Great Loop Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 586.2
Average Miles/Day: 53.3
Total Hours Underway: 82.8
Average speed (mph): 7.7
States Transited: 4
Total Days: 33
Travel Days: 11
Locks: 5
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 5 17
Anchor: 5 1
City dock: 1 0
Free Wall: 0 0
Mooring: 0 0
We left Ortega Landing Jacksonville early to arrive at Fernandina Beach during slack tide. The current at the marina, although parallel to the docks can run up to 2 knots and make docking difficult.
Along the way, Sister's Creek, just north of Jacksonville, had 2-3 knots of foul current creating 3ft standing waves at the entrance. This, along with a lot of weekend small boat traffic created some unnerving travel for about an hour.
Once in Fernandina, we came around inside the long face dock, successfully spun around for later departure, and tied up without incident. We spent a couple of days at the new marina docks to explore the town.
The original plan for the next leg was to anchor near Brunswick after an average day, but the weather near shore in the ocean appeared to be benign. If we were to put in a long day offshore, we could skip at least one overnight stop along what would be a slow, winding Georgia ICW. The forecast was for 1-2ft waves, generally from the East, with a period of 4-6 seconds. Winds were to be 10 mph or less from the Northeast. This sounded like conditions simply fine for us to travel in.
For the first half of our offshore travel, we experienced fully 2ft waves directly on our beam. This made for a somewhat uncomfortable ride. We headed further offshore (8 miles) from the near-shore underwater shoals we were in to see if there was a longer wave period. The wave period did increase, the wave height reduced to 1 to 1.5ft, and the wave angle was more on our stern quarter. The remainder of the trip was much better, but we would not know whether this was due to us moving further out, or if it was an actual change in the local conditions.
The inlet at St. Catherine’s was well marked and an easy entrance. We spent the night at a beautiful anchorage just around the inlet point to the south.
The following day was a medium-length uneventful travel day, past Hilton Head and Savannah, to a secure creek just north of Savannah.
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
009: Fernandina Beach FL from Jacksonville FL
010: St. Catherine’s Island GA from Fernandina Beach FL
011: Savannah GA from St. Catherine’s Island GA
Map of our Great Loop travel (click for Google Maps link):
GLTD009 Fernandina Beach FL (from Jacksonville FL): After getting vaccinated and reprovisioning in Jacksonville, we could finally head north – hopefully unencumbered – to continue our Great Loop adventure. We didn’t get very far. We decided to spend a few days in Fernandina Beach, just a 7-hour cruise away, before leaving Florida.
Immediately after exiting the marina, we hailed the Ortega River Bridge tender for an opening. His cheerful responses were a welcome beginning to our cruise.
We were now heading into the sun, dodging crab pots at the mouth of Ortega River. Our relaxing “Coffee cruise” was on hold.
Navigation Exercise: Assess the status of the railroad bridge in downtown Jacksonville, nestled between 2 tall bridges in a curvy section of the St. Johns River. “Coffee cruise” was on hold again.
We have travelled this section of the river 3 times now, and we have had to wait for a train to pass only once. However, we have had little success getting response from this bridge on the VHF radio in the past.
Interesting Facts: This Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway bridge is a heel-trunnion bascule bridge, designed by Joseph B. Strauss. Bascule (from the French meaning seesaw) bridges were designed as an alternative to swing bridges that require a central pier. Strauss’ early bascule designs were more economical due to the use of concrete for the counterweight; prior bascules typically used more expensive cast iron. Strauss secured many bridge design patents, including his last two for the Golden Gate Suspension Bridge.
Below is a distant view of the 3 bridges. You see the tallest bridge first.
If you zoom in (binocular view), you can see the Florida East Coast Railway bridge, completed in 1925, slightly right of center. You can see the water line between the fixed through truss spans (horizontal) and the bascule span (angled upward).
As we got closer, we finally confirmed (with the naked eye), the open span of the railroad bridge. (Just right of center in this photo.)
Next task: Find the bridge signal, and confirm it is green. This was difficult – even with binoculars.
