Day 200: Travel to Fernandina Beach

Day 200: May 2: Another beautiful day announced by an incredible sunrise. Hard to believe we spent so many weeks freezing just a few months ago. Pulled anchor just after 8:15 as did the sailboat (Meditations) that had anchored right behind us. Unfortunately the anchor was full of mud; not wanting to waste too much water, I used just enough to get most of it off. 


We followed Meditations out onto the ICW and away we went. Within a short time we encountered Ponte Vedra, a resort town that was little more than pristine wilderness in the early 1900's. Valuable minerals were discovered in 1912, transforming the site into a frontier mining town called Mineral City. For 6 "congested" miles we traveled at about 5 knots, so as not to disturb the hundreds of houses and docks (some just being built) lining the waterway. 



Traveling at 4 to 5 knots, it felt like forever before we left this stretch behind us. The Jacksonville area brought us to Mayport Naval Station where large ships travel onto the St. John's River from the Atlantic. Since its commissioning in December 1942, the station has grown to become the third largest Fleet Concentration Area in the U.S. The busy harbor can accommodate 34 ships and has an 8,000 foot runway capable of handling any aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory. As we approached the inlet, a large barge and tug happened to be coming up the river. John hailed the captain to determine his intentions before we made our starboard turn to continue on the ICW. 


We had intended on crossing over into Georgia and anchoring off of Cumberland Island but friends on Wayward Wind contacted us to tell us they were anchored at Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. As luck would have it, today was the beginning of the town's annual Shrimp festival. Enticed, we decided to stop there with the promise of seeing Morgan and Jonathan again, the last time being months ago in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 



The harbor is expansive, with plenty of room of lots of boats. We dropped the hook close to Wayward Wind. Shortly after that, Jonathan (JK) came by on his dinghy, having left Morgan on shore. We chatted for awhile until JK headed back to shore. Plans were to meet them on shore for the 6:00 parade which was the shrimp festival kick off event. 



Once again the dinghy engine created a problem, spitting and coughing and dying. With a failed engine, John rowed the last few feet to get us to the dinghy dock. Nothing to do at that moment except find a spot to watch the parade. Morgan and JK, along with their loyal companion Daisy soon arrived. 

This was obviously a huge event; the streets were completely full of people. We were told that there were 180 entries and the parade would last about 2 hours. Bands played, dancers danced, police, fire, conservation groups, scouts (so many dressed up in hippy attire) holding Love, Peace and Shrimp signs. These folks sure take their shrimping seriously! After about an hour we had had enough and limped back to the boat. A bit later JK came by with a gas line fitting, hoping that might solve the engine problem. 
We shall find out tomorrow. 


We traveled 42 NM today in about 6 1/2 hours. Perfect spot to anchor and blessed by a gorgeous sunset.























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