We said goodbye to Cumberland Island this morning and motored down the ICW.  I was stunned at the amount of Hurricane Matthew damage we saw in Fernandina Beach:  three sailboats had been washed high up ashore, and there was at least one sunken sailboat in the Fernandina mooring field.  We could see its masts (it looked like a ketch) sticking up out of the water.  It’s such a shame.  I hope that the area gets back on its feet soon, because it looks like a nice place to stop.

We spent the day passing through marshes with tall, waving grass and saw beautiful white pelicans and graceful shore birds.  It was another gorgeous day, sunny and mid-70s.  The strangest part for me was seeing palm trees growing wild; up to this point, I’ve always thought of them as ornamental trees, and it was a real shock to see them growing everywhere.

This is kind of a dry spot for anchorages, so we decided to splurge and stay at Beach Marine.  With a BoatUS discount, it is only $1.66/foot plus $8/night for 30 amp power.  The showers are clean, the laundry room has three commercial washers and dryers ($1.50/load), and the wifi is strong.  What more could a cruiser ask for? The ship’s store has an impressive array of marine products, not just the usual cases of water and snacks.

Tomorrow we head for the St. Augustine mooring field and plan to spend a few days there touring and doing boat work.

This trip was 8 hours for 34.0 nm (39.1 statute miles).