Overnight Sail

We did the first overnight sail of the cruise when we left Port Canaveral and sailed 160 miles to Fernandina Beach, FL.  I say sailed but actually we motor-sailed about 2/3 of the way.  Winds have been light which is fine and the engine is running great and getting lots of good 'engine exercise'. 

To get ready for the overnight watches we all made sure we took some day-time naps (essential whether going overnight or not!)  Anyway after dinner I went below to get some sleep and Rich and Kendra took the watch at about 8pm... this was right after I beat Rich at our first game of Cribbage...

We really didn't set a firm watch schedule so I just slept a couple hours and then went topside...  To my surprise I did not see Rich and Kendra in the cockpit!!! had they gone overboard!!@@##... rather... they were sitting comfortably up on the bow of the boat keeping their eyes peeled as lookouts and allowing auto-pilot to drive the ship...

When I went up on the bow to see them I could tell they were totally enjoying the overnight experience...  Rich kept shining the spot-light in to the water and spotting jellyfish, flying fish, and other night time creatures of the deep...

So I made myself some coffee, took the watch and Rich and Kendra went below for some sleep.  They slept a few hours and took over again for a couple hours and we did one more shift change.

The night sky was amazing with tons of stars and the Milky Way splashed across the sky.  Morning twilight then sunrise was also an awesome spectacle of nature.  The color changes over time are subtle but noticeable if you watch closely.  The dark gives way to greyish colors, then gradually turns purple-ish, then pinkish, then orange-ish as the sun begins to rise.  Quite a site to see.

We made it through the night and continued our cruise north and arrived at Fernandina Beach right as scheduled around 2pm.  We had a close call with a 'submerged jetty' near the entrance to Fernandina but many thanks to a local fisherman who waved us off and re-directed us to a safe approach.

The town of Fernandina is the northernmost city in Florida.  There is a paper mill right on the waterfront and this is also a shrimping port.  Town is quite nice with stately old homes dating back to the mid-1800s.

We are on a mooring buoy as the marina here in town is still re-building from storm damage.  So we inflated the dinghy and went ashore to get to town and access the facilities (aka - shower).  We had a comfortable night on the mooring and rested up.  The plan is to leave later this afternoon for another overnight sail to Savannah.  We need to arrive at the entrance to the Savannah River at the right time to sail up the river on in in-coming tide...

Heres a pic of Green Ayes on the mooring in Fernandina...

We did have some company here in Fernandina...

Meet Fernandina Fred... See the alligator on the mud flat???  I was riding the dinghy to the dock and saw this critter.  When I got ashore I asked one of the locals if I needed to worry about the gator.  He told me 'Naw - that's just Fernandina Fred - he only eats small dogs and children.'  So I wasn't worried.

Also - notice the boat 'Yankee' in the background.  That is one of the twin boats to 'Green Ayes'.  I met the owner, Wolfgang, who happened to know Dad from his years ago activity on the Pacific SeaCraft website.  So, he continues to sail along with me on this trip...