Author: Dolly

Yesterday was another beautiful day. Still the weekend, so boat traffic was heavy near towns, but there were quiet interludes interspersed throughout the day. We continued with swapping off taking the helm, which seems to be working well for us. Karl took some pictures that show why we should be aware of the tides and stay in the channel.

I think he might just have a point.

The first photo at the start of this post is a picture of a boat in dry dock as we were coming into Fernandina Beach. We had decided to stay at the Oasis Fernandina Beach Marina. For two nights. Very nice. Friendly, helpful staff, Floating docks, so we can just step off the boat no matter what the tides are (no climbing up or down to get on the dock.) Fuel pumps spaced down the docks, so you don’t have to go somewhere special to get fuel. Nice, clean showers/restrooms and a laundry.

Speaking of laundry, I was doing ours and just as I was finishing up folding, Karl called me and asked if I had looked outside recently. It was raining. This was the first rain we’ve had on the trip. I went back to my folding, and had put his socks in the dryer, delicate setting, to use up the remaining time when the power went out. At least I was pretty much done instead of just starting.

I came back to the boat when the rain let up, and fixed lunch. I knit quite a bit on my sweater, which I want to get finished so I can keep warm! It is almost done, with just a few inches left on the last sleeve. Karl swabbed the upper decks while I was doing laundry; wiped down some moldy spots in the forward hatch and tidied up the lines. He also cleaned and applied Tung Oil Finish to the wooden rail on the top of the side plug. It looks real nice. It was a weathered gray before and this photo doesn’t do it justice.

I also wiped down the paneling in the stateroom (including the grooves) and cleaned the refrigerator. I’m glad it was a rest day.

I am beginning to believe that uneventful days on a trip like this are great! We traveled to just north of Daytona and found an anchorage up from the Main Street drawbridge. The weather was pleasant, scattered clouds and moderate temperatures. The view was fantastic. Homes along the shores varied from tiny modest homes to highrise condos. There were a few inevitable dolphins and plenty of seabirds.

After passing through the drawbridge, we had another narrow passage under the next bridge, and waited for the below boat to pass through before proceeding. How fun is that boat!? One more bridge, and we anchored for the night. Only one other boat was here, anchoring shortly after we did. (However, they left before we even climbed out of bed… we are going to have to do better!)

That is Karl fueling up at Stuart, followed by me checking out the view at Titusville, and someone emptying his crab pots this morning.

We anchored at Titusville last night and were able to watch SpaceX launch. The last launch I was able to view was in 1998 when John Glenn went up in the space shuttle. The payload was much heavier for that launch and the sound and vibration was more physically impressive, but I must say that this was (in its own way,) more impressive. It is a work mission and it is deploying 28 more communication satellites.

Yesterday was a quiet day under sail. We were passed by another trawler that was heading north to Ohio. Nice looking boat. Maybe we will meet them again on the trip.

The anchor chain is having a few hiccups. It gets kinked in the locker and we have to fiddle with it to get the anchor to drop. But it does eventually go down and we rest for the night.

This post is rather sparse, but I will keep notes today about what we see, so that the next one will have more info… Dolly