We spent a pleasant few days at Ft Pierce. First of all, we re-connected with friends. There were Dave and Laurie on s/v RJ Greenstone and Don and Ann on s/v Dream Chaser. Both couples are fellow denizens of the infamous dock six at Brunswick Landing Marina. Then, Rich was on hand to catch our lines when we came into the fuel dock at Harbortown Marina. Rich tuned our rigging last fall and installed a new roller furler. He kindly offered us the use of his Bronco over the weekend so we were able to do everything we wanted to do in Ft Pierce. There was the farmers’ market, perhaps the best in Florida and then there was Mangrove Mattie’s where they offer an “all you can eat, all you can drink” champagne brunch on Sunday—fabulous! Supper at Buoy 12A was magnificent and we got to repeat it a few days later with a special guest. Our friends Bill and Maureen set sail for Charleston and marked the official end to our Bahamian holiday. We felt all alone as they pulled away from the dock.

Claudia developed a mild (and we hope temporary) case of night blindness so we were concerned about our trip north. The trip is a thirty-six to forty hour passage to Fernandina Beach. Obviously, part of the trip must take place at night and Claudia can’t see! What to do? As it turned out, it was easy. We asked Matthew, our son, if he’d like to make the trip with us. “Oh please, don’t twist my arm!” We borrowed Don and Ann’s car and picked him up at West Palm and had another wonderful supper at Buoy 12A.


The trip north was largely uneventful, light winds, calm seas. Somewhere along the way during the second day, we snagged a really nice King Mackerel. Later, just off the St Johns Inlet we caught two fine tunas! What fun. I never thought I’d say, “Let’s bring in the lines, I don’t want to catch any more fish!”




Ceviche never tasted so good! Fresh fish, never frozen!

Our arrival at Fernandina Beach seemed to be timed to a falling tide. We arrived at the inlet at about 10 PM. The next 4 or 5 miles took us 4 hours at speeds at around one knot! We pulled into the fuel dock at 2 AM! These night-time arrivals have got to stop! We spent a couple of days at Fernandina Beach. Mainly to eat at “le Clos,” one of our favorite restaurants. Has anyone noticed that our travels seem to center on restaurants and food?

Our departure from Fernandina was again marred by an opposing tide. The current was inbound while we were outbound. Then we arrived at St Simons Sound on an outgoing tide. A trip that should have taken 8 hours or less took us nearly 10 hours. From the water, everything was the same; the St Simons lighthouse, the Sidney Lanier bridge . . . Pulling into the slip at Brunswick Landing Marina was as close to Heaven as I care to get at this time. Sherri and Cindy were there to catch our lines. It was almost as if we’d never left. Another adventure sets the stage for the next. It has been fun to have Matthew on board with us. He has been a great hand and we are proud of him.