The Weekend Update--Farewell to St. Augusinte; Hello to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach

It's hard to believe that since my last blog we spent four more full days in St. Augustine and then traveled yesterday to Fernandia Beach on Amelia Island. We ended up staying in St. Augustine longer than expected as we waited for parts for various repairs. More on that in a minute. Our extended stay gave us the opportunity to do some more fun things. The Admiral organized a "whiskey history" tour which was a little bit of St. A history and a lot of whiskey stabilized with a bit of food here and there. One interesting historical takeaway: The Spanish built single story coquina homes with a central courtyard. The British bought (or took) the homes and added a second story of wood--often converting the central courtyard to part of the home at the same time. When the Spanish returned and again took over, they reqacquired the homes and added a side courtyard to make up for their lost central ones. And finally, the Americans acquired the houses and added a balcony over the side courtyard. This evolution explains a lot of the domestic architecture in St. Augustine.

We also found time to tour the Lightner Museum--a collection of collections originally established by Otto Lightner. Both the Admiral and I loved the bicycles. There were also a number of typewriters that predated the Qwerty system, various houswares and sundry other things. William Henry Jackson's remarkable post Civil War photos of St Augustine beautifully told the story of that period in the City's history.

We did get a lot of repair work done those last couple of days. On Monday, the Cummins tech came and diagnosed our generator failure as due to a fault in the brand new control board we had installed after the original one failed in October. The good news: though the generator's warranty expired in December, because the part was less than a year old, Cummins provide the part, labor, and travel costs at their expense. More good news: Cummins had a board in Atlanta and shipped it overnight to our tech in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, it poured torrentially on Tuesday and thus delayed the installation until Wednesday. No matter, our replacement thruster control panel and windshield motor which were supposed to arrive Monday didn't come until Wednesday afternoon. The Admiral and I teamed up to replace both of those. She continues 45 years later to impress me with her research abilities and problem solving skills. We are becoming quite the team in repairing Back Cove 41 issues. The new thruster conttol panel went in relatively seamlessly although I couldn't figure out a way to reach the two plastic bolts on the bottom to install their nuts. The Admiral looked at the problem and showed me a really cool backhand way to do it. Simple, easy, obvious to her, brilliant to me!

The windshield wiper motor posed a larger challenge and involved a few more swear words, some brief harsh words for each other, and two trips to the hardware store. I'm happy to say it's fully installed, correctly wired, and functioning perfectly. Our trip yesterday fully tested it with almost continuous spray on the windshields--works like a charm!

We got some other things done too. An in-door shade hangar had come loose and we figured out how to get the curtain out, tighten the clip, and get the curtain back in. Sounds easy but probably took a couple of hours as none of it was obvious. Great teamwork got it done. I adjusted the radar so that its images now align perfectly with the front of the boat. Before the adjustment, it was 16-17 degrees off--not good. I also tightened the head (toilet) macerator connection to stop a tiny leak that had developed after the famous kitty litter incident. And finally, the purchase of some Goo-Be-Gone enabled me to remove the adhesive left from a decal someone had peeled off long ago not to mention some incredibly stubborn bird poop protein stuck in our non-skid decking. A week of accomplishments that make you feel terrific!

Yesterday dawned a cold, blustery and glowery 36 degrees with the wind blowing 20-25 knots and a windchill factor in the mid twenties. For the first time since we've had the boat, we asked for a dockhand to help us cast off. That process went well and we hovered in the small harbor while the Admiral coiled lines and hauled in the bumpers. Than we were off--almost immediately passing St. Augustine inlet and taking spray that truly tested our windshield wiper system--all good. The scenic ecosystems from St. A. to Amelia Island offered a gorgeous trip. With much of the land along the way protected in one category or another, we passed through wetlands, marshes, beaches, and woodlands. We loved it. And the birds and dolphins did not disappoint. Kingfisher, osprey, brown pelicans and royal terns swooped and dove for fish while heavy flying bald eagles watched for their chance to steal someone's prey. Several great blue herons flew low over the boat in their characteristic primeval manner. Little blue herons, great egrets, pips and waders lined the banks. White pelicans flocked on beaches and sand bars doing their communal thing. And dolphins, always curious, swam over to our course a number of times just to check us out. So much fun!

Toward the end of our trip, we encountered a tug and barge just as both of us were about to go under a bridge in opposite directions. He politely asked if we would back down and wait for him which we were happy to do. As always, seagoing people are courteous and kind.

Finally, we arrived at Fernandina Beach and the Oasis Marina. Fernandina Beach is a town of contrasts. Two pulp and paper mills bookend the harbor and the village above

it. But very upscale shops, boutiques, restaurants and real estate companies comprise the village center while expensive homes line the side streets. A short, chilly walk and cappuccino followed by a just ok supper at the Salty Pelican finished our week.

This morning, the Admiral grocery shopped while I cleaned salt from yesterday off the boat and otherwise picked up. We then met up with the Admiral's childhood friend, Patty Wynne Dayton and her husband, Dick, who came up from Jacksonville for lunch and a tour of our boat. A good time was had by all.

We're off to St. Marys, Georgia tomorrow!