Sunday, May 22, we departed St. Augustine and headed to Fernandina Beach, Florida. This beach town suffered considerable damage in 2016 from Hurricane Matthew. Happy to report the marina has been dredged and is back in business. The Amelia Island Welcome Center is just across the street from the marina.

Per our book, Fernandina Beach is one of the top ten distinctive destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The author also says a “must visit” here is “The Palace Saloon” – Florida’s oldest saloon. The building was constructed in 1878 and originally a shoe store, as at that time the Fernandina docks were the busiest docks in the south welcoming ships from all over the world. When selling shoes to sailors didn’t work out, the owner switched from selling shoes to selling booze. Sounds like our beloved “Bourbon Boys.”

We anchored out for the night on Little Tiger Island, across the Amelia River from downtown Fernandina Beach.

Our Nebo stats for Sunday, May 22: 8 hours travel; 56.5 kmiles (nautical miles); and averaged 7.2 knots. Long day for Captain Pat!

Here are photos from our journey to Fernandina Beach.