Practice run for A Good Life
May 29-31-2024
On the morning of departure, we began by leaving our slip at MORNING STAR MARINA SAINT SIMONS and heading over to the fuel dock. This was our first-time getting fuel on our own. We have 2 fuel tanks and pumped a total of 80 gallons. SUCCESS number 1 for the journey. After fueling we were off for the 4-hour trip to Fernandina/ Amelia Island.
The route from Saint Simons to Amelia on the ICW takes us by Jekyll Island, Cumberland Island, and the Kingsland Naval base. The area through Jekyll is very shallow. We were a little nervous going through this part, but we made it just fine. The ICW through Ga. is a little tough but the scenery is well worth the extra caution. Making it through Jekyll was SUCCESS number 2 for the journey. We passed lots of beautiful boats and enjoyed watching the dolphins play around the boat as we traveled.
We pulled into OASIS MARINA AT FERNINDINA HARBOR around 3pm. The docks were a different set up than we were used to. This was our first time docking at a marina other than our home port. The wind and current had picked up as we entered the area. The dock hands met us on the dock and helped us get into the slip. We had a few challenges, but we finally made it in without hitting anything or hurting anyone. This was SUCCESS number 3 for the journey.
Oasis Marina is located in the downtown historic district of Fernandina Florida. We walked to restaurants and shops right from the docks. We had amazing pizza at ARTE PIZZA and ice cream at WATANUT. The cookie ice cream sandwich was delicious!!!
The sunsets at Oasis Marina are legendary. Tourists and locals come to the docks to see the awe-inspiring colors. We had the perfect spot from the bow of A GOOD LIFE.
FERNANDINA BEACH is 2.5 miles from the marina. We got a ride service from the marina and spent the second day on the beach. Gorgeous green water and perfect temperature day. A relaxing day after a slightly stressful day of travel.
Departure back to SSI the morning of May 31. We discussed how to successfully get off the dock. However, things do not always go as planned. This is the time I wish I had a go pro on. There was a boat in front of us but nothing behind us. We were docked on the inside of the transient slips. I untied the lines as we planned, and Chad began to maneuver away from the dock to turn the boat around. The wind was pushing us back toward the dock and very close to the boat in front of us. I was trying to push off the dock with our pole and yelling “hello” to the boats around us to see if anyone could help. No one seemed to notice our need for assistance. Chad was saying into the headsets “Oh No I am going to hit the boat in front of us”. Thank goodness we did not hit the boat. We were close enough that I pushed off their dingy though. We did, however, hit the dock with the stern two times fairly hard. That is what fenders are made for and why docks are made the way they are, I guess. Thankfully nothing and no one was damaged during this fiasco. We chalked this up as SUCCESS 4 of the journey but made notes of how to do better next time.
We learned on this trip that we need to invest in longer stern lines and a better dock pole for sure!!
We successfully docked back at our home port of Morning Star SSI on May 31 around 1pm. We consider this a successful journey with lots of lessons learned for the next time. By the time we leave for the loop hopefully we will have some of these kinks worked out!!!!
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