I met John at the ramp. The previous evening, he'd bought a new-to-him Cetus and I'd suggested we try it out on a trip to Cumberland Island. With spring tides approaching, the max ebb out of the St Marys River was predicted to reach over three knots, so we had a bit of a push as we headed out the river.
We had a bit of wind opposing that current as well. Here's John, grateful to be on land once again. No, actually this is John extricating himself from some Cumberland Island mud. We made our way around the south end of the island and while the tide turned, ate our lunch on the beach overlooking the entrance to Cumberland Sound. As always, there were a few boats to watch- a Coast Guard patrol boat, the usual excursion boats from Fernandina Beach, and a few recreational fishermen. We watched a guy anchored just off shore take about ten minutes to land a small shark.
We paddled around to the jetty and had a look. Here you get a good sense of how much the jetty shelters the entrance to the sound.
The air was warm. The water was also warm. A good beach day.
We headed back around the south end and crossed back over to the river entrance. Instead of the usual trip back up the St Marys, we thought we'd check-out the Jolly River instead, mostly confident that I could find the cut through the marsh across from St Marys.
We had plenty of help from the current, and the wind in the mid-teens with gusts was mostly at our back, but getting back was still a bit of work.
After one wrong attempt, I found the path through the marsh and we made our way back into St Marys Harbor.
I've started a few blog posts that got into how things are going for us here in Georgia, but I'd rather just write about trips like this. We've had plenty of good paddling, including surf sessions at least once a week. It's been good.
But we'll be heading back to Maine in a couple of weeks. We have a busy schedule in June that includes The Maine Canoe Symposium, followed by an L5 Instructor Development Workshop. We'll be living and working at Old Quarry Ocean Adventures, as well as guiding & teaching a few trips and classes for Pinniped Kayak. My guidebook, AMC's Best Sea Kayaking in New England (see ordering info in sidebar) is still in the editing process, but it's getting close- it should be out in July. Through Sea, Surf & SUP I'm scheduled to assistant-coach an Ocean Camp at Knubble Bay with John Carmody, followed by a week-long Downeast Training Journey (Frenchman Bay to West Quoddy Head) with Nate Hanson. After assistant-coaching at the Bay of Fundy Sea Kayak Symposium in Nova Scotia, our plan is to return to St. Marys to guide trips in October & November.
We're getting some dates arranged for a few more summer trips and classes, which I'll post here and send in a newsletter soon. Maybe I'll see you on the water soon!
