Daily stats
Start: 7:15 AM- Brickhill Bluff on Cumberland Island, GA
Finish: 3:00 PM - Small island north of St. Simons Island, GA
Time: 7:45
Daily dist: 29 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Very nice, partly cloudy, 75 degrees, west wind 5-10 mph
Notes: West wind allowed me to paddle on the open ocean for the first time since reaching Miami.
I had a couple from Boston as neighbors in camp last night. They arrived just before sunset and set up camp 50 yards south of me. I went over to say hello but the visit was cut short when it started to rain. They were up bright and early though and singed my boat before helping me drag it to the water and set out for points further north.
Start: 7:15 AM- Brickhill Bluff on Cumberland Island, GA
Finish: 3:00 PM - Small island north of St. Simons Island, GA
Time: 7:45
Daily dist: 29 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Very nice, partly cloudy, 75 degrees, west wind 5-10 mph
Notes: West wind allowed me to paddle on the open ocean for the first time since reaching Miami.
I had a couple from Boston as neighbors in camp last night. They arrived just before sunset and set up camp 50 yards south of me. I went over to say hello but the visit was cut short when it started to rain. They were up bright and early though and singed my boat before helping me drag it to the water and set out for points further north.
Calm waters
The weather promised of light winds from the west which meant calm seas and the first opportunity to paddle on the open ocean since I scooted behind Key Biscayne on my approach into Miami several weeks ago. As much as I’ve been enjoying paddling on the Intracoastal Waterway it was nice to have the change of pace. It was also nice to not have to worry about tide flows as much either as I would have on the inside channels and rivers.
A “grass is greener” feeling has been haunting me the whole time I paddled up the Florida coast on the inside. As good as I knew I had it on the ICW I couldn’t help but wonder what I was missing on the open coast. Experience told me that I probably wasn’t missing much. What I’d see would be water on my right and a sand beach backed by trees and/or beach houses on my left. Seven hours of paddling today pretty much convinced me that I was right. The open coast is still beautiful in it’s own way but honestly, there is more happening on the narrower ICW. On the inside, with land on both sides of you there is simply more to see. The sheltered water also brings wildlife in closer. Dolphins, pelicans, and herons were constant companions on the sheltered channels. On the outside most of what you see is gulls and the occasional head first crash landing Brown Pelican diving after a bait fish.
A “grass is greener” feeling has been haunting me the whole time I paddled up the Florida coast on the inside. As good as I knew I had it on the ICW I couldn’t help but wonder what I was missing on the open coast. Experience told me that I probably wasn’t missing much. What I’d see would be water on my right and a sand beach backed by trees and/or beach houses on my left. Seven hours of paddling today pretty much convinced me that I was right. The open coast is still beautiful in it’s own way but honestly, there is more happening on the narrower ICW. On the inside, with land on both sides of you there is simply more to see. The sheltered water also brings wildlife in closer. Dolphins, pelicans, and herons were constant companions on the sheltered channels. On the outside most of what you see is gulls and the occasional head first crash landing Brown Pelican diving after a bait fish.
Birds
What the open coast has that the inside channels don’t is ocean swell. There is something hypnotic to me about the gentle rise and fall of my boat as a wave passes under it. Somehow my paddling seems to fall in rhythm with the swell and the miles just pass by. That’s how it was for me today as I paddled up the length of Jekyll Island then on past St. Simons Island. I had intended to camp on the beach on the north end of Little St. Simons Island but upon reaching my destination I discovered signs warning trespassers away from what proved to be a wildlife sanctuary. Not wanting to log a ridiculously long day I turned north and crossed a channel to a small island. Unlike the ghostly silent wildlife sanctuary this island is alive with thousands of birds of dozens of varieties. The smell of so many birds forced me to camp on the upwind side of the island. As I sat in camp every once in a while something would excite the birds sending clouds of them aloft to circle the island until the call went out that it was again safe to land. It was incredible to watch so much animal life in one spot.
Horseshoe crab
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