Anchoring Next to a THIRD National Monument!

Our Third National Monument on the Great Loop!

After two beautiful days at Cumberland Island, it was time to move on. We set off early, right around low tide so we would be near the notoriously shallow areas of the Cumberland and Jekyll Rivers, with plenty of depth and with a rising tide just in case.

The winds were very light at 5-7mph and the conditions were perfect for us to take the more exposed eastern route across St. Andrew Sound. It was absolutely gorgeous, and the little swell we had really made for a joyful cruise. We chugged on by Jekyll Island and up the famous “mud river.”

We timed it perfectly and the lowest we ever saw was 7-8 feet under our props, which is plenty of water to cruise through. St. Simons Sound was even more peaceful, but it was quite smokey from a nearby wildfire. We opened up the throttle and hit 18.3 mph! New personal best for Swamp Puppy! I’m looking forward to having some gauges I can trust, so we can verify our RPMs. I have a feeling they’re on the low side and if fluctuates with voltage level… It’s a boat, so needing repairs is it’s normal state.

We passed “Miss Genny,” a gold Looper, just before turning up the Frederica River towards tiny Fort Frederica, our third National Monument anchorage! Elyse is whipping up some homemade mac & cheese and then it’s time to head to shore to explore. Living off solar has it’s perks!