Since my last post it has actually been 7 days... we arrived in Fernandina Beach on the 15th and it is now the 21st... We were attending the MTOA Southern Rendezvous. We had a great time with a lot of good friends and we are start heading north to Rhode Island today... This is our 9th day of traveling.

We were not in a big rush this morning to leave... did not set an alarm and slept in... Well that was the idea anyway... I woke up before 0700 and tried to go back to sleep but finally gave up and got up at 0730 hours. I needed to top off the water tanks before leaving and Susan wanted to go the Farmers Market in town before we left. I did fill the water tanks but Susan decided not to go the Farmers Market.

I had checked the weather and the winds were to be out of the east at 10-15 knots and increasing to 20 knots in the afternoon… with a chance of thunderstorms… wave heights per my XM Satellite weather were from 3-4 foot with a 9 second period… so we decided to stay inside rather than go out into the Atlantic… and with the late start an outside trip would have been much longer and arriving to our final destination after dark… and 3-4 foot waves with increasing winds might not of been a smooth ride… We departed at approximately 0945 hours and continued north on the ICW.

The currents would be back an forth today… first on our nose and then on the stern for a boost as we approached and passed each inlet from the Atlantic… being inside we also had to deal with shoaling and shallow water… once area of concern was the Little Mud River… checking ahead we would arrive there a couple of hours after low tide and should not have any trouble.

We passed under the bridge at Jekyll Island Marina and encountered our first shallow water… we saw 6 feet in a couple of places but was 8 feet most of the time… slow speed through here… we hit a few funky areas that SAILS decided to veer away from… SAILS will veer away from shallow water if you let her… and she did this in a few places… it’s always a shock when this happens.

At the Little Mud River entrance I slowed to just above idle at the entrance… seeing less than 6 feet for several hundred yards… but we made it through unscathed. I am not sure if we would make it through here at low tide… the tide state was 1.9 feet above MLW when we entered... take away 1.9 feet from 6 feet and you’re at 4 feet with my math... it’s all soft mud bottom but I still would not want to attempt it at low tide.

We arrived to our destination for the night at approximately 1900 hours and anchored in 22 feet of water in the Duplin River at approximate location N31°25.275’, W081°17.744’.

Today we traveled for 9 hours and 30 minutes covering 58.96 nautical miles averaging 6.21 knots.

At 0700 hours we pulled the anchor and departed from Fort George River and headed north on the ICW towards Fernandina Beach, FL. We would be spending a week in Fernandina Beach attending the MTOA Southern Rendezvous being held at the Fernandina Harbor Marina. SANCTUARY departed at the same time as we did.

We did not have far to go today… but since we would be staying at a marina we wanted to arrive early to get the most bang for our buck as they say… we arrived at approximately 0915 hours and contacted the marina on VHF… we needed a pump-out before we docked for a week… after pumping out our holding tank we moved forward 100 yards to where we would be docked for the next 7 days… Fernandina Harbor Marina at approximate location N30°40.227’, W081°27.991’.

Today we traveled for 2 hours and 15 minutes covering 16.98 nautical miles averaging 7.54 knots.

At just after 0600 hours the drag alarm went off again… I shut the alarm off and sat in the pilot house and monitored our position… the winds were still 25 knots plus and the current was in the opposite direction… we were swinging worse than before… at least 180 degrees… one moment SAILS would be port side directly beam to the wind and then moments later SAILS would be starboard side beam to the wind… decided it was time to start moving again… we pulled the anchor and were underway north again at 0700 hours.

After being underway for an hour or so I was hailed by SANTCUARY… Jim and Peg Healy… they were behind us… leaving Daytona Beach that morning as well… We ended up cruising together and anchored together in Fort George River approximate location N30°26.511’, W081°26.376’. We were also joined in the anchorage by SECOND STAR… Michael and Jana LaPorte… both are MTOA members and were also heading to the MTOA Southern Rendezvous in Fernandina Beach.

Today we traveled for 11 hours and 25 minutes covering 84.46 nautical miles averaging 7.39 knots.