EAST COAST: DAYS 256-258: Jekyll Island to St Simons Island - Crescent River Anchorage - Possum Point/Vernon River Anchorage
Jekyll Island to St Simons Island: 6.8 mph; 9.0 miles; 1:19 hours
St Simons Island to Crescent River ANCHORAGE (R156/G157): 7.8 mph; 35.7; 4:36 hours
Crescent River Anchorage to Possum Point/Vernon River ANCHORAGE: 7.9 mph; 44.3 miles; 5:35 hours
Mile Markers: When I find them, I use them for reference
St Simon Island: Morning Star Marina: MM 677
$2.35/ft; showers/bathrooms; FREE car and bikes. Clean and safe marina with an excellent attentive staff.
St Simon Island
We took the marina car and headed to Winn Dixie for provisions. When you drive into town, just past the Winn Dixie, you're faced with a round-about. At the heart of the round-about, you’ll see the Southern Soul Barbeque. We did not get the chance to visit the restaurant but it smelled delicious!
While shopping the Winn Dixie, a local told me there is a Harris Teeter over on the ‘rich side’ of the Island. The local was pretty funny; actually, everyone we talked to was a hoot! The Winn-Dixie was just fine for our needs.
In the general area of the round-about, we went to Gogo’s Jewelry for my birthday presents. I am so excited about the bracelet; it’s a cast of six rattlesnake ribs. The charm is a cast of a shark’s vertebrae. Gogo grew up on Cumberland Island and all her work comes from the nature she finds there. Pretty cool art.
So, I thought the round-about was the hub for St Simon: lots of restaurants and shopping. Well, It's just one hub and the other is on the south side of the island. We took the bikes over to the lighthouse and there is a lot happening over there. It seems that the locals live in this area. I think I would need a good week to explore the island to find everything it has to offer.
While traveling, we were chumming up some small fish only the seagulls could see - must have had 50 gulls following our boat. Wait - make that seventy-five!
There were a few shallow spots at low tide:
G193 was 3.5’ at low tide then much deeper by R192
R190 to G194 at low tide was 4.5’ - 7.0’
The anchorage is just outside the ICW and large enough for a few boats. It was cold and windy but we didn’t budge. There is a little beach near R156; so if you had a pup needing some shore time, this is a good spot.
FUN FACT: Passing Sapelo Island: When on St Simon Island, I bought a book by Charles Colcock Jones Jr, Gullah Folktales from the Georgia Coast. I remembered learning, some time ago, about this group of people from a little Georgia island. Imagine my surprise when I saw the name of the island pop up on the navigation system.
Sapelo Island currently has 43 permanent residents and they are the direct descendent of West African Slaves brought over by Thomas Spalding. Spalding was a nasty little man who ‘just died’ one day en route to his son’s house - pure karma. The island slaves on Sapelo created settlements as Freedmen and have been there for nearly two centuries. They call themselves Saltwater Geechee, Gullah, or Gullah-Geechee and a few of the remaining residents continue to speak Gullah, a form of African-pigeon.
You cannot take a private boat to Sapelo, you will need to gain access through the ferry that services the island. Look into toursapelo.com to support this community and learn their history.
Possum Point/Vernon River ANCHORAGE
We had a late start because of the fog and saw salt-flats for the rest of the day. Later, the Coast Guard had a securite warning of a fog bank off shore and we could see it from the marshes - magnificent. We were traveling at low tide again - aka: feeding time for the dolphin and seagulls. Some things I never get tired of seeing: dolphin doing dolphin things and where the tides meet in an inlet - always different.
A shallow spot:
R90/G89 has a 5’ ‘hump’ but that’s all. The whole day was easy.
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