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We’ve been here in Fernandina for two days.  We left Jacksonville in the sunshine with high cumulus clouds which were rapidly advancing to the east with a pretty stiff breeze.  However, this weather was much improved from our previous days so we set out for Fernandina.  Although it was pretty breezy and often cloudy, we were doing fine until we hit the South Amelia River.  It was very shallow, but had a long fetch, and the wind was piping up.  We saw 42 mph on our wind indicator at one point, but it was holding steady in the 30’s.  The water had waves like the ocean, but Bill did a good job of getting us to Fernandina.  He did say the last two hours were about the worst he’d had.  By the way, the temperatures were only in the low 60’s, so with the wind chill, it was pretty cold.  We came into Fernandina Harbor Marina after being warned of the strong currents and winds, but docked on the inside of the face dock right behind a three story cruise ship which did a great job of blocking the wind.  Therefore, we were able to dock without incident, but around 4:00 the cruise ship headed out leaving us to rock and roll in the wind, but at least we weren’t jammed on the dock.  We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  The old town Fernandina was crowded with tourists in town for the Concourse ‘d Elegance.  The supposed 20 minute wait turned into 45 and dinner was cold and unappetizing.  It was an evening we’d like to forget.  We did have fun talking with a couple who are both Harley bikers; she was a housewife and he was a bank loan officer.  And, the table next to us had five housewives from Atlanta (does that sound like a TV show?).  They were definitely having a good time. 

As we looked at the weather for the next day we were really discouraged.  We had hoped to make it to St. Simons, but all the forecasts had for strong winds again.  We did not sleep well that night as the wind howled and the shrouds thrummed, and we pretty much knew that we would be here in Fernandina another day.  Of course, we are very discouraged, but we are totally weather dependent, so we spent a second day here in Fernandina. 

The wind continued to blow; the skies were mostly cloudy with some periods of sun.  We ate a late breakfast/brunch and then went exploring around the town.  Fernandina is really a cute place with many interesting shops and restaurants.  We scouted out a restaurant for dinner and then hiked to a Fred’s to buy some mundane items such as garbage bags and coffee cream.  Back at the boat, I finished my 14^th book and began another.  Then we got reservations at a cute Italian restaurant and had an excellent meal without the hassle that we’d had the night before.  Right now, it is very calm, but the forecast is for the winds to increase in the early hours of the morning, this time from the northwest. We will wait until the morning to make a decision, but it is beginning to look like another day in Fernandina.

We are trying to remain positive, but it’s hard when we keep facing weather delays.  However, we both agree it is better to be safe than to push through bad weather just to get home a day earlier.  It’s just not worth it, but we are surely looking forward to sailing into Calibogue Sound and going through the locks into Windmill Harbour.