Pat's Wildways: Amelia River Cruise

I’ve been a friend of Amelia River Cruises ever since I moved here nearly 30 years ago and met Kevin McCarthy at a talk I was giving on right whales. Kevin introduced himself to me and invited me to go on a boat trip with him on his first vessel, the Ryan K. For a few years, I led Wild Ways tours on his boat for people who read my column, then in the News Leader. It was always fun for both of us, and it cemented our long-term friendship.

But it has been way too long since I’ve been on an Amelia River Cruise and it was time to check it out again. And wow, have things expanded! Kevin and his team now have three vessels: the Miss Kaylynn (named after his granddaughter, who now also works for the company), the Bald Eagle, and his newest acquisition, the Princess Amelia, which is a double-decker that can carry more than 120 people comfortably. His original vessel, the Ryan K is now in San Diego shuttling people from a resort to nearby Sea World.

So, one damp morning I chatted with Kevin at the ticket booth on the Marina before Bucko and I boarded the Miss Kaylynn for the scheduled 10 a.m. Cumberland Island tour. Kevin told me how he started his business 30-some years ago, emulating a four-generation tour boat operation in St. Augustine. And now he has his own “legacy business” with three generations of his own family working with him. Good job Kevin!

Captains Benny and Bob were the leaders of our trip this day and they had their own spiel that had evolved from Kevin’s original mostly history and nature narrative to a lively mix of current facts about the paper mills, diminished shrimp fleet and the port combined with some jokes and puns that had the passengers laughing. For instance, when we passed the jetties behind Fort Clinch, they described it as Depression Beach, where everyone walks with their heads down. Sure enough, it was a solemn sight, but it wasn’t depression. Instead, people were looking for fossilized shark teeth, but I thought the name was hilarious.

Some of the facts we heard during this tour were new to me. For instance, the multiple mile-long craft paper rolls that WestRock produces get shipped to places like Central America, where they are made into Dole and Chiquita banana cartons, and to Georgia, where Amazon boxes are produced. And the rumors that the old pogy plant is being considered as a deep-water shipping dock and marina. Interesting, right?

Besides the informative narrative, like all Amelia River Cruises, there was a lot going on around us. For much of the trip, though, most of the passengers stayed inside the boat protected from the cold and light rain by rolled down plastic windows. Not me. And eventually, not everyone. Once dolphins and wild horses were spotted around us, most everyone was on deck to watch the show.

And a show it was! Dolphins were everywhere it seemed. At one location we watched a single dolphin splashing toward the beach where two white pelicans and three cormorants were waiting to see what the dolphin rounded up for them all to eat — cooperative fishing at its finest. A bit further along another pod of dolphins, three or four this time, were interacting with one another right in front of our boat. We stopped for a while to watch them but then moved on.

And then came the horses. Cumberland Island is home to a couple of hundred horses of mixed heritage that originated from horses early visitors had brought to the island. These horses are all colors and sizes, but they share one thing in common — their short lifespan due to a salt-heavy diet of spartina grass and no veterinary care. But they are wild and free during their life — something few horses anywhere get to experience. Passengers on Amelia River Cruises usually see these horses when the boat follows the Cumberland Island shoreline, and it’s always a hit.

If you haven’t yet taken an Amelia River Cruise, what’s stopping you? For many of us this is the top thing to do with visitors, but it’s also great for us locals too. Check out their website to learn more. Bring your snacks and drinks and enjoy the ever-changing show right in our own backyard. Bucko and I sure did at long last, again.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com