As predicted, the day dawned with clear skies and lighter winds …. A good omen for our first day back on the water. Fortunately, our first run will be a short hop up to Jacksonville Landing where we’ll meet Mikel and Jessica Wheeler for dinner.
sun just starting to shine through
no sails rigged yet ... too windy
As we left the Green Cove Springs Marina anchorage, one of the boats we’d meet when we first arrived, hollered out: so someone is actually going to leave this place! As with most marinas, it’s a running joke about how easy it is to get comfortable in one spot. We’ve watched several boaters move their boat from long-term storage, to the work yard, to the pier, to a mooring ball. So, we are proud to have broken the force field and to be underway again, as it is the moving that we like the best.
It ended up being a blustery ride as the wind climbed to 20knots, and we put up the enclosure in the cockpit and put on our sweatshirts! Gorgeous day though, and Mr. Westerbeke is running like a champ, so we have no complaints. We had a 1knot current going with us, so we made the passage in record time. We arrived in Jacksonville at 1pm, and our first docking at the Jacksonville Landing went off w/o a hitch – whew!
Jacksonville Landing
a huge pier along the water front, free docking for 72 hrs.
we picked up wifi from the dock bar!
water and light show across the river
view from the cockpit
Out of the wind on the St John’s River, it was hot … back to tee shirts and shorts as we worked on rigging the main sail and the head sail.
Dan working ... as usual :)
By the time Jess and Mikel arrived at 3pm, we were ready for rum drinks! Mikel is relocating to Jacksonville from Mayo Clinic Rochester in December, so it was fun to hear about his new adventure and where he will be living. Dinner at Hooters at the Landing, and then time for them to get back to the hotel since they fly home tomorrow.
Mikel and Dan
Jessica and Mikel
But the best news of the day had to be learning that our son, James, made a successful offer on a home in St Paul! He’s been house-hunting for several months, hoping to score an undervalued short sale or foreclosure in this housing market, only to find that his first 2 offers encountered multiple bidders, with final offers going well beyond the asking price! He found a sweet 2-bedroom home very close to where he teaches, and even though he enjoys a house that needs work, he found a home with the hard stuff already done! Motivated sellers took his offer, giving us the best news of the day!
1 comment:
Awesome pictures, Good to know I have something to look at now that snow is coming and Minnesota's beauty is going to be covered in coldness.
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