Brunswick, GA

January 2025
We arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina around 3:30 in the afternoon. It was our 3rd time there and usually we were assigned a slip on the south end of the marina close to the entrance but this time they put us on the north side, I assume it was due to our month stay. It was nice as we were closer to other live aboard boaters and the yacht club building. The marina has been voted #1 in the country and I agree to that - I voted for them - the amenities are great. I took advantage of the morning exercise and yoga classes in the Yacht Club and we went to several happy hours that are sponsored by the marina 3 nights a week where we met a lot of people. We went to a few restaurants, including our favorite, Reid’s Apothecary. Also went to a Mexican place and a pizza/sandwich place. There are not a ton of restaurants here and not much nightlife, almost half of the buildings are vacant. Most of the tourists go to St. Simon’s Island and Jekyll Island, which we hear are very nice and hope to explore at some time by land. During our second week an arctic storm hit the south and temperatures were down into to 20’s at night. We experienced a sleet storm that made it dangerous to get off the boat. Unlike Houston and other parts of the south we did not get snow, but the ice stayed around for 3 days. During the month we accomplished several boat projects, the larger ones were stripping, staining and varnishing the aft cabin vanity table that I accidentally got a bleach stain on, painting the cockpit floor with non-skid paint (Kevin) and cleaning and polishing the stainless steel from the bow to the lifeline gates (me). We have informally put the boat up for sale through passive FaceBook posts. We’ve had a few inquiries and one couple came to look at the boat while we were on the dock.
We left Brunswick on Groundhog Day, February 2, at 8:50 a.m. and Punxsutawney Phil said 6 more weeks of winter. The sky was sunny at the marina but in open water it was foggy, cold and misty and worsened as the day went on, visibility was 1/8 to 1/4 mile all day. We pulled the mainsail out around 10:00 and motored sailed to the Fernandina inlet, arriving at 4:00. The winds were strong, around 15 knots and the fetch was just a few seconds apart so we did a lot of rolling. We anchored just inside the inlet which saved us 45 minutes each way, compared to going up the inlet closer to Fernandina.
The next morning (our 29th anniversary!) we left the anchorage at 7:05 a.m. It was foggy at first but the sun soon came out. The winds was very light at 1-2 knots, we pulled the sails out but it was the motor that moved us and by 10:00 we had pulled both sails back in. We anchored in St. John’s River at 12:30, past the Naval Station and tankers going to the ICW. We only went a few hours as we had to time the tides and currents to make it safely to the marina on the Ortega River at high tide, which was not until the next day. The day had warmed up nicely and we were able to relax in the cockpit for the first time in over 2 months.
On February 4 we left the anchorage at 11:00 a.m. to motor to Sadler Point Marina in Jacksonville. The morning was very foggy but it dissipated by the time we left and it was 70 degrees, a big difference from the 40 degrees 2 weeks ago! We motored up the St. John’s River, past the shipping channel full of container ships, past Jacksonville University and into Ortega River.Leggi altro