MTOA Rendevzous

Hors d' oeuvres table

We arrived at Fernandina Harbor Marina for the 2014 Southern MTOA Rendezvous on Sunday afternoon.  78 boats were expected at this marina, and most of them were already here.  We are docked on the farthest dock out from anything…. Almost at the end, but we are inside the dock from the open water so we can expect some protection from wind and waves.  The hike from our boat to the washrooms and the meeting tent is about ½ mile one-way.  We met a lot of nice people at the first group gatherings.  On Monday there were a couple of introductory meetings and we met the couple that volunteered to be our “mentors”.   This pairing is meant to make sure newcomers get involved and feel welcome.  Joe and Pat Apicella have done a great job at that, despite our teasing.  They are traveling on “Glory Days” and I have read their blog account of the great loop that they did a couple of years ago.

Bob and Martha on “Field Trip” are here and we are enjoying ourselves.  Also on Monday was the Pub Crawl – slightly misnamed, as the pubs were little places attached to charming restaurants and a bed and breakfast.  The town of Fernandina Beach is small and so a group of 180+ people gathering here is a big deal and a boost to their economy – we are very well treated.

A bit of a lull in the storm this evening

Yesterday talk of a storm started brewing, and many boats that had been tied to the outside dock opted to go further into the marina where the bottom is shallow muck.  They basically drove into the mud and are stuck there until we leave in a few days.  They will have to wait for high tide to get out of their slips.  By Tuesday the storm was upon us and the extra lines and fenders everyone put out were worth the trouble.  The rain fell in torrents this morning (while we were all in a big tent listening to it) and again this afternoon as we tried to keep everything tied down. 

We will be rocking to sleep tonight.

So we just continue to go to the gatherings, attend the seminars and join in the parties.  We are just doing it all in raincoats.  Fortunately boaters don’t put a high value on glamour or looking elegant.  Everyone is in the same boat……. well, you know what I mean.

P.S. Tuesday evening:  Looks like there is going to be quite a storm, it’s a good time to be at a dock and a marina.  We’ve tied on every line, and hung every fender and that’s all we can do.  We did just realize that Dennis’ bicycle must have blown off the dock while we were on land this morning.  So we also tied down the deck furniture.

Our Mentors Joe and Pat

Hard to show the force of the wind, lots of bouncing