Posts

Showing posts from March, 2023
Image
Amelia Island, The Island of 8 Flags(MM 716.7) and Fernandina Beach... Amelia Island is truly an island which has been under the rule of 8 different flags.  The Indians occupying this land known as the Timcuans were a group of 9 different tribes who shared the Timcuan language.  They had no flag.  In 1562-1565, the French Huguenots were the first settlers.  After they were killed by the Spanish explorers, Spain took over and flew their flag 1565-1763.  The town of Fernandina was named after the Spanish King at that time.  The third flag was that of Britain and the name of Amelia was related to the daughter of King George II of Britain when Georgia settlers destroyed the settlement 1763-1783.  Spain from 1783-1821 regained control of the area from Britain and flew their flag.  There were 3 interruptions in Spain's rule of the island.  During the War of 1812, the US secretly supported an overthrow of the Spanish government.  The Patriot flag was flown but Spain demanded the island ba
Image
 Jacksonville Beach (MM 747.6)... We passed through the Bridge of Lions heading north to Jacksonville Beach. As we traveled up the Intracoastal Waterway, we saw beautiful homes on the water along with nice piers, boat houses, and boats.  The first one was very nice below and could easily see myself living in it. This one well let's say, it's too big for me and too many windows to clean. We had a pretty uneventful 3 hour travel going north on the Intracoastal.  Unfortunately, our friends on Bama Breeze that we did the Gulf crossing with ran aground a few miles past St Augustine.  Danny offered to try and pull him off the shoal but he called Boast US to help him.  When we tried to attempt to get near him to throw a line we went from 9 feet under the boat to 2 in a matter of seconds.  YIKES!  We texted with him and they got to Jacksonville.  Glad Rusty and Darlene are safe. The marina we stopped at is in Jacksonville Beach, Windward Marina.  We walked down the main road to the bea
Image
 Short Trip To St Augustine (MM 780)…                           Danny at the Bridge of Lions                                                 St Augustine Lighthouse We did not have to leave early this morning because we only had to travel 24 miles. It is important for St Augustine to arrive at "slack tide"which is close to high or low tide due to the current.  The more current, the more chance of causing damage to your boat.  Once we got here and several hours past, we saw the current and they aren't kidding how fast it runs.  Winds were only 2 MPH so it was an enjoyable ride. More wildlife, boaters, and kayakers enjoying the ICW and multiple creeks around us.  I saw a group of 8 ospreys flying high in the sky among each other but no idea what they were doing. I got to see a few white pelicans which we have not seen since the Everglades.  We saw a number of boats here that we have travelled with on our Loop trip. There had been notations recently of places where boats wer