We left Amelia Island around 1 PM Thursday with the destination of a anchorage off Cumberland Island. Welcome to Georgia’s largest barrier island and one of the most spectacular natural habitats in the Northern Hemisphere. The greatest and most lasting value of the Island is its ability to change us. It is a place of transformation. It is this intangible feature that seems to be the most important benefit which Cumberland Island has for its guests. This spiritual quality is what, year after year, its visitors, residents, and Park Service employees seem to believe is its most important contribution to our people. In the early 1880s, Thomas Morrison Carnegie and his wife, Lucy Coleman Carnegie, came to the Island and established the family’s presence, which exists to the present day. In the 1960s the human population began to diversify somewhat as the land started to leave the exclusive holdings of individual families, and the evolution of the National Seashore began.
The horses which roam freely on Cumberland are feral, meaning that their ancestors were once domesticated. Legend has it that they were originally brought to the Island by the Spanish. However these particular horses’ ancestors arrived, they make a very pleasing vista for the visitors of Cumberland. They are one of the most sought-after sights by visitors coming to Cumberland.
Cruising to Cumberland Island was pretty and laid back, these short legs of the trip are great because we can go extra slow and just take in all the beautiful flora and fauna. Cumberland island has 2 good anchorages, one right off the island at the north east corner which allows great access to the island and the other is on Floyd Creek which is more protected. We used both anchorages. Floyd creek has strong current so you stay pretty straight and is a safe spot, with a depth of 14ft.
The mate was a mighty sailin’ man,
The Skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day,
For a three hour tour,
A three hour tour.
Pura Vida Loop 