This Flying Monkey Circus...

Fulmar at anchor in Jekyll Creek.

This flying monkey circus has finally hit the road!  We were finally able to break free from the Velcro that stuck us firmly to the dock.  So where are we headed?  Well, it’s cruising under sail, on a 40-year-old boat that hasn’t cruised in a long time.  So, nothing is certain.  We’d love to get to the Bahamas this winter/spring, if all goes well.  Sailing with a dog, however, complicates things further.  Loki likes his twice daily walks.  This generally means we need to be at anchor or on a dock before nightfall each day.  Traveling internationally with a pet is even more complicated, with permit applications and vet certifications.  We’ve applied for the Bahamian pet permit and are awaiting its arrival.

But we are in cruising mode now, so schedules and itineraries have very little meaning.  We’re taking our time and enjoying the view.  We left Brunswick, GA on Monday and traveled only about 10 miles to the anchorage at Jekyll Island, where we spent the night.  We left Jekyll yesterday morning and made it to one of our favorite local destinations, Cumberland Island National Seashore.  We’ll spend one more night here and make another short jump to Fernandina Beach, FL to escape a small weather front that is forecast to move through the area.  From there, we are planning a stop in Jacksonville to wait out the next weather maker, and then on to St. Augustine.  Hopefully, Loki’s pet permit will catch up with us by the time we get to South Florida, so we can make the jump across the Gulf Stream to West End, in the Bahamas.  But it’s cruising; we can’t make too many long-range plans. 

Wherever we go, and whatever disasters occur, we’ll keep you posted.  We’ll talk about life aboard S/V Fulmar, the places we visit, the people we meet, and, as always, weave in some marine science and conservation.  But we’ll keep it light. 

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Never lend a hand, or your favorite flashlight, to an alligator.  You'll never get them back.  This message was brought to you by the Jekyll Island Authority.  

Coastal Georgia is where right whales come to give birth to their calves.  Many people around here are proud of this fact.  But we can't help but wonder if this sculpture will out last the species.

Loki, pouting because he misses his friends at Brunswick Landing Marina.  Who is Clarence going to give his dog treats to?

Loki faced with a decision: walk through the Pearly Gates or go after the horse.  He chose the horse (standing to the left of the road).

Looking down the road as you step off the dock onto Cumberland Island.

Janet contemplating another fixer-upper.  These are the ruins of Dungeness, the mansion built on Cumberland Island by the Carnegie family in 1886.  It burned down in 1959 and has been preserved by the National Park Service. 

Shadowy figures.

Janet's dream: ponies and her boat (neither the ponies nor her boat are easy to see here, but they're there, trust us.).  Cue Lyle Lovett!  

Well, there is the dream and then there is reality.  Cruising isn't always glamorous.  During our visit to Cumberland Island, all of the public docks were closed.  Normally, this is no big deal.  You just find a sheltered beach where you can land your dinghy.  But we're in Georgia, which has (1) a very large tidal range and (2) pluff mud.  What is pluff mud you ask?  It is a very deep, very soft, and oh-so sticky type of mud commonly found in the lower intertidal zone of estuaries in South Carolina and Georgia.  You can avoid getting caught in the pluff mud by only landing your dinghy on the beach around high tide.  Unfortunately, a dog's bladder doesn't understand tide cycles.

Hiking in the maritime forest on Cumberland. Maritime forests are close to, and directly influenced by, the ocean.  Plants inhabiting these forests must be tolerant to salt spray, occasional storm surge flooding, and persistently high winds.  Some of the common plants of this maritime forest include loblolly pine, saw palmetto, redbay, live oak, Spanish moss, and resurrection fern.  Besides the feral ponies, Loki found white-tailed deer, armadillos, raccoons, and eastern grey squirrels on Cumberland Island.  Because of their location on highly-desirable coastal real estate, most of the maritime forests in the U.S. have been destroyed by development.  Despite its relatively short coastline, Georgia has several of the most well-preserved maritime forests on the East Coast.

A much easier trip to the beach (when the tide was higher).

Those crazy kids.