Days in Fernandina Beach

Today is Saturday, my last day as a "50 something". I'm still here in Fernandina Beach, FL--a truly delightful little town. Kind of touristy, but hey, this is Florida after all! Today I rented a bike and peddled out to Ft. Clinch, about a 15 mile round trip. Its warm for a change and it felt good to go out in a T-shirt again.

You meet all kinds of folks on a trip like this. Last night I met a young lady in the lounge at the marina--she and her mother had lived aboard a Catalina 30 here in the marina all of her 14 years, with a fairly large dog--a labradoodle.Just a little bit larger boat than Harvey--I guess if you start as an infant you get used to it and adjust as your needs change.

The scenery here is gorgeous, all of the trees are festooned with Spanish Moss, and the palm trees wave in the wind, just like they're supposed to. The marina has a deal going during this slow month for them so its really cheap to stay here--I'm going to remain until Monday, when I have a guy coming out to adjust my packing gland--a routine adjustment that I could do myself if I were a foot shorter and about 75 pounds thinner! Then I'll head south with the plan being to hook up with Lou Howell sometine around Feb. 15th.

Attached is a photo I took on my bike ride today. Cheers!

Thursday, Jan. 27th

Sailed "outside" today--that is, out in the Ocean as opposed to the ICW. Not a great day, overcast and cold, with winds out of the South, when it had been forecast to be warm, sunny, with Northwest winds. I'm currently in St. Mary's GA, on the Florida border, a "boat friendly" town, according to many. I'll explore and try to post photos tomorrow.

All dressed up in Brunswick

Here we are in Brunswick, GA. All dressed up--sails on, tanks filled, engine checked, loaded with groceries--now to sit for 2 more days to let a cold front with rain go through! Had 3 bored Coasties come by and offer a courtesy inspection, which I accepted. Harvey passed, so we now have what they call a "good as gold" certificate in case we get stopped in Florida.

Planning for Trip South

This is essentially a test blog entry. Laura Beth is trying to drag me into the 21st. century! Lets see if I can actually post another picture!

Harvey, Elwood and me in Oriental, NC

Success!