Growling in Nassau County, Florida

A friend and I decided to go boating one Saturday morning and went to Scotts landing in Nassau County, Florida on the St Marys River. We rented a boat and headed west up the St Marys River into Georgia. We traveled west about 15 miles where we went around a bend and our motor must have hit something in the water and shut off. We drifted to the bank on the Georgia side of the river where we tried to start the boat with no success. This was about 3:30 pm with about 3 hours of light left as it is getting dark about 6pm. There was a fishing camp on the Florida side of the river with no one there so we paddled over to that side where we settled in and built a campfire to spend the night as our phones had no service. We settled by the fire and talked and had a good time. Around 12:30AM we began to hear something moving thru the woods from far off. We could tell it was moving towards us because the breaking branches and snapping twigs and crunching leaves were getting louder. When it got down to the rivers edge across from us we heard grunting and growling as well as stomping on the ground that was extremely loud and a deep base thud. I got up and walked down to the rivers edge and started shining the opposite bank. As I was shining I could hear something moving thru the brush towards me. As it got directly across from me I saw it thru the brush and could see a shoulder and head moving left straight across from me. I could see it moving for about 5 to 6 feet before it came to a tree where it stepped out from behind the tree and looked directly at me. I shined the light in its face and saw two red eyes and a head and right shoulder. When the light hit it in the face it turned its head back to the direction it came from and took off back that way. It seemed mad cuz it started stomping and growling and breaking limbs again. It continued to raise hell for another hour to hour and a half before it went quiet. Of course we did not sleep that night and at the first light we got in the boat and started rowing towards home and made it about 5 miles where we were picked up by the Nassau County police boat and towed another 10 1/2 miles back to Scotts Landing. It was a truly amazing experience for me, my buddy however didn't agree with me. He said he was frozen with fear and will never return there. I myself would love to return and search for the creature.