The Adventures of Monk's Vineyard - The Great Loop and Beyond: May 3, Day 312

We got up early this morning and, after a quick breakfast, took the dinghy down and headed to Cumberland Island to do a little exploring. The island is covered with saltwater marshes, forests and beaches. There are also many species of animals and birds. In addition to nature, there has been a human influence on the island for many centuries. Indians were, perhaps, its first inhabitants, followed by Spanish, French and British soldiers. In more recent times, Revolutionary General Nathanael Greene purchased land on Cumberland in 1783 and his wife had a 4-story tabby home built that she named Dungeness. In 1884, Thomas Carnegie (brother of Andrew Carnegie) and his wife Lucy built a home on Dungeness’s foundations and also called their home Dungeness. For several years it was a grand place where tycoons, senators and statesmen gathered for all kinds of events. However after Lucy’s death and with the onslaught of the great depression, the home was abandoned and fell into ruin. In the 1970’s the ruins and land were donated to the National Park Foundation and it became Cumberland Island National Seashore.

We explored the southern end of the island and checked out the ruins, the ice house museum which contained island artifacts, the beach and some of the forests. Along the way we also saw feral horses, wild turkeys and an armadillo.

Around noon we made our way back to the dinghy dock and then back to the boat where we immediately raised the anchor and were on our way to Jekyll Island. The weather was still reasonably good and we wanted to get across St. Andrew Sound before the predicted storm blew through. On the sound we had a few 3 or 4 foot waves coming in from the ocean, but the trip was pretty uneventful. Because of the predicted storm this evening, we decided to stay at the Jekyll Harbor Marina instead of anchoring.

After checking in, we went for a quick drink at the marina’s restaurant and pub just to relax a bit and check things out. Back at the boat we did a few odds and ends as well as some planning for tomorrow’s trip – we’ll be going through the area described by some to be the most difficult passages on the ICW – Jekyll Creek and Little Mud River. Later Gerry grilled steak and we had it with fresh corn on the cob. Pretty yummy.

Here we are arriving at the Cumberland Island National Seashore -- but it was much more than just a seashore.

Here's Gerry walking down the trail on the way to the beach

A thick canopy of trees

The boardwalk leading over the dunes

A shot of a few of the many dunes along the beach

The beach and ocean

More of the very islolated beach -- no one around -- just us

One of the camping groups had been there earlier this morning and someone had sketched a sun in the sand

Looking back at the sand and sea

A very old gnarly tree

This is a shot of an outdoor shower. There are many rustic camping spots on the island and there was a big group of teens/young adults that were currently camping on the island.

There were also lots of these types of showers all around the camping sites -- so you could have a warm shower.

The entrance to Dungeness -- a grand old estate in its time

The front view of the old Dungeness Mansion

A lot of it has become overgrown with ivy

A shot from the back -- very impressive -- even in a state of ruin

A fountain and some of the grounds

This is the Tabby House built around the 1800's. It is the oldest house on the island

A shot of the pergola -- a place for gracious leisure

We saw several wild turkeys. Here we think the one on the right was mooning us - turkey style

We spotted this armadillo and watched him for awhile

Here are some of the feral horses that roam the island

A shot of the dock and ferry that comes a couple of times a day from St. Marys

Gerry entering the IceHouse Museum -- this had artifacts dating back to early Indian settlers

A shot of Monk's Vineyard at anchor taken from the river trail

As we were leaving our anchorage we were treated to a show of military strength. Here's a submarine and two of its tenders on the way back to the Kings Bay Submarine Base