On Monday we enjoyed a great dinner with our friends, Ernie and Debbie Veale
On our trip up the ICW, just north of Jacksonville Beach you come to the St. Johns River, where this ship was in dry dock
Along the water way you see this amazingly long piers. Due to such high and low tides it takes this long a pier to be able to get their boats to deep water. I can't imagine what they cost to build
This is a look at Fernandina from our slip
Deb found a pirate friend
So I had to find one of my own
Looking from town at HQ sitting our slip along the ICW
Sunset last night at our slip
Log 125Day 343
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
5:30 AM EDT
Location: Fernandina, FL.
Weather: 65, clear, with calm winds. Forecasted to be mid 80’s and sunny.
I got up a little earlier than normal today (4:45 am)...I woke up, and was ready to go cruising. It’s still dark outside, without a hint of light to the east, but the sky is clear, and it is forecasted to be a very nice day. To the south of our boat, a few shrimp boats are parked, and they are very busy morning. One has already left the harbor.
The weekend in Jacksonville Beach...was very nice. We really did nothing special on Sunday. I got one of the bikes out, and Deb made a couple trips to Publix to stock up on supplies. It is amazing how much she can carry on her bike, and how she enjoys riding it, and going for groceries. Between walking and biking, she is getting a lot of exercise...and liking it. Me...I sat on my butt and watched the NASCAR race in Talladega...and liked it just as much. For dinner, we ate pork chops that Deb made on the stove...and the movie was the new James Bond movie (Deb rented it for $1 at Publix). It was ok. On Monday (another beautiful day) Deb and I worked on boat chores. She cleaned the inside while I washed the entire boat from the hardtop down to the water line. I also took one of our side sun screens to a canvas shop at the marina and had them sew a piece of Velcro on. Basically we cleaned and putzed all day. At 6, our friends Ernie and Debbie Veale came to the boat. We enjoyed a cocktail on the back deck, and then had dinner at the restaurant on the marina property. Dinner was good...but catching up with Ernie and Debbie was great.
Getting to Fernandina...it’s about 28 miles from Jacksonville Beach to Fernandina. Most of the waterway is normal, to wide channels, and easy to navigate. When we pulled out of Palm Cove Marina a Coast Guard boat was moving up the ICW, and we ended up following them all the way to our slip in Fernandina. About 5 miles north of Jacksonville Beach, is the mouth of the St. Johns River. It’s a very large area, and can be confusing without paying attention to the charts. In order to stay on the ICW you must go a little west on the St. Johns River, and then immediately north again on Sister Creek...which is the ICW. We arrived at Fernandina at about noon. After quickly getting the boat settled, we walked to check in, and have lunch in town. We ended up stopping at the first place we came to, and split a (not very good) cheeseburger. Later we walked into town for a walk around, and found it to be a very nice small town. This is old, historic, Florida at it’s best. Actually Fernandina sits on Amelia Island...a very nice place indeed. Back at the boat in the afternoon, Deb made a batch of chili for dinner, while I worked on the charts and travel plans for the next couple of days.
Today...we plan to leave our slip early, and make a 40 mile run to St. Simmons Island, GA. It is possible to go outside and make this run, but winds have been blowing from the east for the last several days, and that causes some larger than normal swells, so we are going to stay inside on the ICW. The ICW in Georgia is not as “friendly” as it is in other places, because of the very large tides (6 to 9 feet) and swift currents, so much more caution is required. Low tide in this area is at 6:30 this morning, and high tide is at 1 pm, so we are traveling at a good time, where we should have plenty of water in the channel. We plan to try to hook up with Andy and Mary on Good News, and their friends Brad and Patty, on Salvage Crew, in St. Simmons Island. Not exactly sure what our plans are from there, but Deb and I, do plan to be in Hilton Head sometime this weekend.
Well...the sky is starting to get very light now. The sun is not up yet, but it won’t be long. A couple of fishing boats have come by, and the marina is starting to come to life. What a great time of day.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
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