We arrived at Fernandina, Fl, just before sunset on the 23rd and quickly anchored inside the inlet off the paper mill in protected waters. The next day we ended up just sitting, reading and resting onboard as the wind and waves were just strong enough to promise a wet ride to shore so we decided to just recuperate after the 36hr transit from South Carolina.
It was also nice to enjoy the 70 degree weather, just sitting reading in the cockpit enjoying the sun.
The next day we moved down the river and anchored off the city marina. Its a short dinghy ride from here to the town dock and the wind was down enough to give us a dry ride to town.
We've spent enough time in Fernandina, back when we had our transmission rebuilt over 30 days, then our heat exchanger replaced over 7 days, so we know our favorite spots to hit during our short visit this time. It was nice to visit Fernandina and not need anything fixed on the boat this time.
First stop in the morning was the Aloha Bagel shop. We had a toasted bagel for breakfast and picked up a half dozen jalapeno cheese bagels to take with us.
Next stop was the farmer's vegetable market (sorry, no photo) where Sue picked up a few items, then on to the Amelia Island Coffee shop. Outside the coffee shop you can sit at a nice park and use their free wifi to download more Kindle books and Netflix shows, while drinking their great coffee.
Lunch was at Timoti's, our favorite eating spot. They have outdoor seating which we need since we have Rivah with us and great seafood baskets and sides. I had the shrimp basket and Sue had black beans side dish.
It was a sunny day, 70 degrees. Nice to finally be warm and wearing one layer of clothing. Soon it will be shorts and t-shirt weather.
After lunch and a walk around, it was on to the Amelia Island Brewing Company and a flight of their choice drafts.
If we had another day in town we would visit the First Love brewery and restaurant and have their smash burgers and drafts, but we are moving on to St Augustine in the morning.
A couple of interesting sights at the marina - one being the Spanish Nao Trinidad which is a replica of Magellan's flagship which he embarked on to sail around the world in 1521. The Nao Trinidad actually didn't make the whole trip, it had to be abandoned in the Pacific. Only the Nao Victoria made it back to Spain.
We had previously seen this ship in St Augustine a couple years back and took a tour onboard. I would much rather cross the ocean in our 38ft Island Packet Tides Inn than on this boat. Even the crew members told us this boat was a terrible sailing experience providing a very uncomfortable ride in any significant wind and waves.
The other interesting boat was the Ohana ocean rowing craft. We watched the crew rowing this boat out in the river a couple times. It is designed to row across the oceans. In 2023 a team of 3 rowed from California to Hawaii in 36 days. This year they plan to row from Texas to Florida in the Spring and then from Portugal to Florida next winter. It has 3 rowing stations and 1 sleeping area.
Again, I would rather be crossing the ocean in Tides Inn.
