Day 317 Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Palm Cove Marina, Jacksonville to Fernandina, Florida
A pod of dolphins started our day of travel at 8:05am. We experienced a strong current at the Atlantic Boulevard Bridge and passed a Navy Shipyard. The shipyards are guarded by patrol boats that make sure that you don't get too close. Security zones can be set up to prevent traffic passing during some shipyard maneuvers.
We are traveling with Call Me Curly and Remedy and lots more dolphins. We even saw one with a bent dorsal fin.
We approached the Kingsley Creek Railroad bridge to find it closed. Our resources told us that the 5 foot bridge is usually open. Not this time. We waited 45 minutes for a train to cross and the bridge to reopen.
We arrived at the Fernandina Beach Oasis Marina at 12:15, We needed a pump out so headed to their long fuel dock for service. The dock was filled with BIG boats and is a face dock subject to the current and the strong winds of the day.
We docked without problem but when it came time to leave for our slip, that was a different story. The wind was so strong that we were pinned to the dock. Our first attempt was a failure. A 74 foot Hatteras was docked behind us and another boat in front. Jerry had to try to kick out the rear of the boat while the bow was still tied to help us pivot away. Once untied the current took us and we almost hit the Hatteras. Back to the dock we waited for the Hatteras to leave and planned our next move. Marina staff offered for us to stay on the face dock for the night but we were afraid that we would be pounding against the dock all night.
Our planned slip was supposed to be on the other side of the dock between 2 sailboats. Jerry and friends agreed that the space was too tight and convinced the dock attendants that we would fit at the end if the sailboats were moved forward. Still no easy task with the wind and current. Once that was accomplished we made our 2nd attempt off the dock. We still needed to do the same pivot maneuver but this time no worries about a boat behind us. At our slip we needed 2 dockhands, Joe, Ellen and Grant to land. Sharon came on board with me so that we had 2 people throwing lines. Joe was armed with a boat hook to catch a line that might be thrown short due to the wind. Finally, 2 hours after we arrived, we were in our slip. All this for a one night stay.
Bench for Peggy Ann and Salty Pelican
Ellen and Joe had driven from Jacksonville to join us for lunch. We were all hungry by the time our docking ordeal was over. We ate at the Salty Pelican with them, Sharon, Grant and Colin and Wendy from DeTour.
After lunch we walked the town and had a beverage at the Pirate's Palace.
The winds finally calmed. Brunswick Georgia tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment