Getting Settled in New Surroundings.

It is always a bit of a challenge getting ourselves sorted in a new place, and learning all the ropes and rule....ahhhh! did I say RULES??? crikey! there are PLENTY of rules.

First thing Waz asked me was..." DO you think this is the kind of place I could take something outside and use a paint sprayer on it???? " Um....NO! is the short answer. The LONG answer goes something like this " If you think you need to do those kinds of things, you are best to get in the car and drive a few miles down the road to one of the lesser suburbs where the grass is longer, in the parks, and people don't care what you do there."

So....
After we left Cumberland Island....

This is one of the Wild horses of Cumberland Island.... They were close to the beach and this one ventured down and was grazing along the waterline for a bit.

 Stunning morning to depart. Looking back down the Cumberland Sound.

and back the way we went in

 Our last look back. We wont be back here for a bit!

What a stunning day. So bright and hot! It is hard looking into the sun and the sun on the water on such days, that we almost welcome overcast weather.

We sat around, made things ready, sat around some more and waited for 11.30 and a higher tide to get through some of the narrow places we had to go.

Crossing the sound was a piece of cake, and I took the helm to give Waz a break and an opportunity to enjoy the view.

 Fernandina Beach Marina and the Fuel Dock

More later... 

Goodness me! It is now the 22nd November, and I have more than a little catch-up to do, don't I?

I will finish the trip to Jax and then fill you in on the rest of our time here.

This yacht has been submerged for years, we think. Too bad all those nastie substances are filtering into the water there. It is at the bottom of the mooring field at Fernandina Beach

 Going south we had an escort for about twenty minutes, of two large male Dolphin. As I have said so many times before...nothing beats a Dolphin escort. They first played in the bow wave before shifting to the wake. Such joyful creatures.

For the third time we nicely scooted under this drawbridge without having to request an opening...we need 19ft of clearance and she gives us 20 and a bit. As long as we stay down the middle, we are fine. We had a strong current pushing us to the side, but soon sorted that out. Nice not to have to wait for that opening.

 Shortly after, we turned into the mighty St John's River which is navigable for a couple of hundred of the 310 miles going inland through the city of Jacksonville. The mouth of the river is wide and as small boats we are subject to shipping laws and rights of passage. We followed the big girls up the river.

 You can see where we have just made the turn, bottom right. It is 2.33pm, but it would take us another almost 3 hrs to reach our Marina of choice.

 Of course, when you have a large body of water bisecting your city, you have to have lots (make that LOTS) of bridges.  Here we are passing the commercial docks on our way west up the river (goes east west, and then turns to go north south).

 I love bridges, and perhaps you can enjoy the design and beauty of some of them too.

 And, Voila! Downtown Jacksonville along the St John's River.

 The little yacht up front had requested the raising of the railway bridge to accommodate their mast height, but they were also puttering along at about 4 knots....we hailed them numerous times but they didn't respond, so Waz did the only thing he could do under the circumstances, and got on the horn. Gave them a "We don't know what your intentions are" blast of five short ones, and they quickly moved over for us to pass on their port side.

The folks below were having a wedding rehearsal...and some jogger just runs through the middle of it. We laughed and laughed..it was so unexpected and so silly.

 Here we are ! Just found our way into the Ortega River, waiting briefly for the low road bridge to open for us, at rush hour, and settled ourselves onto the dock with the help of another couple of nearby boaters. Nice, because there was a wind wanting to push us around. Per usual, Waz put us into a tight spot just like the pro he is...first time out! Getting between the sticks with a wind throwing you off isn't easy!

 The sun going down as I turn all the equipment off and stow our charts for the next 3-5 months. Looking out over the way we have come up the Ortega River, into the Marina at Ortega Landing.

 It is now Saturday the 6th of November. 2015