Tuesday, June 5th
At 6:00 AM Capt'n Ric rolled out of bed and roused the crew. His goal was to get to St. Augustine before the predicted thunder storms hit. For once, leaving the dock against the strong Fernandina currents was not a problem. I said a silent prayer of thanks as we glided into the channel; Kathy and I tidied up the deck.

The wind was barely 7 knots--too little wind to set the sails, unless we wanted to drag the spinnaker out--not! So the early morning hours we motored along, rested, ate breakfast and kept an eye out for dolphins. We weren't disappointed. They kept us entertained with their antics almost the entire trip. We also kept our eyes peeled for sea turtles. We had seen quite a few when we motored from St. Simon's to Fernandina Beach, but were not so lucky on this leg.

As often happens in the summer afternoons, or if you are superstitious, because I scratched the backstays, the wind picked up to 18 knots, and we set all sail. Rather than take a chance winching out Amplexus' patched mainsail, I went up on deck and pulled it out by hand. So far the patch is holding fine... (maybe I shouldn't say that out loud.) Once we are in Vero Beach, the plan is to get measured for a new sail while we visit with Alex, Rachel and baby Benjamin.

We enjoyed a glorious afternoon of sailing, but the building thunderheads were beginning to cause a little concern. St. Augustine channel is notorious for changing markers due to shoaling, but at least this time the seas were low enough that we could see the reds and greens clearly. A dredger sitting in the channel was also a welcome sight. Already there were places where the depths had increased dramatically. Luckily we made it into our slip without mishap, just as the first raindrops began to fall.

We were not so lucky with regards to mechanics, however. The air conditioners were only running a few minutes, before they began to flash HHH, meaning that they had overheated. Ric checked the filter, which he and Kathy had just cleaned in Fernandina and it was fine, so it was time to call in the marine mechanic. Kathy and Adele decided to stay in town at the historic Hilton, so they could begin their day of St. Augustine sightseeing early the next morning. (Surely the lack of A/C had nothing to do with the decision?) Actually, Ric and I were quite comfortable, since the rain brought the temperature down to the high 60's that night.