Sunday, 11/15/20 - Monday, 11/16/20 -Tuesday, 11/17/20 ~ (Quick visit to Delawre)
We were out cold when the phone rang Sunday morning at 8 am. Pete's mom has been dealing with health issues for quite a while. Currently she isn't doing well. We managed to get a car rental on Sunday at the Jacksonville airport. We were packed and on our way by noon. Traffic was light and only a few rain showers slowed down traffic. We made it to Chris and Kel's around 2 am Monday morning. After a few hours of sleep, we were up at 7 to wish Hadi well for her first 1/2 day back in a classroom. Grab a bite to eat, the drive 2 hours south to see Mom.
Even though the visit was discussed the day before, the current staff was not aware and had to scurry to set up the Covid test, wait for the results (we were both negative), get us PPGs and escort us into Mom's room. She's our "Energizer Bunny," but at 94, I don't know how many more bounce backs she can do. She enjoyed seeing us, but she had a hard time staying awake. Our hour was up too soon!
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| Moon over Virginia |
Bailey was waiting in the car, but I think she's no longer thrilled to be along for these long rides.
Since we were in the southern end of Delaware, it made sense to continue down Route 13 to the Chesapeake Bay-Tunnel. We encountered traffic in Norfolk as it was 5:30. We also missed our turn and GPS took us through some pretty small towns. We stopped at St John's Marina so we could shuttle our car to Florida. In South Carolina, we stopped at a rest stop. Locked the car and recharged by taking a 90-minute nap. It was 6 am when we pulled into Fernandina Marina Tuesday morning. Dumped everything onto the sofa and crashed onto the bed. Pete made sure that his alarm was set for 9 am for his conference call. We were both exhausted. I stole a nap in the afternoon, but Pete had to work until 4:30.
I was able to arrange for us to meet up with Kay and Frank at their home about an hour from here. We had a delightful evening, good conversation, great food and super friends. We were able to leave our car with them for the next few days as we continue by boat onto Fort Pierce. We'll come back in Tuesday to retrieve the car.
Needless to say once back at the boat, we were quickly asleep,
Wednesday, 11/18/20 ~
Pete had another full day of work. I cleaned out the rental car, returned it to the airport and arranged for an UBER lift back to the marina.
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| The dock at Fernandina Beach Marina |
Once back, we had lunch. Pete continued work while I took meds for a migraine and laid down. I was so bummed. We haven't stayed in Fernandina for more than 1 night. Since we had 2 extra days, I had hoped to explore the cute downtown area. It wasn't meant to be this time.
I owe Kay big time. She sent us home last night with some leftovers. They we delicious and perfect for tonight. Then, it was another early night.
Thursday, 11/19/20 ~
Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine, FL
Today: 59 miles 8.4 hours ICW ST Mile: 775.6
Total: 1011 miles 138.4 hours
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| The mud flats at the Marina |
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| Sunrise when leaving Fernandina |
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| Amelia Island Bridge |
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| USCG HAMMER |
The winds dropped as the day progressed. The clouds increased, but there were only a few drops here and there. We picked up the current once we crossed the St. John's River in Jacksonville. We quickly went from 3.9 to 8.9-9.0 mph! We slowed down about halfway through the homes on Roscoe Blvd. The tide remained high until we were about 6 miles from Commanchee Cove Marina. That's when we increased from the high 6's to the high 7's.
I was able to borrow the marina's loaner car. I had to run to Walgreens and figured I could also pick up a few food items. Then I picked up our dinner from one of our favorite pizzerias: Vinny's NY Style Pizza, which just happens to be next to the marina!
Pete and I dozed after dinner, but managed to record Young Sheldon, The Unicorn and Star Trek Discovery. Will definitely be watching them another day.
Friday, 11/20/20 ~
St. Augustine to Daytona, FL
Today: 57 miles 10.2 hours ICW ST Mile: 830.6
Total: 1068 miles 148.6 hours
We were inspected by a sandpiper, who caught a ride for about 20 minutes. He walked all around the boat and didn't seem to have any fear of us or Bailey.
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| The newest bridge and the main bridge in Daytona |
After dinner, we caught up on our shows.
Saturday, 11/21/20 ~
Daytona to Titusville, FL
Today: 48 miles 7.2 hours ICW ST Mile: 878
Total: 1116 miles 155.8 hours
We were out if the slip by 6:50 The Marina doesn't open until 8 am, so we dropped the key on the fuel platform as we exited with the boat. In the past we have always left when a deckhand was there with the net to exchange the key.
The temps were in the high 60's/low 70's, but with the overcast, lots of rain showers/downpours, and a breeze that increased from 2-18mph with higher gusts, made for an interesting day. We kept opening, closing, and reopening and reclosing the enclosure. Some of the downpours lowered visibility to less than a half mile.
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| Today's changing skies |
When coming through Smyrna Beach, we were leading 4 boats through the bridge. Being a Saturday, there were many smaller boats on the water, a few who didn't have a clue. Behind us was a 60 foot sport fisher. However between us was a small runabout with 2 people on board. He insisted on riding down the center of the channel with no clue the sport fisher was behind him.
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| Around Smyrna Beach |
We were not able to get dockage at Titusville Marina, but we had no problem grabbing one of their mooring balls. The rains had subsided only AFTER Pete secured the mooring ball. The light drizzle had turned to a downpour from one second to the next. Then it stopped once he was back in the cockpit.
Our friends, Hugh and Deb, from SV Simplicity are still docked in Fort Meyers, but came to Cocoa Beach for the weekend for a seminar, a half marathon and to pick up their new canvas Bimini. We went onto shore to pay for the mooring, walk Bailey and spend a little time with our good friends. After about 45 minutes they needed to be on their way, and we returned to the boat. In our talks Pete jinxed us by saying everything is running well on board. We were still about a quarter of a mile from the boat when the dinghy engine quit. Pete started to row into the wind and waves and not making much headway. This dinghy isn't really meant for rowing. Another dinghy training vessel with instructor onboard came over and towed us to our boat. Once there, Pete was able to get rid of the problematic air bubble.
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| Very strange boat at anchor |
After dinner we read and called it an early evening. Without electricity, and a disabled onboard generator, we don't want to run the batteries down. We do have the smaller Honda, but we knew we could "rough it" for the night.
We checked, but there is no launch tonight. Tomorrow however, there is a night time launch of a Falcon 9 Heavy for Musk's Starlink internet satellites. It would have been really cool to be here for a launch, but since we have been delayed in Fernandina, we need to get to Ft. Pierce. Our contract started today.
Apparently, there is a hangout not far from here where the kids rev their engines and heavily accelerate for brief bursts. They were a bit noisy until about 11. Pete slept through most of it.
We had a beautiful starry night before turning in, but the clouds and rains returned along with some small thunderstorms during the night.
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P
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