Fernandina Beach to Little Sister Creek

Day 61, Sunday, November 27, 2016

You can monitor my trip at the link: Second Winds Progress Live

Today is the last travel day of this trip. Tomorrow, I will be pulling the boat out of the water and heading back to Ohio. This day began with a significant wind that blew cold from the north. We pulled the anchor at around 8:00 for a relatively short 20 mile trip towards Jacksonville, FL.

As we were leaving the Fernandina anchorage, we passed at least 6 wrecked sailboats that were either sunken with only their masts sticking out of the water or driven high and dry on the land. One boat that appeared to be about 30 feet in length was sitting upright in the salt marsh with about1/2 of her hull sunk in the water and her jib torn to shreds flapping in the wind. It is a sad sight.

The wind was strong enough that we flew the jib and at one point, I saw 6 knots on the chart plotter. It was a nice way to end the trip.

Our destination was a boat ramp/dock probably 15 miles north of Jacksonville. As we approached, the wind was probably blowing 15 knots and the current was at our back so pulling into the dock was a bit of a challenge. We were directed to a fisherman’s dock on the ICW so our landing was fairly easy. The other boats in our group had to turn into Little Sister’s Creek with the strong current wind and current pushing hard at their side. All of them made varying degrees of crash landings.

The number of boats in our group had dwindled to seven. The bridge that adjoins our docking area is under repair and several of our bunch went off shore to avoid it. Others have left the team for a number of different reasons. I assume that when they get to St. Augustine that number will again swell to around 13 or 14.

Dwight and I began taking nonessential items off of the boat in preparation for our departure. We pulled Damn Dink Too up onto the dock, flipped her over and scrubbed the slime off of the bottom. I took off the head sail, cleaned out the ice box, and straightened up the inside of the boat.

The most exciting thing about getting the boat home is that my friend Stuart with whom I left my truck and trailer in Annapolis is going to bring that rig all the way down here to pick me up. He is dropping his daughter off at Duke University where she is a student and will then travel on down. He called me to let me know that he had run into significant traffic and was running behind. His original goal was to be in Florida late tonight but he was not sure how far he would be able to get before pulling off for the night. He will then travel on south tomorrow.

As we were getting ready to prepare dinner for ourselves, Sue and Kevin on the boat Reliance came by announcing that cocktails were being served on their boat. We wandered over and joined all of the others who were docked here for a great evening of socializing. As I mentioned, this has been a fantastic group who are most interesting and compatible. I have truly enjoyed being a part of it.This will be the last blog of this trip.

Tomorrow Dwight will get on a plane and head for Ann Arbor while Stuart and I drive back to Annapolis. From there I will make the final trek home. This has been a great trip but it will be great to be home.

                                                                                                                                                  

A day in Fernandina FL

Day 60, Saturday, November 26, 2016

You can monitor my trip at the link: Second Winds Progress Live

We spent the majority of the day in the town of Fernandina, FL.  We got up a bit later since we didn’t need to travel. I made a sausage gravy and toast with coffee breakfast. 

We fired up Damn Dink Too and headed for town at round 8:30.  Ken from

Sunrise over Fernandina Beach Fl

Mauna Kea called and offered that we meet at a local restaurant for breakfast.  We hunted around until we came across the Bright Morning Bistro and Café.  Since I had already eaten, I almost passed on the menu.  However, upon glancing at it, I saw that they indeed had sausage gravy and biscuits so I felt obligated to run a test to compare it to mine and Bob Evans.  I rated it at an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale. 

 

From there, we walked to a paint/hardware/marine store that was crammed

Florida House Inn

with all sorts of things that most of the modern stores don’t have.  I was looking for some PVC pipe to use as an extension on my dinghy motor’s tiller.  Sam was looking for the same thing so I bought enough for both of us

. 

The Lesesne circa 1860 on of the oldest homes in Fernandina Beach

I made a trip back to the boat to check dimensions on both engines and then returned to the hardware store to purchase my pipe.  Meanwhile, the others walked the streets of the business district. The two women checked out every store which they passed while Ken and Dwight found a relaxing pub in which to pass the time.  I headed back to the Fernandina’s

Fernandina's Fantastic Fudge

Fantastic Fudge and ice cream shop to see if the bourbon caramel fudge ice

The 1891 Nassau County Courthouse

cream had maintained its quality since yesterday.  I am here to say that it was as good today as it was yesterday. 

We continued wandering the streets until about 2:00 when we settled into a booth at Pepper’s Mexican Grill.  I enjoyed three pork enchilada with refried beans and rice.  At the end of that meal, I made a vow to fast for the rest of the day.

We left the restaurant and headed back to the marina office where we had earlier in the day paid for the privilege of using their showers. When we came in this morning, we had brought with us our shower gear and had stored them in the boat.  The shower house

The heavily damaged marina in Fernandina Beachj

closed at 4:30 so, although it was a bit strange taking a shower in the middle of the afternoon, it really felt good. 

Tonight the village will celebrate the lighting of the Christmas lights.  They had set some carnival type activities for the kids and of course had many trinkets for the parents.  We decided to forego this celebration.

The air was starting to cool down as we left the shower house so we crawled

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight!"

in the dinghy and headed back to the boat.  Since we had eaten so much during the day, we bypassed the evening meal and spent the remainder of the evening reading.  I hadn’t slept very well the last couple of nights probably because I had hit the sack earlier than usual so tonight, my goal is to stay up past cruiser’s midnight.  We shall see.

