Wednesday, November 12 – Fernandina (Mile 716) to St. Augustine (Mile 780):

            Well!  So this is how Florida welcomes us!  We woke up to FOUL weather!  Howling wind, drizzle, boat rocking at the dock, and we are thankful that we made the choice to come to Fernandina instead of anchoring out at Cumberland Island.  We got up early, not sure whether or not to leave and make a run for St. Augustine or just stay where we were, have another cup of coffee, and watch the news and weather (my plan).   It is a long way to go, and the weather is not supposed to get any better.  Unfortunately (for me), there are other boats leaving, it is slack tide (meaning the current won’t bother us), and Bob says he thinks we should go.  Aaargghhh….

            I think the cat can sense when I have some trepidations about the day’s journey, because she immediately makes a beeline for her “spot” under the covers of our bed.  Lately, she has been “settling in” in her cat bed that we bought for $12.00 at Target before we left.  But this morning, she yowled until I made the bed, and then promptly tried to make herself invisible! 

            The dock guys came down and helped us get off, but really there was no problem even though Bob had to do a little maneuvering to get the boat out of the marina, and once we were off, I felt more at ease.  The wind and waves were abeam of the boat for a while, and we rocked and rolled a little.  I was thinking this would be a great opportunity to feel seasick, but, of course, it didn’t help that I was putting away lines and fenders, then keeping our progress noted on the chart, while trying to spot marks with the binoculars.   I was glad I had had a light breakfast – peanut butter and jelly on raisin toast!

            The tide was really high, and someone told us that it was one of the highest tides they had seen in a while.  As we traveled down the “magenta line” with the wind blowing all around you, all you could see was acres and acres of marsh grasses with only the tops of the brown grasses poking up through the water, and through this maze the channel made sharp right and left turns.  To make it even more strange and unnerving, we passed some sort of chemical plant that was spewing white foamy, unbelievably smelly stuff into a huge pile on an adjacent shoreline.  The weather conditions and scenery made the perfect scenario for a “scary” movie.

Another place we passed during this high tide was a marina, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to get into it.  I said to Bob, “They should advertise that you can stay here for free if you can figure out how to get in here!”

            We leave the Amelia River and go down the Kingsley Creek and from there to the South Amelia River.  Then we turn into Sawpit Creek around Mile 730 which winds it way through all these little marshes.

            It is now starting to get a little foggy, and the channel is full of flotsam and jetsam including some kind of metal object that we saw just in the nick of time that did not seem to be floating, but seemed rather stationary.

            In maneuvering through all this down the waterway, we heard on the radio someone call the Coast Guard because they couldn’t find Amelia River and wanted the Coast Guard to give them directions.  Ok – so probably some of you reading this from time to time think I probably shouldn’t be on a boat – but I don’t think I would ever call the Coast Guard for driving directions!  No – I know I would never do that!!  We didn’t hear the Coast Guard’s response, and it was probably a good thing!

            We are still weaving in and out of little islets of “carpet grasses” with occasional islands interspersed among them consisting of green trees and shrubs.  On a beautiful sunny, calm day, I would describe this landscape as spectacularly beautiful, but, today, it is eerie, strange, and foreboding.  Bob keeps saying that the weather seems to be improving, but I don’t know where he got those “rose-colored glasses.”

            From Sawpit Creek around Mile 735 we enter Sisters Creek and head down until we have to cross the St. John’s River which runs past shipyards and wharves, with commercial traffic a concern in the channel, and, as a matter of fact, after one of the bridges there is a sign that tells you in so many words not to tarry getting across the channel!  We paid attention to this as there was a freighter of some sort heading straight for us, but we got out of the channel pronto and headed into the ICW channel.  Here we were in Pablo Creek, which ran past Jacksonville and then by Cabbage Swamp.  On down we went past Cabbage Swamp until we entered the Tolomato River.  We saw a large flock of storks trying to stay warm on a sandbar probably wondering what happened to their warm sunny weather and the tide was going out so that the marsh grasses looked a little taller.  On down through the canal we travelled with residential houses on one side and untamed wilderness on the other.

            It was long about this time that the weather started to get really nasty, the wind is picking up, the waves are getting a little choppy and it is starting to rain.  It’s cold, and here comes a tug pushing a giant barge.  Ok – all the barges are giant!  It is coming toward us, but the channel is wide enough in this area that there is plenty of room to pass.  No scary barge story this time!  Phew!

            By now we are coming into St. Augustine, and the Waterway Guide has a whole page of cautions you need to be aware of.  For one, the shoaling is so bad around here that the “magenta line” is discontinued on the chart plotter and the paper charts because there are too many changes to keep track of.  Then there is the problem of confusing markers especially at the Matanzas River.  In this area you have to go perilously close to the ocean again, and the inlet should be navigated by “local knowledge only” as most of it only has one foot of water in it.  So you have to carefully note which marks to go around, and it was confusing!  The fact that the ICW markers have that square and triangle on them is extremely helpful and did help keep us out of trouble!  So down the Matanzas River we went, turned right into the San Sebastian River and on up to Rivers Edge Marina in St. Augustine. 

            It is really raining by this time, and I have on my foul weather gear as we tie the boat up for the evening.  We plan on staying here a few days and exploring this historic city which was founded in 1565 and is the oldest continuously occupied city in the country.

            Dinner was going to be salmon on the grill, but since it is raining, and we have a Happy Hour coupon for the marina restaurant, we just may do the wings and beer thing again!