On Friday, November 23, 2012, Steve Combs and others will be stand up paddling to Cumberland Island to raise awareness for the coastal Georgia region, including Surfrider Foundation Atlanta Chapter's STOP SHEP campaign--Save Tybee's Ocean Playground from the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. (Read the August 2012 STOP SHEP update here.)
Plans are currently underway. If you are interested in joining the trip, please post a comment below or email steve@paddleanywhere.com. This is a 20+ mile paddle. Experienced paddlers only. The current plan is to paddle from Jekkyl Island to Cumberland. If you are interested in taking the ferry, you can meet us at the campground (It's still a 10-mile hike each way, but at least you will be on dry ground.) Please note, this is not a Surfrider Foundation trip. Each participant is responsible for their own safety. If you missed last year's 26+ mile Black Friday SUP trip, check it out here.
The gallery below includes some route maps and additional info. Currently, we are planning to do the Jekyll Island Departure route. If anyone wants to take the Ferry Departure route and hike to the campsite, please let us know. For additional information, check out the FAQ from the National Park Service.
Records show that the area around Cumberland Island contains a large population of sharks. Also, there is a depression known as the "Eighty Foot Hole," just off the northern tip of Cumberland Island, which has yielded some very large sharks. Shark attacks, however, are extremely rare. In fact there has only been two attacks recorded, the most recent took place in June 2010, when a woman was lying in less than a foot and a half of water. Her wounds, which were on her wrist and hand, required many stitches, however they were not life threatening. YoSurfer.com website also lists a shark attack upon a man bathing off Cumberland Island on May 19, 2006 (he was bitten on the leg). It should also be noted that Cumberland Island beaches are relatively uncrowded, which may help account for the lower than expected incidence of shark attacks within the murky shark infested waters. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Island
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