Day 270 – Jacksonville to Fernandina Harbor Marina, Fernandina Beach, FL - April 1, 2012

Today is our last day on the St. John’s River and we are on the move early.  We pass Jacksonville not long after sunrise and then continue on past all the shipping docks before turning north again and back onto the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway (Atlantic ICW).

The difference between the Atlantic ICW and the St. John’s River is amazing.  Along this stretch of the intercoastal the land is extremely flat and looks very much like a wheat field (although I’m sure it is just some type of grass that loves living in the water).  We are traveling at low tide today, so there are lots of exposed banks and many of the creeks that flow into the ICW are almost dry – we can only imagine how different it would look at high tide!

             Miles: 38.6      Bridges: 11      Locks: 0

we are up and moving at sunrise

the city of Jacksonville

this ship has some interesting cargo - just above the "CA" in
Transfennica you will see a thin vertical line - this is the
mast of a sailboat being transported on the deck of this ship

a closer picture of the sailboat

the Opal Ace - this is one of the most unusual ships we have
seen on the trip - from this vew it looks like it is very top heavy, like it
could tip over at this slightest wave

another view of the Opal Ace

the Atlantic ICW at low tide

this is the longest dock I've think I've ever seen

this two masted sailboat looks like it's anchored on land - it's actually
anchored on a small creek off the ICW

traveling at very low tide