Day 211: Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Port to Port: Jacksonville to Fernandina, Florida

Underway: 9:30 am      Motor Off: 1:39 pm      Miles Traveled: 23      Stayed At: Marina

Mile 739 to Mile 716 : We dawdled this morning waiting for the incoming tide to give us a boost north. We left at 9:30 am and immediately picked up a 1.25 mph favorable current. We also were able to raise the mainsail and get a little extra boost – for a couple hours we were consistently cruising at 6.9 to 7.0 mph. We were flying. Fernandina (say that three times in a row), here we come.

We were going to make bake some cinnamon rolls and share with our neighbors Roger and Dorothy but the no-see-ums were still active and cooking wasn’t worth the hassle. They are also heading north and will stop at Fernandina too.

Today was a short day but we still were able to cover 2    miles by 1:30 pm when we arrived at the Fernandina City Marina. The weather is supposed to be sketchy tonight and tomorrow with a 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms and wind. We quickly got tucked in, cleaned the boat, gassed up and showered. We wandered around town a little – lots of tourists and neat little shops lining the main street. You wouldn’t guess that a city called Fernandina would have a huge paper mill at one end and some other industrial facilities at the other. You can’t really see them from downtown but you can sure smell the paper mill.

We will be staying tomorrow to wait for the front to blow itself through before heading north again. We are really close to our next milestone – we can see Georgia from the river. We have really enjoyed Florida but we are looking forward to the new experiences ahead of us. It sounds like the Georgia part of the ICW will be a lot like the rivers – lots of curves, very few facilities and lots of nature. Sounds like an adventure.