Friday, May 10, 2013

Day 207 May 9 59 mi Fernandina Beach Marina Fernandina Beach FL

 We leave St. Augustine at 8AM....cool....no wind....sunny....cruising the Tolomato River....


Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor
 

Between St. Augustine and Jacksonville you can see Condos on the ocean every now and then but along the ICW we are on a winding river with marsh land.  Civilization leaves us.


Pine Island on the Starboard
 
 
We watch for alligators along the Marshes
 
 
Want to go for a swim in this water
 
 
Where does this bridge go
 
 
Don't ask me....I just ride on the boat
 
 
Chart says Palm Valley
 
 
Congested area next 6 miles
 
 
Should we stop for lunch
 
 
But on the Port side is Cabbage Swamp where the Indians came for Cabbage Palmetto, a coveted food source.  They harvested the palmettos as young shoots about the size of a head of cabbage.    Once cooked they tasted like cauliflower, which is in the cabbage family.  But Cabbage Palmetto is a palm not a cabbage.   This is what the houses on the starboard side see today.
 
 
 
Now that is a fish
 
 
Finally a home on Port
 
 
Coming into Jacksonville Beach area
 
 
We cross St. Johns Inlet...that is current not wind
 
 
Hey Captain he is coming OUR WAY
 
 
He's getting closer Captain
 
 
Into Sister Creek and under the Bridge just in time
 
 
Strong current
 
 
Jacksonville over there
 
 
Once we entered Sister Creek civilization vanished.  There are 3 state parks on the starboard.  Signs are posted.....Don't swim with the Alligators!!!  The state parks are remote and some of the last remaining undeveloped lands along the Florida coast.  We are on the First Coast.  It is less hectic and less developed than its southern cousins.  Northern Florida is low-key.
 
 
On Port you have Hammock Island along Sawpit Creek
 
Your lesson for today granddaughters....If an island is covered with hardwoods such as live oaks or pinelands in sawgrass, it's called a hammock.  If the island is mangrove or pine, then it is a key.  If the island is covered with willow or bay trees, it's a head.  An island of cypress is a dome.  If the soil is a tiny bit above the waterline the island becomes a buttonwood hammock instead of a mangrove key.  And try not to be too dejected by a new type of island common throughout South Florida: an island created by canals and covered with houses is called a Development.
 
 
Still no Alligators
 
 
How do they get there
 
 
Even put in an extra Green Marker Captain
 
 
I'm watching on the Port Captain
 
 
Hammock Island
 
 
Nassau Sound
 
 
All by itself....where do they get groceries
 
 
Nassau Sound Inlet Bridge....strong current
 
 
Docks cost more than the houses
 
 
Amelia Island...very skinny water
 
 
5 foot RR Swing Bridge open
 
 
Fernandina Harbor Marina
 
 
Fernandina Beach has more than 450 historic buildings.  It's a small town, but 50 of its city blocks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
 
 
 
Fernandina is considered the birthplace of the shrimping industry.  Shrimp boats have a device called a "Georgia Jumper" which separates the net into a compartment where only smaller animals can enter, forcing larger animals like sea turtles out an opening in the bottom.  About 80% of Florida's Atlantic White Shrimp are harvested in the waters around Amelia Island, with 2 million pounds of shrimp delivered to Fernandina docks annually.  Picked up some jumbo shrimp and sea scallops!
 
 
Back from dinner in time for the Sunset
 
 
Captain and Saddi bonding
 
 
Grumpy a BIG yacht next to us
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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