We spent the morning before we left Cumberland Island letting Max have more practice as the dinghy captain. He did well, got the hang of it quickly. Although in this picture Brooke looks like she wants to evacuate!
After the dogs went to the shore for their potty break we weighed anchor and headed north. We were looking forward to a relatively short jaunt from Cumberland Island to Brunswick Landing Marina. Brunswick is just north of Jekyll Island. As we headed north however the tide started dropping, and Georgia tides are significant– 6-8 feet. We celebrated the high clearance when we passed under the Jekyll Island bridge. Welcome to Georgia, where the bridges are high!
Room to Spare
What we did not anticipate was depth (or lack thereof) of the Fancy Bluff Creek which is the stretch of ICW that runs along Jekyll Island. We hit it at low tide and the depth got shallower, and shallower, and shallower. I was creeping along, finally too nervous to even drive and had Kim take over, and then we ran aground–right in the middle of the channel.
Note to self: Lots of bridge clearance = shallow channel.
We turned off the engines so we didn’t suck up that muddy bottom into system and waited for the tide to come in. So much for a nice short jaunt home. The kids played legos, Kim and I straightened up some, we ate lunch. Then the wind started picking up, we saw a storm building on the horizon and decided we better go for it. Kim started the engines up and we plowed the bottom for a bit but then were floating again and on our way. The Sidney Lanier Bridge is beautiful and such a welcoming landmark. Almost home!
Sidney Lanier Bridge
The boat is now safely tucked away at Brunswick Landing Marina where it will remain through hurricane season–until November 1st.
We celebrated our arrival back home by going out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants–Bubba Garcia’s on St Simons Island with our good friends Bill and Sylvia. 
With the boat safely stowed for the rest of the summer it was time for our next adventure! North Carolina mountains here we come!
I continue to be amazed at the experiences you are having….the courage to do this at this point in your life, and how wonderful you both are…..
What a fascinating true-life story you are sharing! Especially when the people in the story are people I know and love!😘
Nice! From the sea to the mountains. Variety is the spice of life!