Navionics notes for this railroad bridge indicated “(2) The draw is normally in the fully open position, displaying flashing green lights to indicate that vessels may pass. (3) When a train approaches, large signs on both the upstream and downstream sides of the bridge flash ''Bridge Coming Down,'' the lights go to flashing red, and siren signals sound. After an eight minute delay, the draw lowers and locks if there are no vessels under the draw. The draw remains down for a period of eight minutes or while the approach track circuit is occupied. (4) After the train has cleared, the draw opens and the lights return to flashing green.”
🔷 Boater Tip: Reference charts (or navigation apps) to determine opening schedule for bridges.
The photo below is when I first saw the flashing green. Sunrise backlighting didn’t help. Can you spot the green at the base of the bascule (on the right side of the opening)?
Below is the zoomed (binocular) view.
Flashback: Below is the 3rd bridge (in the preceding photos) -- Main Street bridge -- after we passed under.
It is where the “waterfall fireworks” were ignited after the Jacksonville lighted boat parade last Thanksgiving.
Now, finally, we can enjoy a morning “Coffee Cruise” through the remainder of downtown Jacksonville.
As we turned off the St. Johns River into Sisters Creek around noon that Sunday, it was crowded with both recreational boaters and snowbirds heading north. Ray slowed his speed, and we both kept a sharp eye on the little runabouts “surfing” the swell and chop created by a combination of the current, wind, and wakes from the larger boats.
The entrance to Amelia Island Marina looks awfully “skinny” at low tide.
We entered Oasis Marinas at Fernandina Harbor by early afternoon.
Layover in Fernandina Beach: Fernandina Beach is on Amelia Island. There is also a city of Amelia Island on the island. Confusing!
The weather was beautiful for exploring Fernandina Beach during our 3-night stay.
History Tidbit:
Amelia Island, referred to as Isle of Eight Flags, is the only place in America where eight different flags have flown.
The Florida House Inn flies these 8 flags.
The first afternoon, we walked to 3 breweries (because they would be closed on Monday 😊).
We started with the farthest away, Mocama Beer Company, 0.9 miles away. The taproom just opened in October 2020, in an old 50’s car dealership building. That explains why it was so spacious; no problem social distancing here!
What is Mocama (pronounced MOH-kah-ma)? Mocama is a word from the Timucua language that refers to this location, from St. Augustine, Florida all the way north to St. Simons, Georgia. Before the Europeans got here, the coastal region was referred to as ‘Mocama’.
The coconut porter we wanted to taste was not available (winter seasonal), so we tried a chocolate porter, Evoke.
Since we passed right by it on our way back downtown, next we stopped at The Principal's Office, a bar in Amelia Schoolhouse Inn – and old schoolhouse.
Lisa wanted to try the “Valedictorian” – a pecan bourbon Old Fashioned. Unfortunately, that was a winter seasonal drink, and they had just switched to the spring menu. 😕 Fortunately, our attentive bartender searched, and found, the last bottle of pecan bourbon (house-infused) -- after a call to the head bartender, and created the drink, absent the seasonal caramel drizzle. It was awesome!
(NOTE: The bar was not empty when we arrived; Ray took an opportune photo of the empty bar before the next customers arrived.)
Next, as we walked back through the neighborhoods, toward downtown, we stopped in at the second brewery, First Love Brewing.
This was a much smaller space with picnic tables outside and a local neighborhood feel. All of the food we saw delivered outside looked and smelled amazing, but we had already planned (and snacked) for a later dinner.
Our final brewery stop was dinner at the Tavern by Amelia Island Brewing. The gluten-free Sweet Potato Flatbread (with grilled mushroom & onion) was excellent.
We were back to the docks before the pink moon rose.
During sunset, I heard what I thought was a conch horn (a typical Bahamian activity). But, after searching a bit, I finally noticed a young man blowing an alpenhorn (the horn on the Ricola commercial). Unfortunately, on the video I recorded, I could not isolate the horn from the boat engines, motorcycles, and barking dogs. 😕
Nature & Sightseeing: The next morning, we were out early for a 4-mile walk, exploring the island (at least the 1.5-mile radius from the marina 😊).
This home, near downtown, was literally covered in jasmine. Sweet!
Egan’s Creek Park, just 1.5 miles from the marina, has several fitness stations, children’s playground equipment, a kayak launch, …
… and a meditation labyrinth.
