Jekyll Island and St. Augustine

Summer storm rolling over S/V Pandion at Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Following our reentry to the States in July after our first cruise to the Bahamas, we headed for Jekyll Island in Georgia. Insurance rates for cruising yachts after the massive hurricanes of 2017 have increased, and many insurance companies folded.

We were able to stay within budget by moving Pandion's home base out of Florida to Georgia. We had also not spent much time along Georgia's beautiful coast, and were ready for new adventures while waiting out the hurricane season.

While using the time to complete our boat projects aboard S/V Pandion (see previous post), we also biked around Jekyll Island using our new folding bikes, a gift from Brenda's sister Cathy.

Trying out the new folding bikes on Jekyll Island trails.

The staff and facilities at S/V Pandion's new home at Jekyll Harbor Marina were outstanding. We had to be careful not to eat every meal out at one of the island's restaurants; they were all great and it was a nice break not to cook every meal. We did take advantage of Amazon to order parts and supplies for the boat.

Incoming packages (with boxes and bags) with needed parts and supplies for Pandion's next cruise.

Brenda and I also spent time with family. Gary flew to Virginia for a family gathering, and later to Seattle to spend time with daughter Briana and her family, while Brenda headed west in a rented car to catch up with her family in Florida. We also rented a car for a road trip to Michigan to see Keely and John's new home in Holland, picking up Gary's mom Ruth along the way and driving through the mountains of West Virginia, catching the changing Fall colors along the way.
 

View from Dragon's Tooth on Appalachian Trail in Virginia, a favorite hiking spot revisited during a family reunion.
The boots belong to Dad (Gary) and daughter Keely. 

By the end of October, it was time for us to begin our return south, following the migrating flights of birds as cold weather started in. We sailed Pandion south along the Atlantic to St. Augustine, where we had stayed previously on our journey north several months before. Here we reconnected with Brenda's family over Thanksgiving, picked up a few more supplies for the upcoming cruise, and again enjoyed the great food and sights of the old city. 

St. Augustine's lighthouse and maritime museum is a very cool place.
We rode our bikes there and spent the day learning about the history of the old city, the shrimping industry, and the story of the cat that was dropped by parachute from the top of the 165 ft lighthouse by one of the keeper's sons. The cat survived, but didn't show up again for a few weeks.

Brenda at helm of Newt in St. Augustine. Summer is over!

By the end of November, we were sailing south again, leapfrogging on daylong passages of about 50 to 60 nautical miles along the Atlantic coast of Florida. Dodging cold fronts, Pandion sailed to Port Canaveral (dodging big cruise ships both entering and leaving the channel), Ponce Inlet, Fort Pierce and finally Lake Worth Inlet.

Provisioning for the upcoming cruise was accomplished by bicycle, Uber, and rental cars
making multiple trips to Sam's, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe's and Albi.

By the time we departed Lake Worth (there must've been over 200 sailboats anchored there) early one morning in December, sailing east to West End on Grand Bahama for the start of our second Bahamas cruise, we had sailed over 470 nautical miles from Jekyll Island back to the islands.

Time for more adventures!