Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 Pine Island anchorage

  Leaving early, 7am, we motored out the anchorage past 2 boats at the entrance, a large trawler and sailboat that looked like they’d come in from the Atlantic.  The trawler weighed anchor and passed us in Cumberland Sound and headed out to the Atlantic.  We stopped at Fernandina Harbor Marina for fuel and water and to discard our garbage.  It was early and a beautiful day and we decided we’d try for this anchorage instead of the nearer one at Ft George River.  I hailed Richard on Kilissa to get his advice about this anchorage and he said it had good depth on entrance and in the anchorage.

  Through Sisters Creek Bascule Bridge into the St Johns River, and on under 2 hi-rise bridges with very strong current.  Boats were anchored before the 2^nd bridge to wait for slack tide.  The current was so strong, we were down to 2.4mph before we got through.  One boat said there were waves 3 feet high when they saw a boat pass, so they anchored and ate lunch and waited.

  We knew we were in Florida through the long straight canal with huge homes on one side, some with screened in yards.  We came in here seeing no less than 10 feet at the entrance and anchored in 9 feet with one boat in front of us and one boat behind, with Blue Planet between.  Our last beautiful, secluded, unique anchorage!—until the Bahamas, anyway.  It was a beautiful evening only marred by a loud open small helicopter buzzing past.  All of us sailors stood in our cockpits and waved to the pilot.

  I made a l pot meal out of James Barber’s One Pot Wonders.  And plugged up the sink with the sand from the Cumberland shells.  Ken had to use the air horn to unplug it—which worked!!  I never did tell him how it got plugged.  Shhh.