On our way to prepare Miss Ellie for "dry storage"

We left St Augustine Florida April 23rd to make our way to Green Cove Springs (20 nautical miles south of Jacksonville and 20 nautical miles west of St Augustine) Our route is north on the Intercoastal for 60 plus nautical miles and then 60 plus miles on the St John River. Lots of current on the river as it emptied in the Atlantic.
We will be prepping our vessel for it's  6 month's summer hibernation. (dry storage).

 Sunrise April 24th in Pine Island just north of St Augustine.

This is "Heritage" on his way to Green Cove Springs for dry storage too!

                    

On our way to Jacksonville Fl ...The morning mist and fog was thick but made for a calm and scenic few hours of motoring!

We stayed close to the vessels in front of us!

Early morning dew was thick with the morning mist.

Within a few hours , the fog lifted . Along the way we were amazed at the very large and well maintained homes on either side of the Intercoastal Waterway!

We passed by many "container cranes" and surprised to see a minimum of containers and only one freighter! Such a beautifully maintained commercial harbour and very little activity. 

These are army  jeeps lined up along the waterway!

This is the only freighter we saw on our way to Jacksonville! 

One of many bridges to pass under.....some we had to call and wait for an opening time!

Our approach to  downtown Jacksonville. The city skyline was impressive. At night the city has done a great job with lights on the bridges and fountains around the waterfront. 

EverBank Stadium home.....Jacksonville Jaquars played the Superbowl here in 2005

We tied up on free docks just beyond this bridge in a challenging current. The current was very strong as the river narrowed in downtown Jacksonville. It shifts with the tides in and out so you have to pay close attention coming or leaving the dock. Make a mistake and the current will sweep you into the bridge before you can react. Many a mast have been battle with this bridge.

George joins us for a  fun time and good meal at an Irish Pub a few yards away from the boat! They have a great waterfront!

Captured a pic of this little guy on a sign along the dock. He jumped out of very green bushes and has not yet changed colour to match the sign.

Once we arrived in Green Cove Springs, April 28th, we began preparingMiss Ellie for our absence. We paid extra attention to avoid mildew by wiping all surfaces with water and vinegar. We also bagged everything in plastic bags. All our food was given away to other cruiser. It took us 4 full days to get from this stage to the day the boat was lifted out of the water May 2nd.

Once out of the water, the yard power washed the hull and prop. Amazingly the growth was not too bad. The hard dinghy was turned over and strapped into the chocks on the starboard side of the house. All the sails and canvas was stripped off and stored below. 

I was surprised to see most of the paint wore off the keel from our many grounding and shallow running. No structural problems, just paint!

Using the spinnaker pole and the boom I made a ridge pole to drape the black, screen netting. I cut it to fit around the shrouds and stays and mast. Used  a large bag of wire ties to stitch the seams together. Overlap the netting and roll it and wire tie the roll so it was strong. After 4 hours in the heat it was done. The netting keeps birds and debris off the deck and out of the scuppers.
Left the stern arch uncovered so one of the solar panels would keep the battery charged. A slight bit of rain makes it's way down the mast and into the bilge which requires leaving an active bilge pump working.
The dinghy motor was serviced for storage and locked in a locker along with a serviced generator.
The Jack stands are chained together. Hopefully Hurricanes decide to go elsewhere!!
We also strapped a small tarp over the companionway to help keep the rain off the doorway.

On our way back to Sarnia.......May 4th.........

Our plan is to return to our cruising life (hopefully in the islands)  in October!