Cumberland Island

     As we were preparing Doc's Holiday for getting away from the dock at Morning Star the captain of the boat next to us came out to help. Ray and his wife Susan Cope haven't been to their home in Panama City, Florida more than 1 month in the last 3 years. They have spent their time cruising their motor yacht in the Bahamas in the winter and in the Chesapeake in the summer. Not only did Ray live just 30 minutes drive from us in Port St. Joe but he was a member of Bay Point Yacht Club, the sister club to our Port St. Joe Yacht Club. Small World!
                                                                            

                               Lots of Range Markers marking shallows and channels.

                                                                                 

                       St. Andrews Sound overlooking Atlantic after storm blew through.

     The cruise to Cumberland Island was peaceful except for the threatening thunderstorms that are predicted to persist for the next several days. As we approached St. Andrews Sound we could see heavy rain out over the sound. Beth confirmed this on the internet radar so we simply dropped and set the anchor to wait for the storm to pass.  I didn't want to attempt this sound in inclement weather. To get through this sound you have to go several miles out into the Atlantic to round a shallows area and their is a caution that this area has "Dangerous Wave Potential" and several reviews that emphatically state "Do not attempt this in N E winds greater than 20 knots!  One sail boater tried and found himself rolling 30 degrees side to side.  We waited.  Once the storm had dissipated we headed out into the mild ocean swells, rounded the marker and proceeded up the inside of Cumberland Island. Needless to say I bumped up the speed to keep the time we were in the swells to a minimum and experienced no sea-sickness.

                                                                                 

                                                     Five Dolphins in our wake

                                                                               

                                                          Cumberland Island

                                                                                

                     Missing Green Channel marker washed ashore Cumberland Island

     The cruise was peaceful with soothing sunshine, intermittently cloudy and occasionally thunder clouds which all seemed to go around us. Beautiful anchorages with a few boats passed by and we passed some interesting sites, such as the huge electrical grid used to de-magnetize the submarines that came into the naval port.

                                                                       

                                                         Kings Bay Submarine Base
                                                                               

         
                                                                                   

     We slowly glided up to the protected anchorage beside the south tip of Cumberland Island and carefully set the hook such that the boat held solid when I left both motors in reverse.  I then let out 100 feet of chain in this 10 foot depth.  There would be no question of the anchor dragging if we did get hit with a thunderstorm.  The storms and lightning at first headed directly for us, turned at the last minute and went around us.  Spencer was doing his vibrating thing because we could hear the thunder and we could see ground to cloud and cloud to cloud lightning. It circled around us.  All we got was a few spits of rain.
                                                                           

                Can you believe it....we are the little blue dot and we only got a sprinkle!

     Beth and I headed for the upper deck and barbecued some hamburgers to eat with the potato salad she prepared on our cruise over. Cracking open a couple of frosties, we relaxed and took in our surroundings. This beautifully aged wooded island  has been left as nature intended, thick trees interspersed with lush green fields.. The hum of civilization does not penetrate here.
      "What would make this perfect is to see the wild horses." Beth commented in a subdued voice.
Voila! Within minutes a mare and her new born appeared serenely grazing along the river bank. Later the "Daddy" appeared. This truly is a magical place, or Beth has a mystical connection! Since it was threatening rain and was late, we decided to wait until the morning to launch the dingy and take the dogs to shore. 
                                                                         

                                                                               

     The dogs immediately recognized this anchorage as being special.  In unison they lifted their heads up and started sniffing the air, then spotted the wild horses. Spencer gave out a low pitched deep growl as Sophie bounced from the floor to the seat in excitement. Sorry kids, you will have to wait until tomorrow to get closer.
                                                                                   

                                         Evening stroll on the beach at low tide!

     After a few more frosties....note to self...  Beth really should stick to the light beer!...we made a couple of telephone calls and reluctantly started up the generator to cool things off so we could sleep.