Shore Time!

There has been a cold northern front bearing down on us for the last couple of days.  It's brought 30 mph winds, cold temps and some rain.  While I've been fairly snug in my cabin, the Captain has been traversing a couple of sounds a day.  Georgia has not been the most pleasant of states for us. We don't hold it against Georgia, it's just that the weather has made it incredibly uncomfortable to say the least.  Cold, wet and miserable.

A sound is a "narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land" (thank you Wikipedia). Due to the crummy weather we've been having it was pretty rocky through those channels.  The rocking always feels worse down in the cabin but as Terry was getting soaked with ocean spray I figured I would take my chances below and supply my trusty Skipper with hot coffee and soup throughout the voyage. That being said, I forgot to put the laptop down yesterday and it slammed to the floor during the worst of it, along with me and everything not tied down, Thankfully the laptop is still working. Lesson learned. I'd gotten a bit complacent after being in such calm waters earlier.

The worst of of it was about 6-7' waves coming into a shallow channel producing confused, nasty waves coming at us from every direction. After two days of fighting this weather we decided to find a slip for the night. We decided to stop at the Fernandina Harbour Marina for a much needed break from the rough weather.  That way we could tie up to a dock without having to drop anchor in heavy chop and high winds, and enjoy dinner out for once!  While we were there we did our laundry and used their shower facilities too.  Since we carry 100 gallons of water on Obsession, we are very conscious of water conservation, thus we used all the hot water we wanted at the marina, which was very nice.

A couple of days previous, while we were in Georgia we did run aground through a shallow cut. We were going through at low tide and knew it would be close but just couldn't quite make it.

These are numbers you don't want to see on your depth gauge.  Especially when your boat draws 4' 6".

But in these circumstances what can you do?  Sit back, have a beer and wait for the tide to come up says the Skipper.  We were only stuck for about 20 minutes then, pop, like a cork we came free of the sticky mud and away we went.  

That evening the friendly cruisers on the Audrey Ann had us over for strawberry pie.  Brian and Janine are French Canadians traveling to the Bahamas for the winter. They have a beautiful 38' Hunter that is just a couple of years old.  Gorgeous interior with a galley to die for!

Below are just a few shots from the last few days.

We are finally in Florida as of yesterday, so we are looking forward to warmer weather ahead!

- Camile