Goodbye South Florida

We left Ft Lauderdale after a very pleasant stay. Our trip to Ft Pierce was a combination of motoring, motor-sailing and sailing. The wind was very light when we left but it picked up later in the morning and came out of the East. As the day progressed, it clocked around to the south and was on our stern. We were able to sail, wing and wing (mainsail to one side of the boat and jib on the other). Since we had caught a tiny bit of the northbound Gulf stream, we were able to make more than 6 knots (6 nautical miles per hour). Sixteen or seventeen hours later and we were tied up in our slip at Ft Pierce.
Peter had extolled the food at Chuck’s, a popular local restaurant right on the water. Claudia’s sesame seared tuna was as good as he promised. We discovered a new restaurant, Yellowtail Grille and Raw Bar. The raw oysters were far too expensive but the menu offered a creative assortment of dishes. Since Moules Marinières is one of our favorites Peter had to try their version, Thai Ginger Mussels; mussels steamed in white wine and herbs with the addition of ginger and coconut milk. This was definitely an original iteration of a classic dish. Claudia’s Sashimi Tuna was outstanding! How can you improve on something like that? Well, instead of wasabi, try wasabi cream sauce.
After a 38 hour windless trip, from Ft Pierce, we arrived at Fernandina Beach at 9:15 PM. There wasn’t a breath of wind the entire trip until we turned into the entrance channel. Suddenly, there was a 10 knot breeze from the south. Where was that when we needed it? By the time we got all the way in and had to turn into the ICW to get to the marina, it was pitch dark. We’ve been to this marina several times and should know our way in. Believe me, things look different in the dark. We tried following the chart plotter, but it was confusing since it was oriented north up and we were headed south. So directions were turned around. Finally, after doing several circles while reviewing our progress, we arrived at a point where we didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t seem to find the next red flashing beacon which was opposite our marina. So, more circles. We could see that there was a marina opposite our position, but we failed to recognize it as our destination. Things look different in the dark. After hailing some people in a passing dinghy, we established that we were, in fact, at our marina. Of course, it was late, so there was no dock hand to help us with our lines.