Over the weekend, I took a road trip down to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, FL. I left Savannah on Saturday morning and returned on Monday morning. It was a beautiful Autumn weekend for a road trip - cool in the mornings, but particularly on Sunday afternoon, warming up just into short sleeve weather. On Saturday, I enjoyed taking a boat tour around Amelia Island and Cumberland Island followed by a trolley tour of historic Fernandina Beach and a walk around the Fernandina Beach Historic District. On Sunday, I caught the sunrise on the beach, then visited Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park, Kingsley Plantation, and Huguenot Park.
I enjoyed some good radio listening during the trip. Even though it was a weekend, I still heard some MilCom (including a terrific catch at NS Mayport). I caught some FedCom from the US Coast Guard (Sectors Charleston and Jacksonville) and National Park Service. There was a good mix of conventional and trunked public safety communications. I heard Marine VHF/Port communications from Fernandina Beach down to Jacksonville and even though I could hear train horns throughout the weekend, I only heard a bit of railroad communications.
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| US Navy DDGs (Guided Missile Destroyers) moored in the basin at Naval Station Mayport, FL |
MilCom/Aviation
From the hotel in Fernandina Beach, I could hear Military and Aviation communications from the southern part of Coastal Georgia (Brunswick/Kingsland/St Marys) and Northeastern Florida (Fernandina Beach/Mayport/Jacksonville). Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport stayed steady throughout the weekend and I even caught some military aircraft arriving and departing from airfields in Jacksonville. The Military Monitoring highlight of the weekend came during my visit to Huguenot Park at the south end of Amelia Island (across the St Johns River from Naval Station Mayport) on Sunday afternoon. As I was pulling into the park, I heard WARSHIP 122 on Marine VHF Ch 12 coordinating its arrival into the basin at NS Mayport. As I drove into the park, I could see a DDG (Guided Missile Destroyer) about to enter the NS Mayport basin and a closer look revealed the hull number 122, which made it the USS John Basilone (DDG-122). The Basilone was just commissioned on 9 November 2024 and Sunday was it's first arrival at its new home port! |
| USS John Basilone (DDG-122) about to enter the Naval Station Mayport basin and its homeport for the first time since it was commissioned on 9 November 2024 |
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| USS John Basilone (DDG-122), accompanied by C-Tractor 12 and escorted by a security vessel |
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| USS John Basilone (DDG-122) entering the basin at Naval Station Mayport |
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| USS Lassen (DDG-82) |
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| USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) |
Brunswick
123.000 - Brunswick/Golden Isles Airport CTAF/Unicom
123.050 - Malcolm McKinnon and Jekyll Island Airport CTAF/Unicom
NSB Kings Bay
US DOD TRS (NSB Kings Bay sites)
TG 28557 - RFD Southeast 1 (encrypted)
TG 28615 - NSBKB Fire Dispatch (encrypted)
TG 28616 - NSBKB FD Tac? (encrypted)
TG 28617 - NSBKB FD Tac? (encrypted)
TG 28880 - RFD Southeast? (encrypted)
Fernandina Beach/NS Mayport/Jacksonville
122.700 - Fernandina Beach Municipal CTAF
125.150 - NAS Jacksonville Tower
124.900/127.000/127.775/132.775 - Jax TRACON
284.600/292.150/308.400/377.075 - Jax TRACON
156.6000 - Marine VHF Ch 12; Mayport Port Control
148.1250 (PL 156.7/$61F) - CAP R09 Jacksonville
US DOD TRS (NS Mayport site)
TG 28146 - NAS Jacksonville FD Dispatch (encrypted)
TG 28171 - VP-45
TG 28174 - NS Mayport FD Tac 2 (encrypted)
TG 28306 - NS Mayport Unknown
TG 28344 - NS Mayport Ship POL?