St. Mary's GA to Fernandina Beach

Day 59, Friday, November 25, 2016

You can monitor my trip at the link: Second Winds Progress Live

Salvaged boats collected after the hurricane

We started this day with a wonderful pancake breakfast provided by the folks of St. Mary’s.  We cast off from out raft with Valentine at about 7:30 and motored over to the town dock.  We walked to the hotel where all of the activities of the past two days had taken place where we enjoyed pancakes with either blueberry, cherry or apple topping. 

Fernandina Beach

We pulled away from the dock at around 8:30 in route for Fernandina Beach.  The trip is was only about 7 miles and we arrived by about 10:30.  We dropped anchor and headed for this interesting little town.

 

The municipal marina was badly damaged by hurricane Matthew so the only docking that they offered was for dinghies.  The guy in charge of the dock told us that since it is black Friday, we would likely see many folks wandering around the

Frank, Frank's Mom Jackie and Mary Grace

business district in their pajamas.  The local merchants give discounts to customers who are dressed in their bedtime apparel. 

 

We walked into the town stopping first at an ice cream shop where in rewarded myself with one dip of bourbon caramel fudge. From there we wandered about looking into various

A poster shot of Fort Clinch

shops until ran into our friends, Frank, Mary Grace, and Franks’ mom, Jackie.  They had rented a car and offered that we could ride out to see the beach and other sights.  We quickly accepted.

We found a parking place amongst the beach front homes and walked out onto the fine white sand.  I took my shoes off and enjoyed the feel of the sand and the cool waters that were breaking onto the beach. 

Back in the car, we headed for Fort Clinch State Park.  The Fort, on which

The sally port at Fort Clinch

construction was begun in 1847, is shaped like an irregular pentagon with 5 tower bastions.  It was built out of brick and earth and was designed to house 500 soldiers and 78 pieces of artillery.  By 1860, it was only about 2/3 of the way complete and

not a single cannon was in place.  When the war started, the Confederate soldiers took control and decided not to complete the facility.  In 1862, General Lee authorized the evacuation of the fort and it again came under control of the Union forces.  

The fort was never completed but was used in various ways until the end of

View of the Atlantic from one of the tower bastions

WWII.  During that war, the government approved the use of horses housed at the fort for beach patrol.  Restorations have taken place over the years and today, it “stands as one of the finest examples of a Third System Fortification in existence…”

Back in the car, we traveled into the heart of town and headed for the Salty Pelican for Dinner.  We enjoyed a nice dinner. 

The Salty Pelican restaurant

 

As we were finishing eating, I became concerned about getting back to our boat before total darkness.  The dinghy ride was about ½ long across a wide open bay and finding the boat in the dark would be a real problem.  However, we got onto the water at late dusk and were able to just make out anchorage location as the light disappeared.

I read for about an hour before I fell asleep at around 8:00.  It was a great day.

Thanksgiving in St. Mary's GA

Day 58, Thursday, November 24, 2016

You can monitor my trip at the link: Second Winds Progress Live

Today is Thanksgiving. Our morning was spent getting ready for the big feast that has been planned for us by the town’s people of St. Mary’s.  Dwight sent the night in town at a local hotel so I began my day with chipped beef on toast, aka SOS.  I took the Dink over to the local dinghy dock and picked him up at around 8:30. 

Sunrise at St. Mary's Harbor

Back on the boat, I set up and baked a blob carrot cake as my contribution to the Thanksgiving meal.  I had assumed that I would work on eating more green foods on this trip so I had amassed quite a large number of single serving cans of GREEN BEANS.  I was only too happy to provide whatever number of those little cans to Dwight for him to concoct a GREEN BEAN casserole using

Diane of Valentine

mushroom soup and French fried onion rings.  Since we don’t have an oven, Mary Grace of the giant catamaran, Let It Be, allowed his to assemble and bake the dish on her boat. 

While we were doing the preparation, we were visited by a local power boat with three guys aboard.  They came bearing gifts of bloody Marys to every boat anchored in the harbor.  I

Jack of Valentine

estimate that there were at least 50 boats served by these gentlemen.

Also, a group of guys from the harbor had gone to town to clean up the site where we had enjoyed oysters and hors d’oeuvres last night.  They also set up tables for the upcoming feast.  This turned out to be a real good deal for our group because they were able to reserve the entire patio at the pub for our “Sail to the Sun Rally” crew.

At a bit before 12:00 we all began gathering at the pub to drop off our pot luck dishes and nail down our seat for the meal.  We were told that the food would be served beginning at 1:00 but having received inside knowledge, we began forming what turned out to be a very long line at 12:30. 

The local folks were charged with bringing the turkeys and hams.  The

Ken of Mauna Kea

amount of fine food that was presented was amazing.  They had set up 4 self-serve lines and fairly quickly fed over 150 boaters and town’s people.  It was truly an unforgettable feast.

 

After dinner, we spent the next hour or so socializing and

Lori of Mauna Kea

enjoying each other’s company.  This will be the last gathering that I will have with the entire group.  A number of the biggest boats will go off shore and bypass several bridges that promise to be a problem.  They will reenter the ICW further down the path at a point south of where I will be pulling the boat out of the water. These are one great group of folks and I will carry home with me many fond memories of our times

Sam of Sweet Pea

together.

 

Back at the boat, I took a nap to let the huge meal settle onto my frame.  Upon waking, I joined a number of folks who had gathered on the aft deck of Valentine where we socialized until about 8:30. 

 

In the midst of the gathering, I received a text photo of Janine and my son Scott who along with his family were enjoying a thanksgiving meal at a Cracker Barrel restaurant half way between Pittsburgh and Somerset.  I called and got to talk with them for a while.  It was great to hear their voices.  

Ssunset over St. Mary's Harbor

I finally climbed into bed and fell asleep at about 9:00.