We left Charleston at 09:00AM on a flood tied and at 10:00AM we approached the end of the jetty leading into the ocean. The winds were 10-15K directly behind us. The waves were 1-2'. We turned off the engine at 11:20AM and put out the main and poled out headsail. Our main concern was to keep our speed to at least 6K so that we would arrive safely into Mary's inlet before the predicted 25-30K winds arrived. However, because the winds were behind us we were still not getting enough speed so we had to turn on the engine. At 3:00PM, five or so dolphins swam along side us. It was nice to see them just doing their thing. At 5:00 PM Ron put two reefs in the main and stowed the whisker pole while it was still light to be prepared for the increased winds. The wind and waves were already beginning to build. Soon afterwards Ron noticed a freighter leaving an inlet which appeared to be on a collision course. Ron increased the engine speed for a while, but it didn’t seem to make a lot of difference. He called the captain of the ship, and gave him our coordinates and course. The captain did some checking and reported that he would be going off of our stern. So all was good no worries. Throughout the evening we encountered other commercial traffic. As forecasted, the winds increased to the low 20s with gusts up to 30 and the seas did build to 6-9 ' with the occasional 10 footer. At one point we heard a roar of water and saw spray flying out from the sides and over the bow, Ron looked at the chart plotter and saw that our SOG had leaped to 15K as Scheherazade surfed down the huge wave. This was a new personal best for our boat speed. As we made the turn towards St. Mary’s inlet the waves were building to about 10' and were now hitting us slightly forward of the stern. With this new wave action, my job was to call out the waves before they broke, so that Ron could steer appropriately to avoid spinning out into the bouys marking the channel of the inlet.

Our initial plan was to anchor at Cumberland Island, however, the strong winds, strong current, and poor holding caused us to go to plan B. We tied to a mooring ball at Fernandina Harbor Marina. We straightened up the boat and brought stuff down into the cabin. The cockpit was soaked with sea water from the waves coming over the dodger and over the sides of the boat. We were surprised to see that it was 1:00 in the afternoon. We had some crackers, salami and cheese with a can of beer to celebrate the fact that we made it. In hindsight, we realized how well Scherezade performed and we are lucky to have at well designed and sturdy boat. Our only casualty was that we lost our staff and flag off of the stern.

I am so disappointed that we didn’t get to see the wild horses on Cumberland Island, but we will get another chance when we stop on our way back North in the Spring. It is now Sunday morning and we are going to shore to explore the historic town of Fernandina Beach which is the second oldest city in Florida.