Destination from St. Augustine, FL

[diogenes726]

So I have a 4 day window to sail somewhere, feel that I have the bugs worked out of my old Tartan 27, and wonder if anyone has advice on where I may go for the 4 day weekend? Starting point is St. Augustine, right at The Bridge of Lions. Any ideas?

[Inkwell]

Turn left at the sea bouy and head to St. Simons and return the same way. Or sail to Ferandinia, Cumberland-St. Mary's.

[johnar]

I agree you will love the trip.

Dutch

[diogenes726]

Thanks! How long to St. Simons?

[FSMike]

St. Simons will be an overnight trip. I doubt you can make it from St. Augustine to Fernandina in daylight this time of year. Measure the distance on your chart and multiply times the average speed you can maintain.

Also note that it's a bit of a distance from the St. Simons sea buoy to anywhere you might want to anchor. The bottom is usually mud/sand (Danforth territory) with strong currents. For a night or two we usually deploy just our Delta if we're happy with the location.

Unless all you want to do is sail, I'd recommend taking a relatively leisurely two days to Cumberland Island, stopping near Jacksonville on the way. This allows you to anchor up/down in daylight. If you make good time, you could dinghy ashore and explore Cumberland for a couple of hours. It's gorgeous.

Have fun!

By the way, catching the tides at the inlets (if possible) will make all the difference on this trip.

[Vasco]

Sail up to the St. Johns River, enter the river and then go north on the ICW at Sisters Creek Bridge (just past the dockyard on your right) and a few miles up the ICW you'll come to the beautiful Ft. George River. Anchor and explore the museum there. For the return trip, if the ocean isn't cooperating just go down the ICW back to St. Augustine, less than 50 miles, I think.

[diogenes726]

I would like some kind of civilization/ food when I arrive- what is the recommendation for anchorage in Jacksonville?