As we leave St. Augustine and approach the Bridge of Lions, we wave good-bye to our new looper friends Rick and Leila (hence the picture) who will be following us up the ICW in a couple of days.
Traveling the waters from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach is well sheltered, offering smooth passage, even in high winds. There are numerous no-wake zones, most amply marked with signs saying, "Idle Speed-No Wake" and skippers are advised to observe the regulations.
There are few good marinas traveling through this run from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach, so we take advantage of the Palm Cove Marina which has floating piers with low water-depths at 4-foot levels.
This is a lovely small marina and a convenient stop, as a weather front moved into the area with rain and wind which quickly moved out, cooling things down Sunday morning.
Leaving Palm Cove Marina in a light breeze this morning, we headed north hoping to get to Fernandina Beach by noon but flexibility must replace a schedule when it comes to weather. The wind picked up, gusting to 25 kts. from the west mostly on our beam and we became extremely aware of the channel markers.
As we passed Mayport Naval Base, the ship yard impressively hauled out this ship for repairs.
With the winds getting stronger, we now must cross the St. John's River and you guessed it, a huge ship is on the river going out to sea, coming uncomfortably close.
We gave it the right of way.
We pulled into Amelia Island Yacht Basin to get out of the weather, never making it to Fernandina Beach. There's always tomorrow.
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