Intuition Log – 26 May
New Smyrna Beach to Fernandina Beach
Saturday morning we met the folks on the boat next to us. They had turned their boat in the slip overnight so that the bow would be into the current and we were sleeping so soundly we never heard it. Turns out that Jim is the plant manager for the big Sea Ray plant that was next to Harbortown Marina. He was, of course, piloting a Sea Ray.
Underway at 0735 we passed the Ponce De Leon inlet at 0825 motorsailing up the waterway with the jib out. Winds were calmer than yesterday with 10-15 kts being just enough to keep the sails full and the sailors cool.
Noah finished “Smiling Hill Farm” his last assigned reading for school. He had a hard time limiting himself to just the assigned chapters over the last few weeks and says it is one of his all-time favorite books.
If you’ve been following our blog you may recall that we spent a little time aground on our last visit to St Augustine. This time we decided to anchor 4 miles south of town where there wouldn’t be as many witnesses if we “became a cottage” again. We found three boats on moorings in the anchorage and proceeded to anchor with no problems.

Quiet Anchorage South of St Augustine

Poofing sounds woke us on Sunday morning as dolphins were feeding nearby and sending jets of water into the air as they exhaled. Shot a little video, so hope to have that as a reminder.
Back underway at 0720 we cleared the Bridge of Lions at their 0800 opening. Just after the bridge is an old Spanish fort where we noticed Stella Maris anchored. Tried to raise them on the radio but they didn’t respond.

Spanish Fort in St Augustine

Tembo, from Vancouver, BC whom we had last seen at Green Turtle Cay did respond from a boat yard in St Augustine. They had, unfortunately, hit a marker coming in at Ft Pierce and were undergoing cosmetic repairs to fiberglass and teak before delivering the boat to the new owners in Charleston.
We were not alone on the waterway in the middle of Memorial Day weekend. Noah counted 18 jet skis passing us in under five minutes. Hundreds of powerboats of all sizes passed us up until about 1500 when the rain clouds caught up with us. Passing a boat ramp we felt sorry for the folks that only get a few days a year to be out on the water with their families. At least 30 boats were milling around in the rain waiting to get access to the two ramps.

Bridge of Lions

At 1743 we wound our way into Fernandina Beach and picked up a mooring ball. It was a good run making the 57.5 nm in just over ten hours despite all the boat traffic. We decided to just stay put for the night and didn’t even lower the dinghy even though Fernandina is an interesting little town. We did enjoy watching a big freighter dock with the help of a tugboat and a train shuttle cars to and from the local paper mill.

Old Meets New in Fernandina Beach

Took take time to change the oil and filters for the 450 hour maintenance. Then we all treated ourselves to hot showers.

Fernandina Beach Waterfront