Dawn Watch on America's Great Loop Adventure

Tracks in May May Summary

 So we planned to travel from the mooring field in St. Augustine to near Jacksonville on Friday 5/27. This is the Memorial day holiday weekend and boat travel is likely to get crazy. We are staying at a nice free dock near the mouth of the St. John's River. I'm going to look into a mooring ball or anchorage or dock in either downtown Jacksonville or Fernandina Beach. We have confirmed marina reservations in Fernandina Beach Sunday through Tuesday. But, back to getting here in the Jacksonville area. There is a popular free dock at a place called Jim King Boat Ramp. We got tied up in pretty strong tidal current, no other boats on the dock. Then some pretty nasty storms went through and we were so glad to be safe. A few hours after our arrival I saw a single handed sailor making nearly no headway against the strong current. He pulled into the creek where we were and I went out to help him tie up and miss the sunken boat taking up some of the dock space. His story was that he bough

 What a spot.

 Started 5/17. Ho Ra!. See attached Nebo reports. And some pics. Long days boat driving. But so so cool. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MSvPIqjyYnXduM0UiFazjg_nXLdSuyXj/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IzFdPPdoHxE50Gq1Mlbke8OJYUTPIcmE/view?usp=sharing 

 As of Saturday 5/14 we are still in Ft. Meyers. Using the time to continue to provision and learn the boat, so not a waste of time. It does mean we are running "late" for a full Loop this year. No Worries. The latest, and hopefully final immediate issue-need an alternator rebuild. That should be complete Monday with a departure east for Tuesday. What has been done to the boat? There are two lists. One the mandatory repairs based on survey. That list was long and increased but I did a lot of the work myself. It included: New master cabin A/C New refrigerator. My tech said he is waiting on fridges for six months. But, I found one in Miami with an outfit that had 10. Was there the next day in a rental truck to get it. All new fuel filters and a fuel polishing. replace 2 batteries rebuild one alternator  new horn new compasses: electronic for autopilot and analog for helm all new fire extinguishers Then there was the want to have stuff: find and purchase a used RIB (rigid inflat

 It got pretty sporty for a while. Glad we were tied up well.  Still waiting on some parts before official departure.