M/V Nearly Perfect: Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 2017 - Fernandina Beach (again), Kingsley Plantation

We waived goodbye to Glenda and Rob and left Cumberland around 8:00 am for what was supposed to be a trip to Kingsley Plantation. However, soon after we passed Fernandina Beach, alarms started going off and we lost our starboard engine. Since we had had a mechanic (Jamie) work on the engine and dinghy motor when we were there before, we called him and he was able to work on our engine. So, we turned around and headed back to Fernandina (again). Trisha and Rob were also heading to meet us at Kingsley Plantation, but they stopped at Fernandina and spent the night before taking off the next day. We ended up spending five looooooong days in Fernandina while Jamie and his sidekick Mikie (nicknamed Frick and Frack) worked in our engine room. It was very frustrating and we didn't think they would ever finish. Finally on Friday night, they had everything put back together. We started the engines and went for a sea trial (with them still on board). Everything went well (surprisingly) and they just came back Saturday to put the last bits and pieces in place -- and to get their check. They were finally finished and we pulled out around 10:15 and headed to Kinglsey Plantation for the afternoon and night. It was really great to be back on the water again and the weather was beautiful. We had a lot of dolphins swim with us.

We anchored at Kingsley Plantation and headed into the park grounds to tour the area. The plantation was established in 1814 when Zephaniah Kinglsey moved to Florida with his wife and children. His wife (who was 13 at the time) was from Africa and was originally purchased as a slave before marrying Kinglsey and eventually was freed. They were the only bi-racial couple in the area. We had an audio tour through the grounds and then had a guide through the plantation house where we learned about daily life on the plantation. The history of all the families who had lived there was very interesting.