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| On passage from Bahamas to America |
I’m often heard saying “I don’t like sailing” – which is not
entirely true, I love a good sail. But it is often boring and sometimes very
uncomfortable and I am not all that keen on night time sailing. Which doesn’t
mean I don’t like sailing at night – as mostly I do, but I am not good when I
am tired; and night time sailing requires someone to be on watch all through
the night. Sim and I usually take turns
- three hours on and three hours off each but it is often actually less than
that. And for some reason things also seem a little more onerous in the dark
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| A pod of dolphins join us on the journey |
So it is always with an element of trepidation that I embark
on longer passages. Our time in the Bahamas had come to an end. The forecast
was for a light south-easterly wind – a little too light but this seemed like
the best opportunity for a while. So we set the sails early on Friday morning,
wing on wing and sailed slowly out of the anchorage and out across the Bahamas
Banks. Thunderstorms threatened all around but left us well alone. By nightfall
we were entering the Gulf Stream and were carried along on it; there was barely
a breath of wind, yet we were doing over 7 knots over the ground. There was not
a cloud in sight and the night sky was magnificent - filled with shooting stars.
Alongside us dolphins played in our night time bow wave.
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| Sailing into Fernandina Beach, North Florida |
After two nights and three days at sea we pulled into
Fernandina Beach in North Florida. The incongruous town is a mix of industrial
and historic. The huge mechanical superstructures of the paper mills dominate
the skyline jettisoning spumes of nasty smelling smoke into the sky. But ashore the historic town is full of old
style saloon type buildings housing shops and bars. The residential properties
in green shady roads full of trees dripping in Spanish moss are all balconies
and lattice work with patriotic stars and stripes flying from their porches. It
is truly a charming town with mile upon mile of sandy coastline.
Once we cleared customs – one of the easiest and friendliest
we have come across in the US, we hired a car for the day to do a little
provisioning as everything is so far away when on foot and did a little sightseeing
as well.
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| The paper mills of Fernandina Beach |
Then it was back out to sea again for another long hop up to
the Carolinas. Again it was a gentle night at sea....the wind picking up in the
evening and dying during the day. Forcasted to blow a stink this weekend with
nasty thunderstorms we decided to go into the Intracoastal waterway at Charleston,
South Carolina for some days motoring up the “inside” as we do like the scenic
route and where I can happily go to sleep at night.
Custom and Immigration at Fernandina Beach
Fort Clinche at Fernandina Beach
Pretty properties of Fernadina Beach
They all fly the stars and stripes
Amelia Island has miles of lovely beaches
Wild Tortoise at the Timucuan Preserve
The Bluff with lots of fallen driftwood trees within the preserve.
There is a heatwave at the moment and we are roasting in the sun
Watch out for all the spiders!
Dinghy Load full of shopping!
Historic Fernandina Beach and the oldest bar in town.
Welcome to America
