We pushed on at dawn again. We took it easy and didn't leave the dock until 7:30 this morning because we were only going as far as Fernandina Beach, Florida. It was 36 nautical miles so we knew there was no problem getting here. This is at the Georgia, Florida border and St. Mary's Inlet. It would have been a great sail, except there was no wind. Instead there were clouds and rain and cold.

It was a nice ride anyway. At Jekyll Sound the ICW goes so far out that you actually look back on the Atlantic shore. You are still protected by large areas of very shallow water, but on a stormy day I imagine it would be a rough passage. Today the ocean was completely calm and I took a picture that looks more like Lake Ontario on a calm morning than the Atlantic Ocean, but it does show how far out the waterway takes you. I added it to the gallery.

Towards the end of the ride we came up to King's Bay and the Mayport Naval Station. It's a nuclear sub station. We had to monitor VHF channels 13 and 16 in case a sub was being moved. If one were, a three-mile stretch of the ICW would be closed. We saw this small sub right where the ICW joined King's Bay from the north. We're pretty sure this wasn't a nuclear sub, but it was my first sub sighting while boating.

At 1 PM we arrived in FLORIDA. It's 49 degrees and rainy. I'm still cold.

Since it was a short day I did laundry. Bud was helping me carry the laundry up to the bathrooms and laundry room, when who did we meet, but Dick and Kathy Platt. They had come down for the morning and decided to stop and check out the marina to see if maybe we were here. They had just seen a boat that they thought was ours (one of the furthest from the marina office and the bathrooms of course) when they spotted us. We chatted a few minutes, but it was cold and started to rain, so we said good-bye again.

There was a seafood store here and Bud bought fresh shrimp, which he is now turning into something that smells delicious. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a nice west wind so we are planning to sail the last leg to St. Augustine. The forecast for tomorrow night in St. Augustine is for a low of 38 degrees. We already have a dock reservation at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. I so want to spend a night without needing heat!