Owen Symington

After spending a lovely week in Palm Coast with my cousin Tina & Dave, (and starting to provision the boat for the Bahamas) it was time to move a little further south where we’ll stay with the kids & Mom over Christmas. Beautiful warm sunny day to move the boat to Daytona Beach. Two bridges opened on request. Easy stretch of the ICW. Halifax Harbor Marina seems like a great marina and a great base for our holiday plans. Looking forward to a visit to Disney, Christmas Day at Tina & Dave’s and staying at Ocean Walk Resort thanks to Pat & Dale ❤️🎄

Winds from North about 10kts, current against us all morning. Followed Bob’s tracks, a few areas of shoaling but good depth on the track. Very warm welcome at the marina by the dock master, Neil. Pump out cart brought to our slip. Resort like facilities, beautiful pool area. Off the main resort area so not busy. No restaurants within walking distance but so far seems like a great place to stay.

Early morning departure with SV Blue Moon and Someday V to time the currents. Gusty winds up to 20kts in open areas of the ICW. Arrived just in time for the Bridge of Lions 1PM opening and moored in the municipal marina’s south field.

A very chilly morning but the sun warmed everything up and it’s a much warmer afternoon now on the dock at Jim King Park, Jacksonville Free Dock. Docked here with Duane. Motoring down the ICW again following Bob’s Tracks. Nice walk around the park in the warm sunshine. Lots of people fishing. Met the people from two other boats on the dock and had everyone over for sundowners. SV Blue Moon (Jesse, Renée, Piper & Reese) and SV Tortuga (Rob & Kate with Murphy 🐾)

Our first stop in Florida. The weather has turned cooler with North winds. Short trip to Fernandina where we will spend the next five days. Slowing down as we have the whole month of December in Florida.

Winds were consistently 10-15kts SW, building waves with a short period. Made for a very long bumpy ride all day and night. Sailed for about an hour coming out of Charleston but then beating into it, slowed by the waves would have taken us three days to get here. Around 5am wind and waves started settling down and wind shifted to a beam. We were able to motor sail and made good time (7kts) for the last few hours so made our goal of coming in the entrance to St. Mary’s at slack tide. Clear skies all day and night so the sunset, stars, moon rise (around 2:30AM) and sunrise were all spectacular. Not much sleep. Absolutely gorgeous anchorage in the Cumberland Sound and a beautiful hot day. Looking forward to exploring the island tomorrow.

Another windy day, had some current assist today and timed it well to pass Isle of Palm shoaling area at high tide. Very sporty coming across Charleston Harbor to the Ashley River with choppy seas and high winds. Docked in high winds and a strong current on the “Mega Dock” amongst super yachts. Had dinner and drinks in the French Quarter.

Cooler weather but sunny. Windy with between 10-17kts but no room for sailing in the ICW. Some very shallow and narrow spots along the route. Saw some dolphins. Winds were strong enough to build up waves within the stretch of the ICW just before our anchorage. Awendaw Anchorage is just off the ICW in a wide cut through low lying grasslands. Fairly strong tidal current. Good holding. Clear sunny skies but only 4C this morning.

Nice stretch of the ICW as it’s deeper and wider through the Maccamaw River. The water was full of floating Water Hyacinths. They look like small branches and occasionally you can see blooms on them. Georgetown is a quaint village with a main street full of shops and restaurants and a boardwalk along the water. Harborwalk marina docks and facilitate very nice and staff are helpful. Were docked right in front of a high end hotel, The George where we had a great dinner last night. Have been looking for alligators but still haven’t seen any.

Easy motor along the ICW, only one bridge to request opening. Little boat traffic. Lots of homes and docks along the way. Anchored just off the ICW behind Oat Island. No wind. Sunny warm day. Nice to have Lynn aboard.