Jacksonville Beach-Windy and Cold!

Love this interpretation of the weather!
If only it was this simple!

March 19-20
     We traveled about 35 miles on the ICW from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach.  The winds were steadily picking up, but the ride was smooth.  We passed by so many homes on the waterway, each with private walkways and decks where they keep their boats.  At least it was something to look at!  We also saw a flock of white pelicans, which I don't think I had ever seen before.  I have seen more than my share of brown pelicans, but the white ones were unusual.

     When we entered the river to the Palm Cove Marina where we had reservations, the winds had kicked up to 25-35 miles per hour.  This was a challenge for Karl, but he managed to pull the boat up parallel against the T-dock, with the wind pushing us fast approaching the side of the dock.  He quickly told me to get a fender ready to help protect us from crashing into the dock!  I managed to get one fender down, holding it steady as the dock master helped "catch" us!  Our boat weighs 55,000 pounds!  We managed to get 6 fenders on. The winds were howling, talk about a bad hair day!  The boat survived it, no harm done!  We noticed that the power station for our slip was completely bent over, just laying on the dock!  The dock master told us that the captain of the boat that was here before us had trouble getting off the dock because of the high winds and he crashed over the power station and just left without telling anybody!  I am sure he knew he had run over it with his bow, but made a fast getaway!  We were able to get power hooked up with another power station.

Our Reward for Docking in 35 MPH winds!

     We decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Marker 32 Restaurant.  The reviews were excellent, stating this was a Five Star Restaurant. It did not disappoint, the food and atmosphere were great!