Florida - March 20221 - Traffic Jams on the Water

The last day and a half at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville were spent provisioning and getting the boat prepared for another trip south. Our reconditioned props had been delivered while we were gone. They look almost like new and were packed away in case they are needed later.

We departed Palm Cove at 8:20am this morning. There was no wind and very little activity on the water. We knew that the activity was going to increase as the day wore on as this was the first warm weekend in Jacksonville. There was frenetic activity in the marina all day yesterday as many wanted to get out on their boats, perhaps for the first time in a while. We had not experienced those types of crowds since arriving there in November. We heard stories from various sources about the chaos out on the water, and decided an early start would be best to get ahead of the crowd. The forklifts were at work by 6:30am this morning, but things had not heated up yet when we left. 

As we headed down the ICW, we came upon all manner of water recreation. Lots of jet skis, fast fishing boats, kayakers, paddle boarders, water skiers, many power boats and a few sailboats. Reminiscent of the NJ Turnpike, we were being passed right and left by watercraft at fast speeds. We were rocked around and waked many times. 

Thankfully, we made good time and arrived at Palm Coast Marina around 1:45pm. They were busy at the fuel dock and it took a few minutes to get them on the radio, but they directed us into the tight entry and down the fairway to a floating dock right in front of the office. The wind was swirling and added a little challenge to the docking process. Once tied up we checked in at the office and then headed to a nice little shopping village 10 minutes away by foot called European Village. There are a number of shops and restaurants, and apparently they have vendors in booths around the courtyard on the weekends. It was good to get off the boat, get a little exercise and relax. The marina is very convenient to the ICW and the folks here are very nice. I'm sure we will come back, but maybe in the middle of the week rather than a weekend day during warm weather season.