Two nites on a mooring ball at Fernandina Harbour Marina.
Nite one: 30MPH winds and a full moon = no sleep. The current moved swiftly one direction and the wind from another, causing the boat to rock side-to-side...and this was no gentle rocking motion! Yeuck. Whitecaps in the anchorage - how lubberly.
Nite two: calm and lubberly.
http://marinas.com/view/marina/1152_Fernandina_Harbor_Marina_Fernandina_Beach_FL
The next stint north from Fernandina to Brunswick is reputed to be the 2nd worst area of the ICW - Jekyll Creek. We had to depart at 6:30am to ensure arrived there at high tide and flood vs ebb. It was a breeze, especially compared to Mantanzas Inlet and by noon we found ourselves at our final destination of Brunswick Landing Marina.
If you are interested in seeing the area and reading some of the stories from other cruisers:
http://cruisersnet.net/9-jekyll-creek/
The marina is very long and narrow. The office is located at Dock #1....we are at a slip in Dock #14...exactly one km north of the office. What a walk that is. I (Thai) has lost 9 pounds on this trip...but what a diet this has been! If you take a look at the picture of the marina in the link below, our boat is located on the dock at the bottom of the picture shown. It is 2 years old and sturdy. Since this photo, there are now docks another full km up to the boatyard (not shown at the bottom of the picture in the link).
http://www.brunswicklandingmarina.com/
Georgia is much different to Florida. A) the weather has turned hot and humid B) swampland = lots of no-see-ums (which btw....you can see....and they can most certainly see you...or me as the case is!)
It is sad to see so much water, swelter in heat and humidity, and not be able to jump into the water. Completely brackish, filled with pollen at the moment as spring has sprung in Georgia, jellyfish and (sweet and harmless as they are) manatees floating about. In a word, the water is DISGUSTING!
We are preping the boat to leave her in the water while we are gone. This involves much planning to prevent mold, mildew, fending off the humidity and unwanted guests as best we can : dehumidifier and fans left on a timer, a timer installation to turn lights on at night as a deterent (we hope), trays of kitty litter to help absorb moisture and hanging bags of Sta-Dri , bug traps to keep ants or cockroaches out of OUR living space, removal of the canvas enclosure (we are leaving the bimini up to help protect the instruments), washing all the canvas covers we will place over the instruments on the upper helm for protection, covering the upper helm with the recommended plastic chicken wiring used to cover plants to protect from lurking beasts (usually rabbits) but in the case of the boat, lurking birds, hiring a diver to scrape the boat bottom of barnackles, hiring someone to start the engines and check in on the boat during our long absence. It's a long list - good thing we have until April 17th before Anne & Frank arrive with our limo's to head back to Toronto.
