Sunday, May 2, 2010

May 2, Day 311 – Jacksonville, FL to Cumberland Island, GA

We were up early this morning and by 7:00 we had released the lines and were pulling out of the slip. We got an immediate opening and went through the Ortega River Bridge and then under the next bridge which was 65 ft and required no opening. We thought we were on our way, right on schedule to take advantage of tides and currents ….. but then we came to a screeching halt. Seems as though the Florida East Coast Line RR Bridge, which is usually open unless a train is coming, closed just before we got there – but not because of a train. They said there was a problem and it would be awhile before they could open it. Now, keep in mind it was open as we approached and they closed it just before we got there. “Awhile” turned into 2 hours. We had to wait while they scavenged a pump of some sort to do a temporary fix so they could open it for us.

Even with our delay, we did pretty well with the current. Had a little push the first part and only ended up against the current the last 3 miles. We arrived at our destination, Cumberland Island, at 3:15. It was quite windy, probably 20 to 25 knots, but the water in the anchorage wasn’t too rough.

We decided we were too tired to go exploring this afternoon, so we relaxed with the plan of getting up early in the morning and going ashore.

We worked on logs, blogs and emails and then Gerry grilled wurst (that we bought at the German restaurant in Sanford) for dinner. We had those with a big salad and called it good.


This is what the anchorage looked like as we left the marina on out way out the Ortega River -- a bit of fog.
Just before we got to the railroad bridge it closed, and stayed closed for 2 hours -- mechanical problems

Finally, after 2 hours it opened !!!

As we went by, snapped a picture of the workman -- they wear green vests on this bridge (they wore yellow vests on the bridge that wouldn't open a couple of days ago). You notice wierd things while circling around for a couple of hours.

We passed downtown Jacksonville again. It wasn't as busy as the last time we passed when they were hosting a boat show.

In front of us are two trawlers we met while docked at Six Mile Bridge. They are also members of MTOA.

We passed the Dames Point Bridge (the same bridge we anchored behind a couple of weeks ago). Most of it's horizontal clearance was taken up by a huge freighter. They asked us to move way over to the left.
The landscape has changed drastically from the St. Johns. Now we are seeing a lot of marshland.

Because there is a huge tidal swing here, most of the waterfront homes have very, very long docks.
We approached a twin bridge, one of which was a railroad bridge. Fortunately, it was in the open position and we passed right through.

The Fernandina area has a couple of papermills. Unfortunately, it was windy today -- and blowing in our direction; quite stinky.

There was a big shrimp festival going on in Fernandina Beach this weekend. Ordinarily, we like to try out the local festivals, but we were kind of on a schedule. Even though Gerry loves shrimp, he is allergic to it -- so we decided to pass it by.

One of the events today was a decorated boat contest, including a category of decorated shrimp boats. Over the radio we heard the winners announced. Winds of Fortune, the boat you see in front, took third place.

Island Girl took second

... and here's the first place winner, Capt. NC II


This is a shot of a sailboat that competed in the sailboat category. In the background you can see the old fort at Fernandina (to the right) and the St. Marys Inlet (to the left). This is a Class A inlet and is used by the submarines stationed in the area
We followed a Coast Guard boat out of Fernandina, but it headed for the ocean and we turned towards St. Marys
This is Georgia -- we arrived at 2:26 p.m. After more than 5 months, we finally left Florida.

As we arrived at the Cumberland Island anchorage, we spotted a tall ship from Maine

One of the female crew was in the bosun's chair doing a little maintenance
The sunset wasn't too colorful tonight, but the sun itself was a big orange ball as it set.

1 comment:

Summer Wind said...

Enjoying your blog, great pics and wonderful descriptions. We hope you get the chance to go ashore. You've inspired us to make sure we do the St. John's!!!