Jacksonville Beach, FL

We left Fernandina Beach at 8:45 am and arrived at Jacksonville Beach at 1:30 pm, traveling 31 miles.  It was a very pleasant, short day on the water.

I was very happy to feel warm air when we opened the companionway this morning.  Today was the warmest we've had the whole month, with the exception of two days at Morehead City, NC.  We hope that this warm trend sticks around.

Today's run was scenic and lovely, with one exception.  There was one fixed bridge about 2 miles before we reached the marina in Jacksonville Beach on Pablo Creek where the creek narrows significantly.  We were against current and as we approached the bridge realized that getting through would be a challenge.  Greg was at the helm and the bow of the boat kept moving back and forth.  It was driving me crazy and I was sure we were going to hit the bridge supports.  I couldn't look...had to turn my head.  We finally made it through, but we were only doing about 1.5 kts with the engine running close to 3000 rpm!!!!

We will be staying here, Palm Cove Marina, for a week.  Greg needs to do some work for IIL and we both need to rest, do maintenance on the boat, and take it easy for a while.  Plus, we have a niece who lives in Jacksonville who just adopted a baby boy, so we are looking forward to visiting them.

Today's photos:

 Jazz and Oscar

 Farewell Fernandina Beach

 Beautiful on Sawpit Creek

 Sisters Creek Bridge, opened just for us!

 Naval Yard as we entered St. John's River

The pups assisting Greg at check-in at Palm Cove Marina

And a few my brother sent to remind me of the first time I visited Jacksonville Beach...in July, 1951:

 Uncle Carl with Barbara and Linda, Uncle Fred with Pat and Patti,

Daddy with Bob, me, and Nora with Jack Lewis

 Yep...that's me!  3 years old.

 Linda, me, and my beautiful Mother

Fernandina Beach, FL

Yes!  We have made it to Florida....just over the GA-FL border....but Florida none the less.  We have been living on the boat and heading south for 30 days, today! 

We left this morning a little after 8:00 am and docked in Fernandina Beach at 4:00 pm.  We traveled 46 miles.  We had a number of remarkable things happen today:

• St. Andrews Sound between Jekyell Island and Cumberland Island has shallow areas and the channel took us out to skirt the Atlantic Ocean, so for about 2 hours today we were actually in the Atlantic!  4-5' waves!  A first for us.  We loved it.  Oscar looked green, but didn't toss his breakfast.  Jazz hyperventilated, but settled down quickly when we got into calmer water.  All is well.
• Going through Jekyll Creek, we came across a Canadian sailboat grounded on a shoal.  We tried to go around him, but found the water too shallow for us as well.  It was low tide.  We went back North and called Tow Boat US for "local knowledge" and learned that the channel markers in that spot have "shifted considerably" and we needed to keep them well to starboard.  About the time we started heading back to go through, another sailboat had come along.  We chatted with them over the radio about the situation and they said they had been through before and knew the way.  So we followed them.  Perfect!  We are very grateful to Joe and Ann on Kajon.
• As we approached Fernandina Harbor Marina a dolphin crossed our bow....that's two days in a row.  Must mean something?  Good luck?  Good fortune?
• And as we pulled alongside the dock, we heard "Hey, Greg!"  Looked over and saw a couple we met in Solomon's Island on our third day out!  After docking we got reacquainted with them and caught each other up on where we'd been.  Then we ran into Bruce, who recognized our boat.  When we had grounded back in NC, we talked over the radio to him and got him through the deep water.  He told us how grateful he was for our help (we got payback today!).  Then, while walking through town, we saw a couple who were docked in front of us at Sunbury.  Had a nice chat with them, discovering that they spent 5 months anchored in Annapolis.  We are meeting the most interesting people!

Today's photos, with captions:

 Fishing boat cut across our bow  in St. Simons Sound

 Pelican, watching us....

 4' waves in the Atlantic.....

 Always, at least one bird on every marker

 Naval Submarine Base at King's Bay, GA

 Degaussing station for nuclear submarines (removes static

electricity from the ship)

The following are all photos taken during our walk through Fernandina Beach, FL:

Near St. Simons Island, GA

In our quest to find warm weather, we managed to do another long run today....59 miles!  Starting at 8:00 am and arriving at Hidden Harbor Yacht Club at 4:30 pm.  We had a good day, in spite of the overcast skies and cold air.

It started out interesting:  we did not ask for help from the dock hand, sure that we could do this ourselves.  I untied the bow line, the spring line, and the stern line, but then the current pulled the boat away from the dock so fast that I couldn't get on board!  Greg had to circle around and come back to the dock.  I had no trouble jumping on....but it was very strange to watch La Dolce Vita leave the dock without me!

We motored through much the same scenery as yesterday, but saw only one or two other boats and few houses.  I photographed the only homes we saw along the way....they were on North River at Doboy Island.  After taking the pictures, I just happened to check my email and my brother Bob had sent me an email to look out for the houses at Doboy Island because he had kayaked there with his Boy Scout Troup.  So....Bob, here's the photos:

I know...not a home.  Greg at the helm.

We went through several cuts where water was shallow, but not as shallow as Little Mud River, which we went through about an hour before low tide.  We were creeping through with less than a foot under our keel, but we made it safely through.

Little Mud River at low tide....YIKES!!!!

We are tied up at Hidden Harbor Yacht Club, which is a little condo community built on the grounds of an old marina.  The developers bought a run-down marina and fixed it up first, then started building condos.  They have only a few units left to sell before starting another building.  It's really nice, with a clubhouse which has a little kitchen, washer/dryer, sitting room, dining table, and restrooms.  Really nice people, too.  And, we were greeted by two dolphin as we pulled in to dock!  We were told that those two dolphin hang out in this little creek because there is trout in the river.  They see the dolphins every day.

Speaking of dolphins, we've seen them many times every day, often coming right up to our boat.  I have lots of photos of the water where I tried to photograph the dolphins.  They are very fast and rarely come up where I think they will come up.  I've noticed that they seem to come up for air 3-4 times, then dive deeply and I don't see them again.  I need to do a little studying on dolphin behavior; maybe then I'll be able to get a photo.

Anyway, here's Hidden Harbor Yacht Club.....

Sunbury, GA

We left Thunderbolt at 9:00 am and arrived at Sunbury at 3 pm, traveling 43 miles.  We are docked at the Sunbury Crab Co. Restaurant and Marina, which is about 6 miles West, off the ICW on the Medway River.  Marinas are few and far between around here and the next one actually on the ICW is another 20 miles and we weren't up for another long day.

Turns out that this is one of the more interesting places we've stopped!  Go figure.  The marina buildings resemble those in the Caribbean....breezy and open, with add-ons which make no since.  I got lost trying to find my way through.  They have a band on the weekends and a huge bar.  We wanted to have dinner here, but turned out the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays off season.  We needed to do some laundry, so Greg is sitting in the marina owner's home, watching TV and using their washer/dryer.  Didn't even need quarters!  Here are a few photos Greg took:

We had heard that this portion of the ICW was the most beautiful, and I'm beginning to think they were right!  We really had a very relaxing day and were able to enjoy the scenery.  There was only one cut that was slow-going because of shoaling, aptly named Hell Gate.  We were a little worried because we were about 2 hours from low tide, but we squeezed through with 3' under our keel.

Here are some photos from today and I've noted under each where they were taken:

 This and the next two were homes on the water at Isle of Hope, where

Skidaway River runs into Isle of Hope River

 Burnside River, past Pigeon Island

 Along the Vernon River

 Past Hell Gate cut, the cloudy sky and the smooth water made a beautiful effect

These were taken in Bear River just before St. Catherines Sound