Back to the States, part 2

The rest of the Gulf Stream crossing was uneventful - the best kind of crossing.  We kept seeing freighters but not much else.  We saw a few dolphins and another sea turtle or two.  Once we angled our way out of the Stream our ground speed started to drop - bummer.  Another aspect of the theory of relativity became obvious during this crossing.  Back home we hardly ever sail 50 miles as a day sail.  And if we are cruising and our destination is 50 miles or so we get up early and plan for a long day on the water.  This trip ended up being 370 miles and when we had whittled the miles down to 50 miles we felt like we were almost there.  Fernandina was just around the next corner and we could almost taste the ice cream.  The only problem was we couldn't see the next corner.  Back home, and most places we've cruised, you can see land or structures on shore from 15 to 20 miles off shore.  Florida is so low and undistinguished (sorry, all you Florida residents) at this point that we didn't see land until we were about 7 miles away.  Later on I figured out why.  If you remember the green flash incident you remember I have a red-green color vision issue.  Since Florida is a "red state" in most elections I'm sure that's why I couldn't see it.

We eventually made it to the marina at Fernandina and were able to clear customs back into the States.  That's another story, but we are back legally.  Customs is closed weekends so our arrival timing was good. I just hope the terrorists and illegals only try to enter on weekdays.  We had seafood at a nice little local restaurant - the biggest meal we've had since Christmas.  This morning we got our showers and found a bakery for cream filled donuts.  We also made it to the weekly farmer's market.  Fernandina is pretty nice, but it would have been nice to see Mary and Dave in Daytona again.  I imagine Dave is glad we won't be abusing the shocks and springs in his car again with another shopping trip to Sam's Club.

Loyalist Park, New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay

New Plymouth