Hello all,
Well, we cast off lines at 12:40 from Green Cove, after storing the car and paying the bill. Down the river we headed, putting the final things away as we traveled. In the big city of Jacksonville, we caught a favourable current and were making 9 knots through town. The current carried us along and we managed 40 nm before the sun set. Our anchorage for the night, Blount Island, about 6 nm from the entrance out of the St John River into the Atlantic.
Oh, and what a discovery we had as we dropped the hook. The chain showing above deck looked great, with no rust. But, the balance of the chain stored in the locker is one big ball of rusty mess. And, only two years old too. The evening is spent researching chain, picking the right size for the windlass and deciding if we return to Green Cove to pick up the chain. As you can imagine, 100 feet of chain sent by UPS or FedEx becomes very expensive, very fast.
The alarm went off early as I arose to check the weather to get the go-ahead for an outside passage. All sounds good, except for this pesky pea soup fog that surrounds us. With the amount of ship traffic entering this harbour, we decide to stay put until we can see. The anchor is hauled at 0930. Another boat from the marina, anchored nearby, offered to call the marina office to check on our order of chain and their ability to drop it into Vero Beach Marina. Done deal – not sure what the bill will be, but we cannot manage without that chain.
The two vessels ( the other one is Linda & Ron on Water Music, from Michigan ) departed the anchorage and headed to sea. It was a rolly, bumpy ride but we have done 200+ nm between Monday at 12:30 and Wed at 12:30, when we anchored near Melbourne, FL ,in the ICW. We entered at Cape Canaveral at approx 0930 this morning, twenty-four hours from our anchorage in Jacksonville. Tired puppies but otherwise, none the worse for wear.
Tomorrow, we will continue on to Vero Beach, meeting friends and parts there. If the parts arrive quickly, we won’t stay too long. But, Vero seems to have a hold on all of us cruisers. We call it “Velcro Beach”.
The job list remains and we will work away at it. Watching the weather all the while. Hoping for an island Christmas.
Hugs to all, Heather & Murray