Fernandina

 

 

Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine

We planned to leave at 6:30 in the morning. Since we are on the north side of the bridge we don’t have to wait for the opening, but Mark and Karen do. They need to go through at 6:30, before the bridge stays closed for a couple hours for morning car traffic. I set our alarm for 5:30, but somehow turned it off during the night. I wake up at 6:15. I wake Linda up and we actually do leave at 6:30. Fast scrambling for us. The wind is out of the north, on the nose, so we stay in the ICW instead of sailing off shore to Fernandina, like we normally do. Going out and in the inlets is about the same distance as the ICW, but offshore is much easier. Once on the ocean, set the autopilot straight for 50 miles, much easier day.

 

Mark motored a little faster than us and got a couple miles ahead. We both had to slip by a dredging operations in a tight channel, more like squeeze by between the dredge and the shallows. We crept along with very little water under our keel.

 

 

 

 

A few miles south of Fernandina as we approach the railroad bridge (only lowered when a train is coming) to have it start lowering as we are just getting close to going through. There is no warning on the radio, no warning sounds or lights, is just comes down. We quickly slow down by putting the boat in reverse and turning around. After waiting 30 minutes the train finally shows up loaded with wood chips for the pulp mill at Fernandina.

 

 

We pick up a mooring at the Municipal Marina, which has been totally rebuilt after extensive hurricane damage a couple years ago. After we check in we visit my cousin, Bill, who has a new to him 54 foot Hatteras on the dock there. He is planning on taking it up the east coast to Connecticut for the summer, starting the trip next month. If we weren’t on our own boat we would of crewed for him. We have Happy Hour on his boat with Bill, my other cousin, his sister, Jan, Mark and Karen (who have meet Bill previously) and Linda and I.

 

Bill's Hatteras 54

Our first choice to dinner is a relative new Mexican resturant which we went to last fall and really liked. They had an 1-1/2 wait. I guess we aren’t the only people who like the place. Instead we walk up to “Peppers” an older Mexican restursant and get seating right away. Did not have a very good dinner, which might explain the lack of a wait to get in.

We dinghy back to our boats in the dark.