TG 28354 - NS Mayport FD Dispatch (encrypted)
Op Areas
284.500 - SEALORD North Primary
Jacksonville Center
124.675/282.200 - Jekyll Low
125.375 - Taylor Low
126.125 - Statesboro High
126.350 - St. Augustine High
126.750/277.400 - Brunswick Low
127.475 - Green Cove High
127.575 - Waycross Low
127.875 - Aiken High
128.625 - Micanopy Ultra High
132.425 - Hunter Ultra High
132.925 - Allendale/Savannah Low
133.300 - Moultrie Ultra High
133.700 - Baxley Low
134.850 - Torry Low/High
135.450 - Keystone Ultra High
WARSHIP 122 (USS John Basilone, DDG 122)
PELICAN 12 (P-8A, VP-45)
CONVOY 4946 (C-40A, 168980, VR-58)
BENGAL 41 (F/A-18C/D, VMFA-224)
CURDY 44 (E-6B, 163919, VQ-3)
HYSON 41 (E-6B, 163920, VQ-3)
COAST GUARD 2706 (C-27J, 2706, USCG)
COAST GUARD 6039 (HH-60T, 6039, CGAS Clearwater)
REACH 4542 (C-17A, 02-1111, 62nd AW)
REACH 4171 (C-17A, 07-7176, 436th AW)
REACH 4620 (C-17A, 08-8195, 62nd AW)
CAP 820 (C182, N956CP, FL Civil Air Patrol)
CAP 920 (C172, N426CP, GA Civil Air Patrol)
FedCom
I could hear plenty of US Coast Guard traffic from the hotel in Fernandina Beach; the Georgia/Florida line is the border of Coast Guard Sector Charleston to the north and Sector Jacksonville to the south, so I could hear communications from both Sectors. Additionally, I also heard National Park Service communications from the Cumberland Island National Seashore.
156.8000 - Marine VHF Ch 16
157.1000 - Marine VHF Ch 1022/22A
162.3250 ($293) - CG 111, Sector Jacksonville
164.9000 ($293) - CG 118, Station Brunswick
412.9750 ($293) - CG 409, Sector Jacksonville
413.0000 ($293) - CG 410, Sector Charleston
169.7250 ($293) - NPS Cumberland Island National Seashore
164.2500 ($293) - NPS Cumberland Island National Seashore?
Public Safety
Most of the public safety communications around Fernandina Beach are P25 trunked. Camden County to the north, Nassau County itself, and Jacksonville/Duval County to the south are all on P25 700/800 MHz trunked systems. It's worth noting that the Nassau County system is almost all encrypted. Since I was staying right along the beach, I could also hear the St Johns County and Flagler County P25 trunked systems in the mornings and evenings. I was also able to hear Baker County and Charlton County on their VHF repeaters. During this trip, I also heard the Jacksonville Florida Forestry Service in P25 mode for the first time (I actually heard it in both P25 and analog modes).
154.4300 (PL 118.8) - Charlton VFD Dispatch
154.4000 (PL 173.8) - Baker County FD Dispatch
159.2400 (PL 97.4) - FFS Jacksonville
159.2400 ($046) - FFS Jacksonville (TG 1)
159.3300 (PL 88.5) - FFS Suwannee
151.0100 (PL 103.5) - Little Talbot State Park
159.4425 (PL 151.4) - Fort Clinch State Park
453.0750 (PL 146.2) - Trauma One Jacksonville
462.9500 (PL 173.8) - LifeFlight (Jacksonville)
Camden County P25 TRS
TG 2001 - Camden County FD Dispatch
Nassau County P25 TRS
TG 1001 - A1 Nassau Co Fire/Rescue Dispatch; enc
First Coast P25 TRS (Jacksonville/Duval County)
TG 1087 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue A2 Dispatch
TG 149 - JFRD A-4 Suppression
TG 1113 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Fireground B1
TG 1137 - Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Fireground C5
TG 1523 - Jacksonville IAP Events/Crash Units
TG 1563 - Jacksonville IAP Operations
TG 1799 - NIMS Beaches
St Johns County P25 TRS
TG 10000 - St Johns County Fire/Rescue A1 Dispatch
Flagler County P25 TRS
TG 2059 - Flagler Fire/Rescue Primary
TG 2060 - Flagler County Fire/Rescue Tac 3
Port/Marine/Railroad
Most of the Marine, Port, and Railroad communications I heard on this trip were from Fernandina Beach (mostly the Marina). I could also hear the St Johns River pilots from Jacksonville at time as well. Even though I could hear train horns throughout my time in Fernandina Beach, I didn't hear all that much radio traffic from them.
