Saturday, November 13 to Thursday, November 18, 2021
We’ve just mailed our Christmas cards and invited everyone to read this blog. David keeps reminding me that now I actually need to write an entry(!) and my cousin Sharon (a beloved retired teacher) has prodded me gently as well. I’m a tad bit embarrassed that I haven’t written anything since mid-November so let me catch you up…..
We left the ICW on November 13, going out St. Simon's Sound inlet just north of Jekyll Island, GA. It was 50 miles in the open Atlantic with a freshening breeze, a light rain, and the current in our favor. There wasn't a lot of sight-seeing to do since we were about 5 miles offshore so I didn’t think I’d have much to tell you.
But we were entertained for over an hour by a hitchhiking little yellow finch! She hopped on board and flitted from line to railing, aft to the dinghy and forward to the anchor chain, all the while taking sips of rainwater that had accumulated on the deck and fittings. After about half an hour, a second finch joined her. Where did they come from and why were they flying so far from shore? And where did they go after departing our boat? (Perhaps you’ll see them at your bird feeder in early spring and you can ask.) Throughout this trip, we have been constantly astonished by the mysteries of wildlife behavior!
Surely influenced by all the pirate lore and treasures we learned about in Beaufort, I was easily convinced we’d traveled back in time when we spied this vessel bearing down on us:
The entrance to Cumberland Sound and St. Mary’s River was our route back to the ICW and a mooring ball for the night at Fernandina Harbor Marina in Florida. But first we passed Fort Clinch to port, strategically sited at the mouth of the inlet. Following the widespread destruction during the aforementioned War of 1812, a series of forts was built along the coastline of the United States to defend against foreign invaders. Construction of Fort Clinch was begun in 1847. At the start of the Civil War the still unfinished fort came by default under Confederate control. By 1862 the Union started to gain control of coastal and southern Georgia, and Union troops took it over. Today Fort Clinch is part of Florida’s state park system and provides wonderful opportunities for biking, birding, hiking, camping, and fishing as well as access to historical interpretations, reenactments and a museum.
We left early the next morning, retracing our track out St. Mary’s inlet and headed south to St. Augustine, another 60 miles. No feathered hitchhikers this time so the hours passed rather slowly but at least the sun was shining!
Our three days in St. Augustine were filled with walks through this fun town, great breakfasts at the Maple Street Biscuit Company,
fabulous people (dog?) watching,
dinner with new friends we’d met in North Carolina… and many hours replacing our aft macerator pump. Trust me, you do not want to know the details. Suffice it to say that we never want to do that again. Ever.
We went back through the St. Augustine inlet and headed out to the Atlantic once again, intentionally avoiding the ICW and its 6 difficult (for us) bridges around Daytona. It was another long 10-hour day of sailing but we were anxious to get to Cocoa Village Marina by the 20th so we could get ready to fly back to DC for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
As we neared New Smyrna, our anchorage for the night, we were treated to the site of a pod of dolphins feeding together near the shore. (I’m not sure, but you may need to read this blog on a web browser in order to see the video.)
Next stop Cocoa Village!
