open in the morning for a new and deeper dock assignment!

12/2/07 Brickhill River Anchorage, Jekyll Island
ICW 696

Today was a short travel day. We had to wait for a rising tide to transit Jekyll Creek with its five foot depth. The Creek is also subject to shoaling – so what else is new!

St. Andrew’s Sound provided our excitement for the day. As we approached the sound, we were disappointed to find flat water and a true wind speed of 2.9. We had hoped to put our sails up.

The course the ICW takes through the sound is v-shaped, heading directly out to sea and then turning back to land. The tide was coming in with opposing wind as we headed out. Within minutes, the wind picked up to 15 knots and the seas where four to five feet of nasty chop. We had water coming over the bow and things tumbling below. Once we made the turn, we were going with the tide, the waves settled, and the wind dropped to 6 knots. We were zooming along at 10.1 mph speed over ground!!

After our exciting passage, we anchored off Cumberland Island in the Brickhill River and spent a quiet afternoon with the dolphin and pelicans, surrounded by marsh grass. One other sailboat was the only sign of civilization, and the sunset was gorgeous.

12/1/07 New Teakettle Creek to Brunswick
ICW 680

We went to New Brunswick Landing Marina to say goodbye to our friends, Lynn and Bob, where they will stay for the winter. We’ve been traveling with them since we entered the ICW and will miss their company as we journey on. We went for a farewell dinner to their favorite pizza restaurant, Fox’s, in downtown Brunswick. Great choice, it gets a triple A rating from us. With their homemade crust and sauce, it was the best pizza we’ve had in a very long time.