DAYS 251-253: Amelia Island to Cumberland Island

Amelia Island to Cumberland Island South: 6.1 mph; 6.8 miles; 1:06 hours

Cumberland Island South to Plum Orchard: 7.6 mph; 9.1 miles; 1:12 hours

Plum Orchard/Cumberland Island North: ANCHORAGE

We dropped anchor outside one of the Carnegie Mansions, Plum Orchard, and had a steady hold with a swift current. Plum Orchard has a day dock you can use and the honor system is in place for park fees. It's beautiful here with so many birds and bird sounds I can’t figure out. 

Plum Orchard 

This beautiful estate was one of the Carnegie family members' winter retreats. The original house was built in 1898 and the additional wings were completed around 1906. It is absolutely stunning and the advanced technology of their time was cutting-edge. They had a heated pool! Not some little pool either. They also had an ice machine and used the cold pipes to refrigerate the ice box. A lot of thought went into the design of this mansion. Jim showed me the artesian well he remembered from when he was asked to conduct some engineering work on the island. 

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island is one-third larger than Manhattan, maintains 150 wild horses, oyster & clam beds, armadillo, and feral boar. The island is about 90% National Park and 10% privately owned. The Greyfield Inn, privately owned by some of the Carnegie family, welcomes guests for $800/night and includes the ferry ride, meals, bikes, and tours. There are fewer than 50 people who reside on the island year-round.

INTERESTING FACTS: Carol Ruckdeschel, a naturalist - biologist - sea turtle master, came to the island in the 70’s working as staff help for the Carnegie family. She remains on the island to this day. She is someone to google - for sure!

Many of the land owners have deep ties to Kentucky … seems like a bootleg operation to me.

The island's private land holdings have connections to the Carnegie and Rockefeller families. Which is a little weird since the Barons of these families didn't like one another. Asa Candler, the founder of the Coca Cola Company, purchased land on the island from Rockefeller in turn infuriating the Carnegie Family - what? Is this some old money vs new money like of thing? Some of the original families have remained on the island and a lot of water is still over the dock if you know what I mean.

FUN FACT: Old Asa bought the Coca Cola recipe for about $240 in 1888.

FUN FACT: John F Kennedy JR and Carolyn Bessette were married on the island in the First African Baptist Church. One of the Carnegie heirs, her name is Gogo, designed their wedding bands. The wedding bands were as thin as Spanish Moss. Gogo engraved the bands with their initials and the words Cumberland Island. What the press missed was that the wedding bands were made from the casting of delicate ribs from a Cumberland Island rattlesnake.

*** One of the pictures I posted is a crest. The crest was hand stamped on burlap and used as wallpaper in the entrance hall. 

Dinghy Problems Continue

Jim has problem-solved all the usual suspects. The last check is bad gas. We did see traces of water from the engine fuel but we aren’t seeing any water from the gas in the container. We need a marina for more fuel (Jekyll Island). That or a new engine. 

Jim had to row us over to the Plum Orchard dock with the tide in our favor. When we returned, we were against the tide and ‘we’ were rowing nowhere. Me helping seemed to frustrate Jim - huh? If not for the kindness of a passing Jon boat, I have no idea what would have happened. Jim does not need to set the stage for a heart attack.

There was a serious lack of communication between Captain and First Class Passenger. 

I wanted to anchor off the south end of the island where the National Parks have several drinking water stations, facilities, marked paths, and the most narrow portion of the island to walk to the beach. Hiking the South-end is a 4.3 mile loop. There's an anchorage across from the Park's dock. I thought we would go to Plum Orchard on Day Two. Guess I should have said all that. Instead, we tied to the dock on the South-end then shoved off to move to Plum Orchard - I have no idea why - but I should have spoken up.

Jim was focused on revisiting Plum Orchard, only, where he did some civil engineering work 20 years ago. The Plum Orchard area has limited facilities at the Carnegie House, drinking water (during touring hours), and it's a 2.5 mile 'hike' to the beach. Plum Orchard is located off the North-end Wilderness Trail where there are wild boars and rattlesnakes. Seriously? The words Paige and Wilderness in the same sentence? Never. I am not prepared for hiking this sort of terrain. The trails in the north are lightly traveled and not maintained; a volunteer told us there were trees to climb over. I will not hike to the beach from Plum Orchard.

We have been on this trip forever and have had great communication skills - until yesterday. Miscommunication will not happen a second time.