Saturday - So Close

Departed early under overcast skies and very cool temperatures.  The Sun showed itself a few times during the day but only briefly. 

The majority of the day was overcast and cold. The wind was pretty much out of the north and 15 to 25 knots which made the wind chill very cold and the water quite choppy. 

Beautiful homes / estates along the ICW in Ponte Vedra

The opposite side of the ICW is all nature.

We made good time today for 52 miles.  We caught the St. John's River just right where we were able to take advantage of the river current as well as the ebb tide and were motoring along at over 8 knots for a little while. For the most part we averaged 6 knots.  We saw lots of pods of dolphins playing along the way and passed dozens of boats headed south.  We always wave and they wave back as we pass.

Catie takes her shift on watch

We considered stopping at Amelia Island Yacht Basin which is where we stayed the last time we were in this area but their channel to the actual marina is very narrow and almost too narrow for Second Chance at low tide which is when we passed them.  The Amelia Island Yacht Basin is a very nice marina and was great the last time we were through but we opted to continue on to the Fernandina Harbor Marina.  The marina is less expensive and very nice.  They are due to be dredged soon as they were concerned with our draft and once they get that done, this will be the place to stay in the area.  The marina staff was great, helped us with our dock lines and provided good information.  The marina is located right in downtown Fernandina Beach, FL which has all kinds of shops nearby.  We are close enough to Georgia to actually see it from the marina, it is 1 mile north.  We still have over 100 miles to go to our actual destination, but its good to see Georgia.

The weather tomorrow is forecast to be worse than today, wind mostly and cooler with a possibility of rain, so we have decided to stay here for two nights.  This will give us a chance to rest, explore Fernandina Beach, do laundry, stow the dinghy and fix (replace) that cockpit speaker that has been driving me nuts. 

I made chicken and stuffing for dinner as Beth had been craving it.  She is feeling a little better today but not 100% yet. I am sure the day of rest tomorrow will help.