Leaving Florida Behind

Sunday we strolled around St. Augustine, taking in the grounds of the fort and the lighthouse. Lunch was enjoyed on the second-level patio of a restaurant overlooking the water where we were able to watch the procession down the main street of the officials headed for the 'Blessing of the Fleet' at the yacht club.

Monday we departed early, and motored north headed for Fernandina Beach. Neither current or wind was in our favour. It was frustrating to be slowed to a meager 3.5 knots as the huge north Florida tides poured past us. The wind, when it blew with any strength was always against us as well. An additional delay was running hard aground, in the middle of the channel. We tried putting sails up, taking them down; using engine power in forward, and reverse; and all positioning ourselves on one side of the boat or the other in hopes of leaning it sufficiently to free the keel from the muddy bottom. In the end, the rising tide floated us off and we were on our way again about 30 minutes later.
We were all glad to set foot on shore once we arrived after a 12-hour day. We walked around Fernandina with my folks, hoping to find something suitable for dinner. Spring Break must be this week for someone nearby, as the shortest wait time we could find for a table for 6 was about an hour. We opted instead to hop in the car and found a spot away from the downtown hubbub.

After a nice week-long visit with my parents, we bid them farewell last night. Georgia, with it's winding creeks and desolate anchorages reachable only by water, was not going to be conducive to continuing to meet up with them after our day's travels.

The plan for today was to delay our departure until late morning when we would have a more favourable tide. We hoped our timing would allow us to catch the ebb and then flood in and out of St. Augustine inlet. On checking the weather this morning, we decided that it was a perfect day to head off shore. A quick trip to shore to check-out, and we were on our way. The tide was certainly in our favour, as the current pushed us out the inlet at a whopping 8.3 knots. Past the rocky jetty, we turned north into the ocean. Currently we are off the coast of Georgia, sailing on a peacefully flat Atlantic Ocean, with a beautiful light wind off our starboard beam!!