We arrived at low tide.
Ray captured a photo of this egret by the oysterbed.
Just a short walk beyond the park, we found an entrance to the Egan’s Creek Greenway, …
… and followed it a short distance back toward downtown.
The Spanish moss grows everywhere in this area. Even the “average” neighborhoods (where they set out their own trash cans) have beautiful moss-covered streets.
This squirrel was enjoying his snack so much that he was not disturbed by Ray’s close proximity.
There are donated park benches throughout downtown. This bench, donated by Stephen Lee, had an inspiring message that reminded me of the message from one of our son’s college golf coaches: chin up.
This Stephen Lee (not the English snooker player or the South African activist) is a former Hospital President at Baptist Medical Center Nassau, here on the island.
Ref: https://fernandinaobserver.com/general/from-your-roving-reporter-a-conversation-with-stephen-lee/
We had the pleasure of meeting the author of this roving reporter article, Gerry Clare, at Café Karibo.She was friendly and bubbly, and introduced herself as Gerry -- “G E R R Y, with a hard G.”During the conversation, when asked what she did for work, she said, “I talk to people”.(I had to do an internet search for her! 😊)
Churches: I was pleasantly surprised by the number of active churches on the island – even just within our 1.5-mile walking radius. Below are just two.
Macedonia A.M.E. Church
St. Peters Episcopal Church
Food: Our son drove an hour each way to have dinner with us and see us off on the rest of the loop.
Salty Pelican had very good Bang Bang Chick-Arrones -- crispy chicken skins with thigh meat tossed in a Spicy Garlic sauce, but I could only afford to indulge in 1 of those gluten-heavy treats.
On our last night in Fernandina, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Café Karibo.
Ray enjoyed the daily flatbread selection – Spicy Italian.
I had the Chicken Carbonara -- sautéed chicken breast over gluten-free fettuccine tossed with vegetables, pancetta bacon and Vidalia onion parmesan cream sauce. Delicious! And we both enjoyed the leftover pasta for lunch the next day.
GLTD010 St. Catherine’s Island GA (from Fernandina Beach FL): We started our departure from Fernandina Beach before sunrise.
We decided to take advantage of good weather to “go outside” (in the ocean) for the next leg, where we could make up 1 or 2 of the days we laid over in Fernandina. The inlet north of the marina is St. Marys Inlet (right at the Florida Georgia Line).
Since there would be a mostly full moon (waxing gibbous – we had just had a full moon), we decided to consider an overnight passage to Georgetown SC – just south of our next destination, Beaufort SC If seas were comfortable (or at least tolerable).
We had 2 “bailout” options -- navigable inlets, through which to come “back inside” before evening if we decided not to travel overnight.
- Tybee Island GA, near Savannah GA
- Hilton Head Island SC
As you may have deduced from the GREEN arrows above (our actual route), we bailed out early from a possible target of Hilton Head (RED arrow).
Within a half-hour of exiting the inlet and finding our course 3-miles off-shore, I was feeling “icky”. Seas were not that bad, so I was surprised at my reaction.
We probably had 2-foot waves atop a 2-foot swell with a 5-second interval -- directly on the beam. It was a little rolly or “wobbly”, but certainly not the slamming washing machine we had encountered in western Florida, travelling the Gulf of Mexico from the Everglades.
I tried to “psych” myself out…This is no worse than riding in a car with a bad driver. Start. Stop. Swerve. Speed up. Brake. Slow down….” It didn’t really help. 😕
I quickly found the best way to ease the “ickiness” was to sleep it off. 😊 I was not much help to Ray, but at least I wasn’t “getting sick”. 😕
After resting a little less than 2 hours, I felt a little better sitting at my nav seat again.
Ray explained that he had moved out to 8-10 miles off-shore. Seas were not as bouncy, but we don’t know that riding further off-shore was the sole reason. Swell was now on our stern quarter instead of our beam (side), and wind was down to 6 mph.
Since I was still feeling just a little icky, and I was still smelling diesel fumes (did I forget to mention that?), Ray & I switched seats. Within a few seconds, Ray smelled the fumes too, and closed the window.
