We arrived Palm Cove on Tuesday 4/24 for 1 night. It seems after leaving the bigger cities behind we are meeting courteous boaters again. On the entire trip we heard them asking permission for a slow pass & asking which side was preferable. Have not heard that since we left the rivers. The trip was pretty uneventful. We needed to fuel when we arrived at Palm Cove. The fuel dock proved a challenge. The captain was fighting wind & current while avoiding another boat at the dock. He, of course, did just fine. My performance left a little to be desired. I had to throw a line 3x before the dock hand was able to catch it. Moving to our dock for the night was no issue.
We left for Fernandina Wednesday 4/25.
We headed out at 8:45AM & low tide was 11:45. NOT our best move. Very skinny water along the way. My eyes were darting back & forth between the depth & my various charts the entire trip. Tim was in the same mode, but watching water, his charts & depth. When it got low, I was calling the depth out loud. In addition to all that, there crab pots IN the channel. We did see grounded boats & heard numerous calls to Tow Boat. At one particularly skinny area, a boat that was grounded was blocking our view of the channel marker. I knew there had to be one & we finally found it. I was able to pull up Bob423 on my phone & see the exact course to get us through. Not fun.
The fun was never ending that day....At one point we could not figure out which way to go!! My old eyes, coupled with the sun made it difficult (read impossible) to see the yellow marks on the channel markers. The yellow on the markers indicated ICW. Tim "requested" that I use the bull horn to ask some local fishermen which way to go. I patiently explained that I could ask, but since they did not have a bull horn, we would not hear the answer. I acquiesced to his "request". They pointed & I eventually was able to see the yellow on the channel marker. That was not the only bullhorn incident that day, but I will leave it at that.
We also passed under a 65' bridge. No problem as our air draft is 14 feet. The added bonus to that bridge was a 5' Rail Road Swing bridge immediately after it. It is "usually" open, is not manned, does not answer the VHS. "If you hear a train whistle, do not proceed, because it automatically closes for trains. Really?? Who thought that was a good idea?
Anyway, we arrived Fernandina unscathed at 1PM. They suggested we pick up a mooring ball till the tide came up & then proceed to our dock. Sure, why not? I was anxious for another try at my new hook. It didn't work any better. The ball's eye was at the end of a 4' line which was totally submerged. Had to go back to my old way & grab it from the swim platform. When we eventually went into the dock, there were no problems.
We had been toying with the idea of running outside of GA & that run made the decision for us. The only question was weather. It looked okay, but I still insisted on calling our friend, mentor & guardian angel, TJ. He gave the go ahead & that was all that was needed. Thank you TJ.😍
We left Fernandina by way of the St Mary's inlet on Thursday 4/26 @ 7:30AM. We had a beautiful day on the ocean & we docked at Port Royal at 3:15PM. A slight chop & swells started & ended the run. It was like being back on the lakes. Deep water & auto pilot. An added bonus, we saw a whale breaching!!
We are staying Port Royal Landing Marina for 3 days. Nice place. Courtesy car & an on site restaurant. We are lucky to have floating docks. The tide here is 7-8 feet. It would certainly be a challenge for me & Riley to get on & off the boat.
Our next stop is yet to be determined. Stay tuned.
Odds & Ends:
We had a diver clean the bottom before we left St Augustine. It was time & maybe the prescription sunglasses he lost could be found. Tim heard crackling while in the engine room, & was concerned for the zinc anodes. The zinc anodes were fine. Good to know. Crackling was a salt water thing. Some little creatures munching?!? Sun Glasses are still being worn by some unknown aquatic creature.
As I think I have mentioned, I am directional challenged. We have many books & charts. I read & follow them. Now for my problem.. All the books assume a south bound direction. That worked for me when we were south bound, but now we are north bound. It gives me a headache to say the least.
We still miss our buddies on Donna Mae everyday.😢
We saw a deer walking/swimming across the ICW. We were on an intersect course, when the deer decided to turn around & go back to shore. Good move.
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| SMART DEER |
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| SAME SMART DEER |
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| FERNANDINA SUNSET |
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| RUFF DAY |
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| RAMP TO LAND FROM OUR BOAT AT LOW TIDE |
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| TRICKY RAILROAD BRIDGE |
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