23 Jul 13

I woke up not feeling quite 100% (some sort of sinus infection or something), but we went ahead with the final preparations for departure. We got all the back-up docklines cleaned up and stowed, lashed down everything on the foredeck, stowed all our personal gear below and got away from the dock at 11:55, with the intention of getting 20 miles down the St. Johns River to Sister’s Creek and the Jacksonville City Free Dock before thunderstorm-o’clock. Caught the best of the ebb and made it into the dock by 15:00 - we are the only ones here. I was feeling pretty poorly by then, so we just chilled for the rest of the afternoon, although we did mange to get the new main-sheet traveler lines, main sheet, main sheet outhaul, vang control and topping lift installed between showers. Terri had docktails without me (you know I was feeling bad if I skipped G&Ts). Dinner aboard: chicken and veggies on the grill. Early to bed.

24 Jul 13

I had an awful night (hacking and sneezing and waking up every 15 minutes), so we slept in past our optimum (08:30) departure time and did not feel like tackling the trip to Fernandina, so we decided to stay put. Read and napped all day long; finished the latest Jack Reacher novel - “Echo Burning”, and started reading “1491”, a non-fiction about how the Americas were before Columbus “discovered” the New World. Feeling better by the evening. Back on the G&Ts. Lovely, quiet, cool evening with a good breeze, right on the nose to keep the boat cool. We went for a short ride up Sister’s Creek in the dinghy before dinner.