Dodging disasters Lindsay McRory December 7, 1995 "There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good she was very good, when she was bad she was horrid." A fitting description of the week. Crossing the Florida state line is supposed to mark the end of the difficult section of the Intercoastal Waterway. Deep water, warm winds, and sandy beaches are the promised reward for getting through Georgia. Not this year. We had planned a short day from Fernandina Beach to Jacksonville Beach. The morning started with a wide, deep, well-marked channel. Nice cruising. By early afternoon we started into Nassau Sound. The first thing I noticed was a sailboat hard aground, listing about 15 degrees. As we approached, I noticed that none of the day beacons matched what was on the chart. Not a good sign. The boat aground was right were he was supposed to be. We slowed to about two knots and went into "shoal-sniffer mode." There was no deep water to be found, but we managed to keep from getting stuck. We had passed a pusher tug a few hours earlier. We pulled over to one side of the channel and waited for him to pass. This way we could follow a pro through this section. Also, if we happened to get stuck, it would be nice not to worry about him bearing down on us. He passed and we followed in behind another sailboat that was following him. Our flotilla passed the boat aground. Then the tug went aground. Then the sailboat in front of us went aground. To add to the list, a powerboat came up from behind and tried to jump a shoal, but to no avail. The tug managed to back off after a lot of black smoke, but got stuck twice more before finding (or plowing) a path. The sailboat in front of us managed to back out and follow the tug with us, but by the time we cleared the sound another powerboat and a sailboat were added to the list of boats that were stuck hard. It looked like a parking lot. We didn't feel particularly good about getting out of Nassau Sound unscathed; it was only because of other boats grounding that we made it. Once out of Nassau Sound, we found ourselves back in wide, deep channels. We were content to follow the tug boat to Jacksonville Beach. That run through Nassau Sound--roughly a quarter-mile--took two hours to negotiate and everyone was a little rattled by the experience. Ahead was one double bascule bridge to transit before docking for the night. The tug radioed ahead for the bridge to lift and informed the bridge operator that there was a sailboat on his stern. No problem. I accelerated to close in on the tug's stern. The tug goes through the bridge. We follow, but then bridge starts closing! We were a couple of feet away from having both masts severed. Full reverse and a strong current barely got us out of there. After a little radio conversation with the bridge operator, he opened it for us right away. I was a babbling idiot by the time we docked. But it is really nice down here. Warm winds, warm water, and sunny skies. The very reasons we came down.