The splendor and tragedy of Sapelo Island on the Georgia coast

In all my travels around the world and across the nation, one place has drawn me back time after time: Sapelo Island on Georgia’s coast. Lying at the center of the state’s curved coastline known as the Georgia Bight, Sapelo is still isolated, reachable only by boat and still mostly wild and undeveloped.

It’s one of the most alluring places I’ve ever visited. The anticipation of going there has always kindled a sense of adventure in me. Sixteen thousand acres of sand, wide beach, maritime forest and boundless salt marsh, Sapelo is a place of superb natural splendor. Because of its unblighted landscape, it is also home to the University of Georgia’s Marine Institute, where much of the world’s groundbreaking research on coastal salt marshes takes place. Among marine scientists worldwide, Sap