St. Marys Yacht Club
After a pancake breakfast at the St. Marys Yacht Club, we attempted to pull anchor and discovered we had snagged a crab trap. The previous day in high winds and strong current I was very proud of my 65 lb. CQR anchor. Other boats were dragging around the anchorage, getting close to us, apologizing, and then pulling anchor and moving. We were rock solid, however the extra line on the crab trap explains our extra swing. After a short fight, we were able to extract ourselves from the crab trap and proceed on to a nice evening at Fernandina Beach. We then took a long look at the chart and tide information and ,made a run for Jacksonville. The St. Johns River has a reputation for 3 knot currents, so we wanted to time it right. At one point I saw 9.6 knots on the GPS - trawler speed!
We stopped short of our destination and put in at the Jacksonville Metropolitan Park Marina. It is out in an industrial area near the stadium, so rather boring. The good part however it was FREE and we had nice neighbors:
One of the reasons we stopped short is that the Coast Guard was broadcasting that the Main Street Bridge was stuck in the down position (40'). The next morning it was reported repaired, but as we approached, the bridge tender advised they were still experiencing difficulties and asked us how much we needed. I advised 45' would work, but 50' makes us feel much better. He said come on, we should have that much.
Next we had to negotiate some very skinny water, and one more bridge:
Smallest horizontal opening we have negotiated!
We have taken a slip at Ortega Yacht Club Marina for a week. Today I installed the repaired AIS unit and did some other maintenance (batteries, engine zinc, checks, etc.). Tomorrow we fly out to Birmingham, AL to visit the older son and grandson. We should be back on the waterways by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week after repairing the wind generator. Next stop, St. Augustine, FL.
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