Fernandina Beach

On our way south last December, the first port we really enjoyed was Fernandina Beach and we have looked forward to coming back here ever since. Looking back while in the Bahamas, we thought maybe we just liked it because it was warm, or we felt like it was a milestone, or maybe we were just nostalgic for the States.

Now we’ve returned to Fernandina, and we gotta say… we still like it!

Fernandina Beach is on Amelia Island, just south of the Georgia border. It has a ton of history, and is the only municipality in the United States that has flown 8 different national flags – since 1562: France, Spain, Great Britain, (Spain again,) the Patriots of Amelia Island, the Green Cross of Florida, Mexico, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. The area refers to itself as “the real Florida,” and it’s easy to understand why. It’s not over-run with tourists, transplants, and retirees, but has locals that have been here for generations and a blend of shrimpers, paper-mill workers, and dock workers. (Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of tourists, but compared to Orlando or Miami, it’s less.) The town is also the birthplace of modern shrimping, they pioneered the trawl net.

We love the moorings out in front of the Fernandina Harbor marina, they offer a secure place to tie up with the 8′ tidal range. Plus there are showers, laundry, and a walk-able downtown. We’ve had a little culture shock since returning from the Bahamas, we’re not used to menus with prices, or drink specials,  or live music (that’s not Rake n’ Scrape,) or shops with posted hours, or Post Offices, or channel markers, or the USCG, or ATM’s everywhere, or Mexican, Italian, or Sushi restaurants, and don’t forget draught beer!

Since we arrived last Thursday we’ve been slowly adjusting back to the United States. We enjoyed dinner at Cafe Karibo, one of our favorite places, and found the Palace Saloon that had 25 cent beers! Now we’re taking care of business, organizing things for our trip north, making purchases for the boat, grocery shopping, doing laundry, and a whole lot of web-surfing.

On Friday as we headed into town we noticed a sign for free tours of the tall ship “Peacemaker.” We had seen the ship on the dock, and we quickly turned around and headed back to check it out. The boat is enormous, and we watched a Powerpoint presentation about how it was built, and how they sail it. It was very impressive, and provides excellent perspective on how things have changed for voyages under sail.

Saturday was a “Free Fishing Day” here in Florida, so I set out to try to catch some fish (no luck) while Sabrina visited the local Farmer’s Market and did some exploring in town. Google told us that Fort Clinch had a “Garrison Weekend” the first weekend of every month where historical reenactors occupied the Fort and provided information on the past. On Saturday night they even offer a Candlelight Tour where you can visit the whole Fort at night like it would have been in the past. We really wanted to go out to Fort Clinch, but the walk was too far, so we needed a bike. Rentals near the marina were $20 for 24 hours, so Sabrina stopped into a bike shop to ask if they rented bikes. They didn’t, but he could sell her a used bike for $15!  Woohoo! Bike in hand we called out to Fort Clinch to make reservations for the Candlelight Tour. Unfortunately, the Park Ranger said that since there were no lights, they didn’t allow bikes in after dark. He suggested we come by car… bummer.

We skipped the Candlelight Tour, but rode out to Fort Clinch State Park early on Sunday morning. Once we arrived we were glad we had skipped coming out the night before, it truly would have been a very dark ride under the tree-canopied road! We were able to tour the Fort and talk with the reenactors there, then we checked out the exhibits at the museum.

The park is beautiful and has great paved roadways for biking, and we took advantage of them to bike around the park and view the sites. We also took some hiking trails where we spotted a baby alligator and some deer. We took a long walk out the short pier long fishing pier and talked to a lot of fishermen along the way. The fish were apparently not biting for them, either.

Wind is not looking too favorable for quick trip north, but we’re planning to head to Cumberland Island, then on to Hilton Head to visit friends and we will hopefully have some wind to start moving a little faster north from there.