156.5500 - Marine VHF Ch 11; St Johns Bar Pilots Fernandina
156.7000 - Marine VHF Ch 14; St Johns Bar Pilots, Jacksonville
156.6500 - Marine VHF Ch 13; Fernandina Beach Navigation Safety
156.6500 - Marine VHF Ch 13; Mayport Navigation Safety
156.4250 - Marine VHF Ch 68; Fernandina Beach Marina
156.5000 - Marine VHF Ch 10; Fernandina Beach Marina Internal Comms
161.5200 - AAR 94; CSX Jacksonville (some stations with PL 250.3)
161.1450 - AAR 69, First Coast Railroad
Amateur Radio/GMRS
Fernandina Beach and the north end of Amelia Island are nicely covered by Amateur Radio repeaters and a GMRS repeater from Kingsland, GA to the north (there's also an active UHF repeater in Yulee on he SARnet network). The south end of Amelia Island has coverage Amateur Radio and GMRS coverage from Jacksonville. While on the south end of Amelia Island on Sunday, I could also hear the 146.625 repeater from St Augustine.
146.6250+ (CSQ) - St Augustine
146.7000- (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville
147.0000- (PL 127.3) - Callahan
147.3900+ (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville Beach
442.9000+ (PL 127.3) - Yulee (SARNet)
444.6250+ (DMR CC3) - Kingsland
444.7000+ (PL 127.3) - Jacksonville (SARNet)
462.6750+ (PL 141.3) - Jacksonville (GMRS)
462.7000+ (DCS 223) - Kingsland GMRS
Amelia Island/Cumberland Island River Tour
The first stop on the road trip was at the Fernandina Beach Marina for a Cumberland Island Tour with Amelia Island River Cruises. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 1/2 hour tour up the Amelia River from the Marina through Cumberland Sound into the Cumberland River past the Dungeness Ruins on Cumberland Island, turning around near NSB Kings Bay. The tour focuses on the history of Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, and Cumberland Island as well as the nature and wildlife encountered along the way. Captains Curt and Nate on the Bald Eagle were skilled and knowledgeable, making for a very enjoyable and informative cruise.
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| Wild horses on Cumberland Island |
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| Wild horse on Cumberland Island |
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| A "driftwood beach" on Cumberland Island |
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| The Dungeness Mansion ruins on Cumberland Island |
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| The USNS Black Powder (T-AGSE-1) and USNS Westwind (T-AGSE-2), submarine support vessels, moored at NSB Kings Bay |
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| The moon overhead during the Amelia Island/Cumberland Island boat tour |
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| Fort Clinch on Amelia Island as seen from the Amelia River Cruise's boat Bald Eagle |
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| Green Sea Turtle seen at the Marina after the boat tour |
Historic Fernandina Beach
After the Amelia Island/Cumberland Island boat tour, I took a trolley tour around Fernandina Beach from Anchor Trolleys (they depart from and return to the Fernandina Beach Marina not far from Amelia River Cruises). The trolley tour was a good introduction to historic Fernandina Beach and prepared me for my walk around the Historic District. It also clued me into the Old Town/Plaza San Carlos area which I also visited for myself on Sunday. The driver/tour guide, Noah, was knowledgeable and entertaining - I'm glad I decided to take the tour.
Fernandina Beach's Historic District is reminiscent of Savannah's Historic District. Everything is in walking distance and there are plenty of shops to stop in and plenty of choices for something to eat. I came across Hofbrau Amelia, a German restaurant, and since it's been awhile since I had German food I had to stop in and have some Jaegerschnitzel in their Biergarten even though I'd had a picnic lunch a few hours previously!
