Our day started with the plan to go to Fernandina Beach and anchor. There was supposed to be an anchorage with access to land via the municipal marina close by. We made about twenty five miles and came to the area we could anchor at. We had to stay outside the mooring field and there were quite a few boats anchored around the only deep water. We circled through and debated where to anchor but couldn’t really find a good spot we both agreed on, so we decided to keep going. I consulted the charts and saw more anchorages if we continue on so onward we went. We soon found ourselves out of Florida and into Georgia!
We were now cruising up the west side of Cumberland Island. We continued on and soon were forty three miles from our departure point and came upon the river we wanted to anchor in. A large boat had passed us about a mile back and was now in front of us at a dead stop. I was trying to figure out if he was going into the river we were headed for as he stopped in front of the entrance. From the charts I knew it was a tricky shallow area to enter, so I was worried they had run aground. I called them on the radio but got no response. As we were approaching them, they started to move a bit and continue down the ICW. Now I was spooked and told Lauren we were not going to enter here, there is another ‘back’ entrance to the river that is deeper and we will go there instead. We continued to follow the boat that had passed us and it was slowing again. We pulled up beside it and I yelled over to them- apparently they had just hit a rock or something and damaged their prop (been there- done that), so they were now running on one engine only. There was nothing I could do to help them so we continued on to the back entrance of Brickhill River. We wound our way back and passed another trawler that was anchored. We didn’t want to be too close to them as it is impolite and there was plenty of room. We found our spot and dropped anchor. We waited to make sure we were secure, then I took Frank to try to find land. The tides here were on the extreme side- at least ten foot difference- so the land I saw was actually mud. Very soft mud. I stepped out of the dinghy and promptly sank mid calf deep. Frank jumped out and sank too. We looked at each other like ‘oh shit!’. There was nothing we could do at this point except try to get up to firm ground. We could not get there and the beach was lined with oysters, which are super sharp and will cut and deflate our dinghy really quick if I were to leave it in contact with them. We made our way back in the dinghy and continued on down the river to see if I could find a good landing spot. We found an area I could at least get hm off and not sink too deep, all the while looking out for alligators! They are supposed to be plentiful around here, so I need to be alert to our surroundings. Frank did his business and we made it back to Klondike. I called out to Lauren and she prepared a bucket to clean him up so he doesn’t track mud all around the boat. I cleaned up off the back swim platform as best I could before coming aboard. We spent the rest of the night on the boat, eating dinner and watching the tides change. I cannot explain how amazing it is to see land disappear and look out to a large body of water- knowing the land is only a foot under water! We also planned our next stop- Jekyll Island.