About ten years ago I noticed the word ‘eclectic’ came into vogue. I had no idea what it meant, but I finally figured it out. Eclectic would describe the houses along the six mile cut through Palm Valley. There is everything from newly built mansions to cozy old homes all mixed together as if poured out of a bag.
Near Atlantic Beach there is a ship yard full of old ships, barges and tugs. It made me wonder if, as the movie titles states “All dogs go to heaven”… do all old barges go to Atlantic Beach?
As we crossed the St. Johns River we saw a large ship in a dry dock. This ship yard works on everything from mega yachts to war ships. Eclectic; wouldn’t you say?
(1)We dropped anchor just south of Fernandina Beach, FL. The wind was out of the east about 10 mph. I noticed a high bank along the eastern shore and figured this would give some protection from the breeze. That it did. What it didn’t do was give us protection from the stench of a sewage settling basin (more like a half mile long lake ) next to the paper mill. The bank was the retaining levy for the basin. But you couldn't see that from the river. About half an hour of that was enough and we moved up river and to the north side of the bend. This should do nicely. (2)
Then a young local fisherman came over and said we will be trapped at low tide where we are anchored. He suggested we move further up the river and anchor next to the sailboats. It was a bit confusing since there were boats already anchored just ahead of us in a cove that doesn’t even show on the charts. It turns out they came in from a different direction but you must know how to get in there. He knows the area and we respect local knowledge, so... up came the anchor again and we relocated. It’s a bit more exposed but at least we won’t find ourselves trapped. (3) And all we smell now is the mill. It’s not that great but…it’s not the sewerage lake. Thanks mister young fisherman!
Fernandina Beach anchorage #3; N 30° 39.981 W 081° 28.612
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