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| Shops in Fernandina Beach's Historic District, including the Palace Saloon, Florida's oldest drinking establishment |
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| Fernandina Beach City Hall |
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| Hofbrau Amelia and its Biergarten |
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| Hofbrau Amelia's Jaegerschnitzel; I ordered mine with a garden salad instead of the mashed potatoes to make it more Diabetes friendly. The Apple Cider Vinaigrette dressing went quite will with savory mushroom gravy. |
Fort Clinch State Park
The place I visited on Sunday was Fort Clinch State Park because I wanted to visit Fort Clinch, a third system fortification built during the same general time frame (between the War of 1812 and the Civil War) as Fort Pulaski in Savannah and Fort Sumter in Charleston (both of which I've visited). It was built on the north end of Amelia Island to protect the entrance to Cumberland Sound, the St Mary's River, and the port of Fernandina Beach. No battle was fought at Fort Clinch; it was abandoned by the Confederate Army in March 1862 and it was subsequently re-occupied by the Union Army, which used it to help control the Georgia and Florida coasts. After the Civil War, Fort Clinch was in caretaker status until the Spanish-American War began in 1898 when coastal guns were mounted and mines laid and it was used as a barracks and for ammunition storage. After the short Spanish-American War, it was abandoned and eventually sold in 1926. It became a Florida State Park in 1935 and 1936 it was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal. During World War II, however, Fort Clinch saw it's last military service, used for communications and security until the end of the war when it was returned to State Park status.
Fort Clinch has a unique design compared to other forts I've visited like Fort Pulaski in Savannah and Fort Sumter in Charleston. It has both inner and outer walls, with a gap between the two so soldiers could use rifle ports in the outer wall (see photo below). It also has two ramps for moving large guns to the parapet without having to use block and tackle.
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| Fort Clinch |
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| Fort Clinch's outer wall and one of its bastions |
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| Fort Clinch's enlisted barracks (left) and storehouse (right) |
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| Inside one of Fort Clinch's bastions |
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| 10' Columbiad guns atop Fort Clinch's parapet |
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| Inside Fort Clinch's guardhouse |
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| 10' Columbiad guns atop Fort Clinch's parapet |
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| One of the ramps for moving large guns to Fort Clinch's parapet and the guardhouse and prison to the right of the flagpole |
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| Fort Clinch's outer wall (left) and inner wall (right); This is unique to Fort Clinch compared to other forts I've visited |
Fernandina Plaza State Historic Park
After a picnic lunch at Fort Clinch State Park, I made the short drive over to Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park. The smallest Florida State Park, it's located on a bluff overlooking the Amelia River, where Fernandina Beach's "Old Town" was located. The Spanish built a fort on the bluff between 1813 and 1816 named Fort San Carlos; the park occupies what was its parade ground, which was Plaza San Carlos. A series of interpretive signs explains the historic significance of the site and there is also a 6-pound cannon on display which was recovered from the marsh and donated to Florida State Parks.
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| Fernandina Plaza State Historic Park |
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| 6-pounder cannon at Fernandina Plaza State Historic Park (with KF4LMT mobile in the background) |
Kingsley Plantation
Kingsley Plantation, part of the National Park Service's Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is located north of Jacksonville on George Island. The Kingsley Plantation site consists of the Plantation Main House, Kitchen House, barn, and the remains of the Slave Quarters. The Slave Quarters are unique in that they were made of tabby. While he had no qualms about owning slaves, the plantation's owner Zephania Kingsley, looked at Slavery more along the lines the Spanish did than how Americans did. Kingsley bought the plantation in 1814 and it was used to grow Sea Island Cotton.
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| The Kingsley Plantation Kitchen House (left) and Main House (right) |
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| The Kingsley Plantation Barn |
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| The remains of the tabby Kingsley Plantation Slave Quarters |
Lodging and Food
I stayed the weekend at the Surf and Sand Fernandina Beach at Amelia Island next to the beach at Atlantic Ave and Fletcher Ave in Fernandina Beach. I lucked out and got a third floor room with a view of the beach; it also turned out to be a good spot for radio listening. The room was comfortable and bright and the staff was friendly. The only complaint I have is that the breakfast area didn't offer any sweeteners other than sugar in the mornings; it could have used some more diabetic friendly options. At dawn and dusk, you can walk across Fletcher Ave to the beach and take in beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It really is in a wonderful location.
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| The Surf and Sand Hotel in Fernandina Beach |
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| Saturday evening's sunset |
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| Sunday morning's sunrise |
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| The Salt Life Food Shack in Fernandina Beach |
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| Shrimp and Bacon and Shrimp and Chorizo tacos at the Salt Life Food Shack |
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| The Shrimp and Crab Stuffed Flounder with grilled vegetables at the Salt Life Food Shack |
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