Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine for Christmas

 I know that I am behind on this blog. We have been having a great time in the Bahamas and I can't wait to write about it, but first, I have to get caught up. 

We really enjoyed our time in Fernandina Beach. We met up with another Island Packet, with Nancy and John on board. We last saw them in April in Marathon. We also met another couple that are entertainers, Gaylyn and Allison. They were doing a gig at a local place, so we decided to go listen to them play. They are excellent singers and songwriters. They cruise on a boat called Molly Nogger and entertain by the name of Sail Bums. They had been in Fernandina for a few months and they really needed to clean the bottom of the boat, but Gaylyn was having trouble in the cold water. I offered my wetsuit, which they gladly accepted and made us feel good to help out a fellow boater. We later saw them as we cruised south. 

They took a picture of us as we passed.

As boaters do, we took a picture of them. on a pass the following day. 

From Fernandina Beach it was about 53 nm to St. Augustine. We decided to split it into two days and we stayed at a free dock in Jacksonville. The dock is in a river just off the Jacksonville inlet and has some crazy strong current. We made it in there and with the help of another boater, we got tied up. The cool part is we were later joined by John and Nancy on Orion, and then by Don and Debby on Hallelujah, another Island Packet 420. 

This is 5 of the 7 boats on the free dock, the three to the left are Island Packets. 

This was the first time we had met Don and Debbie. Unfortunately, their trip down from the Chesapeake Bay was not going well. Don was a marine mechanic and worked on their boat for many years, planning for their retirement and cruising. His health is not good, and during the trip they had decided that it would not be a good idea to continue. They were bringing the boat down the ICW to Florida to sell her. Lesson to all of us, Don't wait too long! We would later see them in St. Augustine and then again in Vero Beach. 

We had reservations for a mooring ball in St. Augustine from December 20th to December 27th. We left the free dock on the 20th and were ready to make the 33 nm cruise down to St. Augustine for Christmas. The only problem is a notorious bridge that was 5 miles south of the free dock. The tidal current can run as fast as 5 knots under that bridge, so timing was critical. I looked at the tidal charts and determined that we needed to leave at sunrise. I told the other boaters on the dock my plan, and just after we left, most of them were right behind us. We all hit the bridge at slack tide and had minimal current to deal with. 

There was no wind on this beautiful day, so we just cruised on to St. Augustine. The mooring field in this historic city is located right next to the old waterfront and the festival of lights that is done each year around Christmas. The bad news is there are very strong currents in the bay. After our very bad mooring ball pick-up in Fernandina Beach, we were a bit nervous. I have to admit I did not plan it, but we arrived right on slack tide and there was no current and no wind. That made the pickup very easy and Kim had it done before I could get forward to assist. We were now ready to enjoy the city and celebrate Christmas in the oldest city in North America. 

This is a shot of the dinghy dock and the main City Marina in St. Augustine. They have a nice boaters lounge/laundry room and nice showers.

SHIFT tied to her mooring ball in the harbor.

We met up with Rich and Laura on No Doubt and went out for a tour of the city and dinner. Stay tuned, they will have a recurring role in this adventure.

They do an amazing job with the lights in the city and it is jammed with viewers each night.

Along the waterfront

Views from the boat.

 Rich and Laura were leaving the next day, so we said, see you later, and settled in for our time in St. Augustine. It had been a bit cool, but fairly comfortable, but that was all about to change. We were in a fairly exposed place, but at least we felt confident in the mooring. The forecast did not look good. In my next entry, I will write about our winter in St. Augustine. Remember, we don't have a heater on the boat when we are not plugged into a dock.