Florida, Here We Come! (Day 043)

White Pelicans! Welcome to Florida!

Fort George River by the Kingsley Plantation, FL MM 735.0
Distance Traveled: 34.1 Hours Underway: 4.9 Average Speed: 7.0 mph

Weather: Overcast; temp range 60 to 70; NW wind <10>

Comment: It was anchors up at 0745, fifteen minutes earlier than the agreed upon time. SUNSHINE led the parade out the south end of the Brickhill River and reported depths readings that bottomed out at 4 feet. Reflection made it through, but Canvasback Too had to plow through the soft mud and Tally Ho and the S/V Serenity, who shared the anchorage with us, had to feel their way out, bumping and backing several times until making it to deeper water.

SUNSHINE anchored in the Fort George River

We traversed Kings Bay, Cumberland Sound and the Amelia River quickly and without incident in the overcast day. Possible anchorages, the Little Alligator and the South Amelia Rivers, were passed before noon. It was too early to stop. The decision was to go for an anchorage three miles up the St. Johns River but, we saw a boat anchored in the Fort George River and decided to give it a try. The cruising guide suggests that the current is swift and two anchors would be needed. Well, the current is swift, but we ignored the advice on setting a second anchor. By the end of the day, ten boats were in the anchorage and all were lying quietly to the current. The wind is down, so we’re expecting a quiet night.

The Kingsley Plantation along the shores of the Fort George River

Sugar Cane - one of the crops grown on the Kingsley Plantation

While navigating the Amelia River, we saw a Bald Eagle on the port bank, eating what appeared to be a fish. About ten minutes later, we saw another Bald Eagle on the oposite bank eating a fish. Apparently the fishing is really good on the river. I wanted to get my fishing pole out of the locker. To date, we have seen four Bald Eagles on our trip, and we expect to see two more tomorrow. Our destination is an anchorage at Pine Island, about 15 miles south of Jacksonville Beach. We have observed a pair of eagles and their nest on the island on our two previous trips.

Anna Marie and I went ashore to the National Park Service’s Kingsley Plantation where freedom and slavery in Plantation-Era Florida are depicted. A more thorough exploration is in order as we only scratched the surface.

The FLOCK is headed for the Pine Island Anchorage tomorrow and then it’s on to St. Augustine for the weekend.

Arial view of our position in the Fort George River Anchorage, adjacent to the Kingsley Plantation National Park.