We departed St. Augustine, passing through the Bridge of
Lions at its 0730 opening behind the 80-foot motor yacht that had arrived in
the marina last night. The ICW was quite
convoluted, and we finally arrived at the St. John River at Jacksonville about
1135. The challenges had just begun, as
numerous areas between the St. John and St. Mary’s rivers were badly
shoaled. Using Skipper Bob, Waterway Guide,
and Active Captain together we managed to navigate the course to Fernandina
Beach, but not without considerable stress and a sore neck as the result! Things were especially difficult around the
Nassau River, and also just south of Fernandina Beach, where we saw the clearly
marked channel to the Amelia Island Yacht Basin with markers on both sides of
an absolutely dry roadbed instead of a channel containing water! After arrival in Fernandina Beach, we fueled
at a commercial dock with fixed pilings (our flybridge was below the level of
his dock) that showed that this morning’s tide had been 7 feet higher! Florida sales tax was waived since we will be
leaving the state immediately on our departure from this city, and having saved
a great deal of money, we docked at the adjacent municipal marina, went
sightseeing in the old downtown area, and ate dinner. Amelia Island is a beautiful place, though
things are a bit slow between summer and winter tourists at this point. There is lightning on the horizon, so I
suspect that Florida will once again come through as it has almost without
exception over the last 7 ½ weeks of our stay here with at least some daily
rain!
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