Fernandina Beach (04/19 & 04/20/21)

Monday  4/19/21 & Tuesday 04/20/21

Day Miles:      61

Total Miles:    4197

Travel Days:   78

Total Days     174

Good news is that it finally stopped raining when we left St. Augustine on Monday morning.  The sun was out although just a little chilly.  More good news is that I recommissioned the Auto Pilot and made some adjustments and it seems to be working better now.  We ran 61 miles to Fernandina Beach.  I ran the boat on plane most of the way, wanted to watch to see if we were going to overheat again.  Not a lot to see other than marsh land and houses.  We did pass a Navy work yard and were quickly informed that we were too close by the Security Boat.  We moved!  Good news is that it did not overheat, but when I checked the fluid level it was down about a gallon.  Continue to research and troubleshoot with Washington Marine.

Leaving St. Augustine

Shrimpin Boat - think it was named "Jenny"

Lot of flat ground

6 miles of no wake zone - yes it was hard

Navy Yard

Long docks

Town of Fernandina Beach

We arrived at Fernanda around 1:00.  I did a quick wash on the back of the boat and some checks, then we cleaned up and walked into town.  The 1st stop was the Marlin & Barrel Distillery.  They close at 4:00 and are not open on Tuesdays.  We made it there and sampled some of their Rum and Vodka's.  I was bummed they were sold out of their Bourbon.  We decided to go into the old bar Palace Saloon.   Florida's oldest tavern.  Originally named the "Ship Captain's Bar", the Palace Saloon has been a bar since 1903. (Prior to that it was a haberdashery).  The original bar was a true "gentleman's establishment" with complimentary towels for patron's to wipe the foam from their mustaches and solid brass spittoons for those who enjoyed a good chew with their beer.  Check out the original carved mahogany bar, brass cash register, tin ceiling and inlaid tile floors.   

I had to purchase a bottle of Smoked Pepper Vodka for my Bloody Mary's.

Bar Picture

Brass register 

Original tile floor

Original tinceiling

Marcia tried their Signature drink - Pirate Punch

While we were at the bar, fellow Loopers Jack and JoAnn from Jackpot and Rommel and Amy from Happiness Is also came in.  We ended up staying there most of the afternoon and then we all walked to the Salty Pelican for dinner.  Good move as the seafood pot pie was excellent.

Seafood Pot Pie

Dinner group

After dinner it was a short walk back to the marina.  Nice view of our boats and we caught a great sunset.

Back at the boats, we continued the party on "Jackpot".  I did have a cigar and then got into the Bourbon.  We all made plans to walk up into town and get breakfast in the morning.  Not going to lie that I was feeling a little rough for breakfast.  Jackpot and Happiness Is left for Jekyll Island and we did some chores.  Laundry, chart plotting, engine room checks, mainly for the overheating issue.  Turned out to be a nice day.  

PS - "Happiness Is" has a cat and a dog on the boat.  They purchased a collar for their cat but it did not fit.  Now Lucy is sporting a new harness.