We left Hilton Head after a couple of days of R + R. As we said, the place we stayed was beautiful:
You can see Persephone in the foreground. The "Kinvaras" climbed to the top of the lighthouse to take pictures. T and I stayed firmly on the ground. One hundred-fifteen stairs on a hot day didn't interest us !!
We left from Hilton Head and left the ICW for a sail in the ocean to St. Catherine's Inlet. It was a blustery sail, with a moderate breeze but big rollers. We anchored in Walburg Creek adjacent to St. Catherines. St. C's is owned by the NY Zoological Society (Bronx Zoo people) and used to raise and breed exotic animals. The island is off limits to the public so we couldn't go exploring.
Walburg Creek is in the middle of nowhere...no people, services or supplies...NOTHING except nature. A real contrast to our Hilton Head experience.
We left Walburg at first light and went back to the ocean. "Kinvara" opted for inside down the ICW route. Our destination was St. Simon's Island about 30 miles from St. Catherines. We were making great time and weather was favorable, so we made the decision to press on to St. Mary's inlet. (An additional 25 miles) The St. Mary's River is the divider between Georgia and Florida. We arrived at the inlet just at sunset. The inlet is 5 miles long but very well lit. Once inside the inlet it was pitch dark and there were three intersecting channels with red and green bouys flashing everywhere. (We later counted 78 bouys at the channel junction !!) We picked our way up the channel and turned into an unmarked channel leading to Cumberland Island. We got the anchor down and had an emergency beer. Trudie exclamined that her "legs were like jelly". Our electronic navigation equipment really paid off that night.
Cumberland Isand is a US National Park donated by the Carnegie Estate. The ruins of their summer home called Dungeness (interesting name) is what remains. Mrs. Carnegie in her will ordered the release of all her horses upon her death. The horses roam wild....we saw 5 horses yesterday romaining the ruins. In addition, we saw a flock of wild turkeys, and several armardillos, The beach is inspiring....huge rolling dunes, and a flat beach which streaches for literally 10 miles in each direction. The only access to Cumberland is by boat. So, there are only a handfull of people at any time on the isand. We have spent two days here enjoying the scenery. But it's time to move south into FLORIDA. When I am done with this post, we will haul our anchor and take a quick hop over to St. Fernandina, FL.
We got a phone call a couple of days ago......we received a REALLY BIG surprise which we will share....but, that has to wait till tomorrow. (NO, Trudie's NOT pregnant) Stay tuned. THE CREW
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