TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Life on the ICW can be a perilous business for a boat.  If Harmony could see all the wrecks we pass, their sails shredded, hulls exposed and decks awash, she would shudder as we do.  Our next anchorage about 30 miles north of St Augustine, was strewn with abandoned boats, it must be where local vessels sail to die.  One even sank overnight while we slept blissfully unaware; the previous night it was sitting very low in the water, but by the next morning in the dense fog, the only thing visible was the top of the mast. 

Once the fog had cleared we crossed our first major shipping lane (at slack tide), the St Johns River, so we had BIG boats to deal with as well as the usual stuff.  From there we headed for Fernandina Beach, and another 30 miles on, to the northern most point in Eastern Florida, and just south of the border with Georgia.

The town has a lovely victorian waterfront with stunning sunsets, the marina is right in the middle of things, and there is a REAL fishmongers right on the dockside; they sell only locally caught fish, so the selection is limited but super fresh, the staff are seriously salty, and they throw in a scoop of ice on top of your fishy purchase to keep it fresh.  They even have a shrimp festival every May, for good reason as the local shrimp is delicious. There was only one thing wrong with Fernandina Beach, and that was the stink!  South of the town is a wood pulp plant and when the wind is in the wrong direction you think you are going to puke if you don’t suffocate first! Fortunately the wind was usually favorable.

The marina has a field of mooring balls across from the town where you can tie up to for $15/night and dinghy in to enjoy the town.  What a deal, and what a relief.  No anchors to drag or get snagged, no bearings to take, no midnight sorties above deck just to check, and no narrow slips to dock in and expensive boats to avoid hitting… we slept better than we have in ages!  Three nights on ball #10 and a thoroughly enjoyable stay, next stop Georgia.