December 31,2003 was the departure date to bring our new Catalina 350 from Dunbar Sales at Golden Isles Marina to it’s new home in Melbourne . This was to be a different delivery than our 2001 Catalina 36 which started at the same point in May of 2001. Our destination was the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin , but the approach would be more leisurely this time following the Intracoastal Waterway .   In 2001 we took the C36 off-shore for a grueling, non-stop delivery of 36 hours.
This delivery was crewed differently also, our sailing friends Barbara and Gary came along with Nancy and I, three years ago it was an all-guy crew of Gary, Mark and myself. Everything was set for a relaxing 3 – 4 day cruise to Florida and it started around 11:00 a.m.  The 350 was well configured for the cruise with a Dodger and Bimini with a connector for shade and an ST5000+ for trouble free tracking of the waterway. We had spent the previous evening getting everything settled in and provisioning the boat from the local Harris-Teeter.
On the morning of departure Gary and I returned the rental car while Nancy and Barbara put the name on the transom. After a few more last minute preparations we left at slack tide. The large cockpit of the 350 was great and although it was a bit chilly (by Florida standards) the weather was clear and sunny and the traffic was light. After a while we picked up the out-going tide and showed around 7.0 knots at 2700 rpm, lunch was great and the ride was smooth until we hit the area around St. Andrew Sound where the Intracoastal heads out to sea and the waves kicked up. We followed some fishing boats out and were amazed at the birds swarming around the boats. It was rough for a while but as we neared the southern point things smoothed out and we got an interesting page on the radio, it was Barney and Peggy heading home on their 350, we talked for awhile and each of us disappeared into the horizon. Our goal for the day was not very ambitious, Fernandina Beach . The remainder of the first day trip was most interesting when we neared the Kings Bay naval base and the resultant security from the Code Orange alert.Â
As we crossed the St. Mary entrance Fernandina came into view and we were less than impressed with the industrial nature of the area. We were much more comfortable as we approached the City dock at 4:30 p.m. and got a warm greeting from the staff. If you have never visited Fernandina from the water you should, the city is very quaint, interesting and we had a great New Years dinner at a nice Irish pub and then wandered the streets for a while. When we got back to the boat we were surprised to find many of the boats in the marina sitting on the bottom.
The following morning fog was forecasted on the weather radio, but fortunately we were off with no weather problems at 8:00 a.m. and were headed for St. Augustine . Things were very scenic as we approached the St. Johns River entrance and traffic picked up. The channel past Jacksonville was long and well populated and the depth was hovering around 8 – 10 feet, and then around mid-afternoon we touched bottom, this area needs some dredging. This was a longer day and we anticipated arriving in St. Augustine just in time for the 4:30 opening of the Bridge of Lions . We were glad we had made reservations as one boat that was going south with us wasn’t able to get into the municipal marina and had to anchor around Pine Island . It was still too cold for us to anchor as we don’t have a generator to run the heat pump so docking and shore power was the plan.  St. Augustine is another great city to visit and we were fortunate to have the Holiday Light Festival still going on. The staff at this municipal marina was also very friendly and helpful and the facilities were clean and well maintained. The city was very busy so we grilled on our new Magma grill on the boat and had a very relaxing evening.
Our next destination was to be Halifax Harbor in Daytona Beach and the journey from St. Augustine started around 8:20 a.m.  The temperatures rose to the low 70’s so were very comfortable and the day was very relaxing although boat traffic was picking up as everyone else was enjoying the weather and weekend. Halifax Harbor is a first rate marine operation with over 550 slips and we found the facilities and team very accommodating. We stopped at the fuel dock and took on 18 1â