Day 163 - March 25, 2013: The Trident Submarine and Jekyll Island

After touring the submarine museum on Saturday, Anne desperately wanted to see a real Trident submarine. Anxious to please her, I prevailed on my Navy friends for a favor (:-). And sure enough, as we departed down the St. Mary's River and entered the junction to the ICW, we encountered a Trident class nuclear submarine coming into the St Andrews Sound channel. The Coast Guard warned us to stay back until they passed and follow no closer than 500 yards. There was a lead vessel, port and starboard tender escort ships, three fast gun boats, and a Coast Guard trailing vessel. The conning tower is quite visible, and that is where the crew is conducting (hence "conning") operations. This was a very exciting encounter for us, and we trailed and watched until the fleet turned into their home port in Kings Bay. Thanks to the Navy for the show!

Coast Guard inflatable with bow machine gun ready and in place

Trident fleet moving about 10 knots

Port and starboard tenders providing escort

 Conning tower and periscopes

Still plagued with 35 mph wind gusts and waves, we moved on to Jekyll Island, the smallest of the barrier islands. First settled in 1738 by William Horton as a plantation, Jekyll Island was eventually sold in 1885 to a group of investors as a hunting resort for $125,000. They offered memberships in a Jekyll Island Club to 50 wealthy people in the North if they purchased 100 shares for $600 per share. A 60-room clubhouse, costing $45,000, was opened in 1888, and golf courses, tennis courts and a marina soon followed. The club members included the Rockefellers, Morgans, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers, and Astors, and it was estimated that at that time they alone represented 1/6th of the entire wealth of the U.S. We took a trolley tour of the area, and this is the original clubhouse with croquet matches still occurring today.

Jekyll Island Club House

Most members stayed in the clubhouse, but some built "cottages" and brought friends for luxurious winter vacations in this isolated retreat. The "cottages" were designed mostly for entertaining and sleeping, as meals were served in the clubhouse. Indian Mound Cottage was built by Rockefeller and faced the clubhouse across the lawns. San Souci Cottage was built by Morgan and faced the waterway. There were daily afternoon parties on the lawns, with formal dress, and attendance was by invitation only.

Indian Mound (Rockefeller)

San Souci (Morgan)