Exploring the South – Part 2

We have an uneventful 26 hour ocean passage south from Charleston, but when we arrive in the morning at the St. Mary’s River inlet, we find all the docks in nearby Fernandina Beach have been taken.  This would not normally be a problem as we enjoy anchoring out, but what may be the worst storm of the season is predicted for the next day.  We decide to anchor on the west side of Cumberland Island and spend the remainder of the day walking through live oak shaded sand streets 

Live Oaks and Spanish Moss provide a canopy while palmettos cover the ground

Imagine having a beach like this all to yourself

and along the ten mile, totally unpopulated ocean side beach.  Cumberland Island is part of the National Park Service, and it is being preserved as an intact barrier island. Wild horses and armadillos populate the interior,

One of the wild horses grazing in the dunes

and shells and other ocean debris decorate the beach which has almost as many hoof prints as foot prints. The sand is like white powder and rivals the best of the Bahamas. 

The strong winds have sculpted the powdery sand around this solitary shell

The Carnegie family once had a vacation home/mansion on the island, and its ruins anchor the southern end of the island.

The ruins speak of a much grander time

That night the wind begins to howl and by morning our supposedly sheltered anchorage is full of waves, wind blown spray, and streaks of foam on the water.  We are rocking and rolling, and the wind continues to build – we see a gust of 45 knots (over 50 miles per hour for the non-nautical).  At one point we begin to slowly drag or, perhaps better phrased, slide towards shore.  We pull anchor and move to a location where the bottom is less scoured by the fast moving tidal currents, and we fortunately stay put.  The temperature is taking a nose-dive too; we will see lows at night darn close to freezing, something that’s not fun when you don’t have central heating.  But further north, we hear the “S” word and know we are fortunate to be able to spend Halloween weekend in a slightly warmer climate.

After the front passes, we make a several mile hop down to Fernandina Beach at the north end of Amelia Island. The docks have emptied out, but we choose to take a mooring a little further out. We are finally in Florida; our arrival marks another milestone in our quest for warmer weather.  This is our first visit to Amelia Island, and we enjoy strolling Fernandina Beach’s historic waterfront and biking along the interior creeks and oceanside beaches. One day we venture over to Fort Clinch State Park. After entering the park, a three mile live oak shaded road meanders out to the fort making for some delightful biking.  Fort Clinch is one of the best preserved forts we have ever visited. No wonder, it was never fired upon since completion during the Civil War. The brick work is superb, 

An arched pathway leads to the fort's interior

and its cannons provide an imposing defense over the St. Mary’s River inlet. 

Mighty cannons from Fort Clinch keep guard over the St. Mary's River

By today’s standards the fort is obsolete, but we suspect the St. Mary’s River still has some impressive yet undetectable defenses in place as just upstream lies the King’s Bay Submarine Naval Base.

We take advantage of a period of calm weather and make one last day sail down the coast to St. Augustine. As we exit the St. Mary’s River, the Overstreet Pride, with nets on full display, motors past. 

This vessel is on a mission

Commercial fishing is a mainstay of the economy here, and we are able to purchase fresh shrimp right at the docks in Fernandina. The day trip to St. Augustine would be unremarkable except about half way there, our chartplotter gives up the ghost.  We stew over the malfunction since the entrance to St. Augustine is not straight forward, and like most cruisers, we have become very dependent on our electronics. Yet, all seasoned sailors should be able to navigate via traditional means.  We take a deep breath, get out the paper charts and plotting tools, and safely make our way through the entrance. In full disclosure, we have another chart plotter below decks along with the ability to navigate via computer, but this did provide good practice in case all our electronics died simultaneously.

St. Augustine is always an enjoyable stop. Known as American’s First City, some of its streets date back over 400 years.  We stroll past historical buildings on cobbled alleys 

Shapes and color make this a charming entrance to someone's courtyard

and take the opportunity to tour several sites.  First stop is Flagler College, housed partly in the original Hotel Ponce de Leon.  Henry Flagler made his fortune as a partner in the old Standard Oil Company.  Later in life, he became the original “resort developer” by first constructing a rail system to bring tourists to Florida and then building a series of elegant hotels and resorts along the coast to entice the northeast upper class to winter there.  For years it catered to the rich and famous but eventually, by the mid-1900’s, fell into hard times. Rather than allow the exquisite buildings and grounds to be razed, the Flagler heirs founded a liberal arts college in the facilities with part of the tuition fees contributing to needed restorations.  Today the college is thriving and this architectural gem is often open for public tours.

The dome of the rotunda that was once the reception area for the hotel

Frescos and Tiffany windows in what is now the college cafeteria - this room houses the largest intact collection of Tiffany windows in the world

We spend another afternoon touring the waterfront fort, Castillo de San Marcos, with fellow cruisers Sally and Ted. With construction beginning in 1672, it is still amazingly in tact. 

View from a corner bastion over the north mooring field with the Bridge of Lions in the distance

Somehow Ted works his magic and the next thing we know, we are taking a personal tour with one of the National Park Service historians. Our guide, Kevin, is a wealth of knowledge, and we leave with a much better understanding of the history of this region. 

Sally, Ted Kevin, and the crew of Exuberant - a requisite picture after an amazing tour

After we say our good-byes, a voice from an adjoining room asks “Would you like to see some interesting tools?” Another costumed interpreter, this time a volunteer, has collected a number of engineering tools of the era including something called a Gunther Scale which, after some study, we realize is the precursor to the modern slide rule. 

The Gunther Scale on display - instruction freely given by the interpreter

It has indeed been an interesting and informative afternoon.

We reluctantly leave St. Augustine for several days of motoring down the ICW, stopping at Cocoa for two days of exploration. The guys all love Cocoa as it is home to a remarkable hardware store. The winding aisles are packed with every imaginable tool in every possible size with, for example, some crescent wrenches over three feet long.  And everything is incased in heavy dust.  You will never find anything on your own, but the helpful staff takes great pleasure in seeking out hidden treasures. The next day we head over to Cocoa Beach on the local bus.  First stop is Ron Jon’s, a huge, world famous surfing shop that actually attracts bus tours. Just down the street is the Cocoa Beach fishing pier where perched over the water you can catch lunch while the surfers below catch a wave. 

Memorable sign at the Cocoa Beach Fishing Pier

But it is not all fun and games. While at Cocoa, Burt becomes concerned that the zinc on our prop may be wearing too fast.  The water of the ICW here is murky and unappealing so snorkeling the boat bottom is not a choice to relish. We have a problem and fortunately, with two engineers present (Burt and our friend Anthony), the boys are determined to invent a solution. Supplied with a section of PVC pipe, saran wrap, zip lock bags, and the ever present duct tape, they proceed to construct a “prop scope”. The ensuing chatter and intermittent failures make for an entertaining afternoon. Fortunately, they experience a brief period of success and find the zinc is just fine, but it is safe to say the “prop scope” is not ready for prime time.

Geniuses at work - wouldn't advise buying stock in this concept!

We motor a bit further south to Melbourne and spend a long weekend at another Seven Seas Cruisers Association Gam, learning a few new tidbits and gathering with many cruising friends that are also racing the cold south. And finally, it is on to Vero Beach for a longer stay to do some significant projects, serious provisioning, and trips to the dentist. We know once we leave Vero for the Keys and eventually the Bahamas, we will not have access to big box stores and bulk provisioning. Least we have all work and no play, we also socialize with friends who have settled on shore in Vero, friends on the nearby moored boats, and the over 200 friends with whom we will celebrate Thanksgiving at the community and marina sponsored Cruisers’ Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we will have much for which to be thankful.