Thursday, 4 December 29.6 SM
Pelicans perch on the pier at Fernandina Harbor.
Talk about boring, this is it. But remember what the Old Salt always says, that at sea, you don’t want too much in the way of excitement; boring is good!
So Steadfast is underway at the ho-hum hour of 1000, motors ever-so cautiously into the waterway and two miles later, turns not-so-hard a-port into droll Kingsley Creek and the first of what passes for the day’s adventure, i.e., finding deep(er) water.
In a pattern for the day—and what may prove to be true for most of Florida—the bottom quickly rises from 30-something-feet to single-digits. There are readings in the 7s for a brief time, then slowly back into the low-teens. Sure, seven-feet is plenty for Steadfast. It’s just that when the readings keep dropping, there’s a point at which she’ll be aground. I’m just sayin’. It gets your attention.
Ray-the-Smart-Pilot is not much good in such situations. “Smart” as he may be, he’s not tuned into the depth meter. And on this leg of the ICW, there’s not much in the way of a straight stretch. It’s all long, arcing curves through the marshes, this one to port, the next to starboard, then to port and so on.
Gulls and pelicans know a snack awaits off the shrimper working Amelia River.
There’s a stretch crossing Nassau Sound that’s kind of fun, from a piloting point of view, as in, how wide do we need to swing around “46” to clear the shoal. But the most excitement comes when approaching the St. John’s River.
Still riding the ebb current down Sisters Creek, the speed-over-bottom bumps up to seven-miles-an-hour. Not bad. As soon as she pops out into the St. John’s, the river current cranks her up to 10-plus on the way to the Atlantic. It’s only about half-a-mile from the mouth of Sisters across to Pablo Creek. But it makes for a fun ride, the bow heading towards Pablo but the hull schussing sideways downstream ‘til Red takes over and says “Enough o’ this. I’m in control.” Thank you, Red.
Pablo Creek’s the easiest stretch of the day to the turn to port at Red “34” into Beach Marine, “family owned since 1994.” Convenient, for sure, and reasonable for this part of the world. Nothing remarkable, mind you. In fact, kind of boring.
But, hey, boring’s not bad.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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