Overnight Sailing, Ghost Ships and Paper Mills

After leaving Stuart, we set out on our longest passage yet and first overnight sail covering over 200 nautical miles. We left the St. Lucie inlet, jumped into the Gulf Stream and headed to St. Augustine.

The majority of the trip was a dream, flying north with the current and wind pushing us from behind. We caught a small blackfin tuna and a beautiful mahi. The flying fish were so thick that a pod of dolphins swam alongside us for hours, picking them off as they spooked away from our hulls.

At 3 a.m. (because hard things usually happen in the dark) the weather shifted and the wind came out of the northwest creating some very unsettled seas. After a few hours of riding through what felt like a washing machine, we made a sharp detour toward shore to get some protection from the wind as the sun started to come up. All in all, we made it to St. Augustine in one piece and in great time, feeling very accomplished about our first overnight passage.

The St. Augustine mooring field is right at the Bridge of Lions, making it very easy to explore downtown. We were quickly reminded how touristy the city is but made the most of our time there. We walked every inch of town, visited the nearby swimming pool, got a few freshwater rinses courtesy of Invest 92 and even got to celebrate Tom’s birthday with a nice dinner out. After a few days of watching the daily ghost ship pirate tours, listening to the ceremonial cannons fire from the fort and eating a lot of ice cream, we were ready to head to our next destination.

The next stop was Fernandina Beach, where we saw so much wildlife. Unfortunately, the noise and smells from the nearby paper mills along with the intense tidal swings made this stop an interesting experience. We will definitely return in different weather to spend more time exploring the town.

With 4th of July quickly approaching, we learned that the fireworks are set off from the nearby marina. So, we set off to our next destination with hopes of keeping a safe distance from the crazy crowds and large explosives.

Leaving St. Mary’s we timed the tidal current to push us out the inlet and happened to arrive at St. Simons, GA with the incoming tide, making for an easy hop to our next destination. The ocean was like a lake with very little wind so we had to motor but we used the extra power to top off our water tanks. It’s nice to be back at anchor after a few weeks in mooring fields. We can’t wait to see what Georgia has to offer.