South to cumberland Island (link)

Leaving Beaufort South Carolina, (bew – frt) , not to be confused with Beaufort (bow – fort) North Carolina after lunch, when Denny installed his new starter. High Five, Solange, and Salt and Light headed out for what would be a 19hr passage to Cumberland Island, on the southern edge of Georgia. The sail was largely uneventfull, motor sailing for ¾ of the way, cold, even by Vancouver standards, the seas were calm and the wind light. A lot of traffic and a half dozen anchored freighters kept it all interesting. Sun up saw us at Cumberland Island on the border of Georgia and Florida. This sandy barrier island offered great protection and good anchorage..A national park, Cumberland Island is home to, acres of wild sand dunes, miles and miles of “long beach” type beach. After some rest we all went to the beach, where we found ray eggs, horseshoe crabs, shells of every description, a turtle shell 2 feet long, and saw pelicans fishing, and dolphins. A very cool place. The second morning 3 wild horses came to the beach in the anchorage to forage for food. Gary and Richard got some instruction on the “cast net” shrimp fishery, Throwing a 12’ diameter net for an afternoon resulted in 2 (this is not a typo) very small shrimp, and a very sore back. Fortunately a couple of locals took pity on us and gave us a handful from the 15 or 20 gallons of shrimp in their boat. Meanwhile the rest of the gang explored the island. They found the ruins of on of the original homestead and saw a real live armidillo.