Family and Fernandina Beach

After a very nice 2-day visit with my brother Van and wife Susan, we sailed out from St Augustine to Fernandina Beach, FL, which is just south of Cumberland Island, a wonderful national park. It is also where the town on Amelia Island is located, a charming and small (walkable) place.

We arrived at about 3pm, after sailing in steady 12-18kn W winds. We had the screecher up until our apparent wind started breaking 20kn, so we furled and dialed our speed back to 7-8 kn. We were able to catch up a 5 mile deficit with our buddy boat Pacific High, arriving at the inlet at the same time. But let's be clear, they didn't raise their mizzen sail and they towed their dinghy - not a race!

Anchoring was a challenge, with a 2+ kn current opposing the SW wind. We managed a successful drop in our second spot and settled in - until a wind shift to the W caused the anchor to slip and we were uncomfortably close to another vessel. So we rounded a marsh point and anchored in a slightly more protected channel, with a lot more swing room. This held completely well through an evening squall - I saw 27kn but Pacific High has a max hold feature that captured 43 kn.

After that, things calmed down and we slept through without needing to get up.

We've since had two more days with 40-45 kn squalls in the afternoon or evening. Good thing the anchoring is solid here!

We had three nights that *could* have been shore leave, but for the weather. So we had sushi and beers with friends on the last night, after a round of relaxation yoga. Very relaxed after all that!Read more