After several days waiting for the storm to pass, we were anxious to get back on the water. After our hard push to get to Jacksonville Beach, we ended up ahead of Barefootin’ and Simplicity. The plan now is to spend a few nights at St. Augustine Marina for a bit of family fun.
We spent three nights at Beach Marine, waiting for the storm to pass and listening to the (new) VHF for reports of flooding and boats coming loose from their moorings up ahead in St Augustine. Our wind gauges showed gusts over 70! and to think the Weather Channel didn’t name it! This was just a good ol’ Florida storm.
We carefully planned the timing to the super shallow Jekyll Creek at high tide, thanks to handy advice from our boat buddies still a day ahead of us, and man was it shallow – kind of a nail biter. Thank goodness for the new transducers and depth gauges! Then we slowed down to aim for 6pm or later arrival at the Ft George River anchorage in order to miss low tide at the entrance there. Along the way, we kept one ear tuned to the weather forecasts regarding an approaching storm, and ultimately decided to find a marina to ride out the next few days. Apparently so did many other folks; it was difficult to find a marina with availability. We ended up cruising nearly ten hours and pushing really hard across the St John’s River (with a current we were making 12.5 knots – whee!) to make it to Beach Marine at Jacksonville Beach and tie up in the dark.
We like to note our “firsts” on this adventure, kind of like a baby book, only we keep them in the Captains Log (sounds more official and adult). Well, today as we passed Fernandina Beach, I saw a stingray leap completely out of the water! Definitely a first for me. Todd missed it, as he was at the helm and the moment was quick.
We anchored right across from historic Fort Frederica. Because it’s the old ICW, the Frederica River is deep enough, even during low tide, as long as you watch for shoaling (look that one up!). There was a steady breeze to keep the no-see-ums away, so we enjoyed dinner on the flybridge, watching the tourists over at the fort and the sunset. There’s a kayak launch nearby that has a ladder from the bank to the water. Next time, we hope to stay longer so we can dinghy over and tour the fort. Not this time though, as we are trying to catch up with Barefootin’ and Simplicity. We got a good night’s rest (with no anchor alarms – she held fast, even in the brisk breeze) and then moved on at first light.
After a one-night delay at Savannah Bend Marina in Thunderbolt, GA, for the installation of new house bank batteries, we are on our way again. House bank? A set of batteries that provide power away from the dock and when we are not running our generator. In our case, 5 huge batteries connected together, weighing 156 lbs each! Good thing we found a certified boat electrician with Popeye arms to help install them. All powered up and ready to spend plenty of time at anchor, we got a late start but made it to Buckhead Creek, GA. Along the way we passed the community of Vernon View (Hi, Daddy! aka Vernon), pushed on and anchored at sunset.
Our Travels 