St. Augustine Municipal Marina in St. Augustine, FL to Amelia Island Marina at Fernandina Beach, FL
Day #293: Mike and I were up at 5:30 A.M. to prepare for departure. Engines were started at 6:25 A.M. Stephan from the marina offered to help "Parrot Bay" to get off the dock which was easy as it was slack low tide with no current in the basin and only a slight breeze. Off at 6:35 A.M. At 7:15 A.M. "Fratt House" hailed as they were close behind the "Parrot Bay". At 8:00 A.M. with RPM's for 8.3 miles per hour "Parrot Bay" was traveling 10.1 miles per hour with the favorable current. At 10:20 A.M. Mike put up the mast while I drove the boat. This is the first time that the radar mast has been up since leaving Aquamarina in Cape Haze. When Mike turned on the radar it didn't work. He stated that he would troubleshoot the issue on the radar once they get to Amelia Island Marina. At 10:30 A.M. "Parrot Bay" was at San Pedro Bridge and there was massive opposing current. Only able to go 7.0 miles per hour. At 11:00 A.M. "Parrot Bay" was at the St. John's river crossing where there is a massive dredging project going on. The channel was not marked well but Mike had gotten information from other boaters to make the crossing which turned out to be great with enough water to pass through without any issues. As "Parrot Bay got through the dredged area Mike and Patty saw the Navy ship "Little Rock" at the dock. As "Parrot Bay" and "Fratt House" were traveling up "Church Creek" there were three boats traveling at high rate of speeds coming at both boats. All of a sudden Mike and I realized that there were guns on the front of the three boats. As the boats got closer they were three Navy boats that flew by "Parrot Bay" and "Fratt House" going in the opposite direction. Mike thinks that the boats may have been heading to the "Little Rock" to possibly escort the boat out. At 1:35 P.M. the "Parrot Bay" was secure at Amelia Island Marina after traveling 58 miles (2,976 miles total for the trip). Mike worked on the radar which started up shortly after. He believes that it is the switch. Good news, the radar works! Mike and I had Happy Hour on the flying bridge. Mike made roast beef and green pepper sandwiches for dinner. It was than time for navigation preparation and blogging. Sue from "Fratt House" stopped by with a few questions for the two of us.
