We left Carolina Beach at 1030 two days ago with temperature
of 35 degrees and favorable winds and current. Our goal is to get to the
Bahamas as soon as we can and then try to springboard from there to
the Caribbean. Weather forecasters lie; they are calling for 15-20 out
of the North but we are experiencing 25-30 kts with seas 6-8 feet. Cat
is doing fine, Bob is doing fine...
Only poor Ann got sea sick this time. And she would be sick for two days. However, she was always on watch when she was needed. Sammy kept her
company the whole time. This season is not going very well, is it?
The weather continued to deteriorate so our Plan B
approach to St. Mary's River was becoming a reality. We were going to head for Cumberland Island but the weather's promise of 30 kts out of the SW would promise a miserable time on the hook.
So today, we took a mooring ball at Fernandina Beach and readied ourselves for the weather. We will dinghy to town tomorrow before the winds really pipe up. We need pizza and Mexican food. So now we are enjoying a beautiful sunset in our cockpit. Ann is feeling much better.
Tonight the temperature will be in the 30's. Our trusty diesel
heater has worked flawlessly in 5-8 foot seas but it is giving us a fit here at anchorage. It went out twice with volumes of sooty smoke. Oh well, another project.
The cat and the captain stood watch while the wind was a
blowin. Sammy does not like the wind much and that is a shame. She has
free reign of the deck when we are on anchor or mooring ball. We have
her favorite big blue bucket (BBB) on deck so she gets water whenever she
wants. But it is blowing too hard for her.
Fernandina is a nice town. A little la-de-da, a bit middle
class and still room for the cruiser. We were walking down the street and
found a minstrel playing to the people on the street. While Ann went
shopping, Bob listened and watched. We love Fernandina but there are
some sad personal memories.
We have spent 5 days here and the weather released her grasp for a couple of days. We do not have enough weather to sail to Vero via Fort Pierce; the Canaveral barge canal locks are basically closed so we cannot go there, so we headed to St. Augustine on the outside. We entered the inlet at the exact wrong time. The reflection from the sun bloated out all of the buoys. Fortunately, we got the current buoy positions so we could 'fly by wire'until we saw the buoys. Not bad.
We took one of the new moorings on the north mooring field.
Very nice and the marina staff was excellent. We have places to go and we are expecting guests. On Sunday, we went to church at the Basilica. This is a 'must do' for us when we come to St. Augustine. Butch and Vicki met us at the Fortezza as they were in camping mode from New Bern. Brain Dead Jule III crew didn't take any pictures of them.
Sunset girl took this picture of the sun leaving us today over the Bridge of Lions. It was a very nice stay but the weather still will not allow us to go to Vero on the outside. Though we like the inside stretch from Titusville to Vero, we hate the ICW from here past Daytona. But the inside is our only option. Pray for us.
;
