Dreamer II - Cruising South: St Catherine’s Sound GA to Ponce Inlet FLA

We awoke to clear, cool weather, and headed offshore. The forecast was for west winds, 15 – 20 knots, favorable for an easy run down the coast. It turned into more northwest winds of 30 – 40 knots and lasted that way through the day and until about 9:00P that night. It was a challenging motor sail under ¾ main and just a “triangle of jib”. We ended up coming into Ponce Inlet around 2:00 in the afternoon on Wednesday. We could have continued, but we needed to refuel after the overnight trip – and catch up on a little sleep.

Ponce Inlet was an interesting entry from the ocean. Weather and tides make for shifting entrance channels that seem to be continuously moving around. We stopped to refuel and spend the night at a marina just at the base of the “world famous” Ponce Inlet lighthouse. Although the lighthouse was still called the Ponce De Leon lighthouse, the name of the town had been shorten to just Ponce Inlet. The lighthouse itself had recently been refurbished, and was in good condition. It offered panoramic views of the inlet if you were willing to climb 203 steps. It was a nice tour, followed by dinner at a local restaurant, and an early bedtime.