So, now I know another (if not “the”) reason I was feeling icky. I usually keep my window open, so I can snap pictures quickly. We had a tailwind all morning, and diesel fumes were making their way to my window. 😕
By late morning, I was back to normal and on the bow searching to photograph one of the white turtles Ray had seen. I eventually spotted one, but didn’t get a photo – they are easily spooked.
I know people will question the white turtles (since they are rare), so I had hoped to get a photo. From my sparse internet research, I don’t know if the turtles we saw were albino turtles, or had another genetic condition called leucism.
We saw a lot of jellyfish, a few skates and dolphins, and a few white turtles.
While I was resting, Ray took a photo of the Golden Ray salvage crane equipment – 8 miles away -- near Brunswick GA. The cargo ship Golden Ray, full of brand new Hyundai vehicles, overturned back in September 2019. In the photo below, the equipment is in the center of the horizon.
📞 Future stay marina planning: I called to reserve a slip for a few nights in Beaufort SC, our next marina stay, where we will meet up with some Great Harbour friends.
Eventually, seas were smooth enough for an “underway selfie” with SCOUT. 😊
⚓Anchored. After 11 hours of travel, we anchored in Walberg Creek GA just before 6:00 pm. This ocean passage saved us 1 day of travel on the winding, curvy intracoastal waterway, so I would do it again if weather is right.
We anchored in 7 feet of water. Ray factored in additional 3 feet for higher Moon Tide plus the 10 feet from the waterline to SCOUT’s bow sprit, so our total depth here was as much as 20 feet. Ray set out 200 feet of chain (10-to-1 scope).
🔷 Boater Tip: Scope is the length of anchor rode (line or chain) recommended to ensure the anchor does not break loose. When calculating scope, at a minimum, you should factor in:
- depth during anchoring plus additional depth anticipated at high tide
- distance from water line to point where anchor line meets the boat (usually the anchor winch)
- “swing room” how far around in a circle the boat will swing while being blown around or moved by current
Optimal Scope is usually 7-10 times the total distance/depth calculated above; however, in a crowded or narrow anchorage, this may not be possible, and you may have to settle for less scope.
West Marine has a basic Anchoring How-To document, with some helpful tips. Below, is the diagram describing scope. SCOUT has all-chain rode and does not have nylon (as shown below), except a length to use as a snubber (but that’s yet another topic…for later).
🔷 Boater Tip: If you plan to anchor, find every reference you can, and read, read, read. Then, find a large, unpopulated anchorage, and practice, practice, practice.
One of the anchorage neighbors, mv Agape, hailed us on the VHF radio. They recognized SCOUT from St. Augustine, where they were also docked over the fall/winter. They invited us to come over and cook something on the grill, but we declined. We were just too beat!
We saw several dolphins. I can always muster energy to capture video of dolphins. 😊
At sunset, a shrimp trawler motored in to anchor for the night. And a second shrimp trawler, Sapelo River Red, joined us after sunset. Gorgeous! (I chose to display my photo below, although Ray took some nice photos too. I used one of his photos as the blog thumbnail.)
GLTD011 Wright River, Savannah GA (from St. Catherine’s Island GA): Even with a short 6-hour day planned, we left the anchorage at sunrise.
Ray had to “snake” his way out of the anchorage, as we were leaving at near-low tide. I stepped outside to get a photo showing just how close to shore SCOUT had to go to “find the water”, but I was distracted by this “double sunrise” (the sunrise reflection on SCOUT’s large windows).
📞 Future stay marina planning: I called to reserve a slip for a few nights in Murrells Inlet SC, where we will visit Ray’s family.
Ray lowered our antennas to pass under 1 bridge in Savannah GA.
🔷 Boater Tip: Bridge operators expect that boaters will reduce their “air draft” (height), where reasonably possible, so that bridges are not closed to road traffic unnecessarily.
⚓Anchored. We enjoyed the uneventful day’s travel and were anchored in time for a late lunch on the bow. The weather was beautiful (for the moment).
We finished lunch just in time for a brief front to move through with wind gusts of 25 mph.
What’s next? Our next stop will be in Beaufort SC (pronounced BYOO-fort), as we continue north.