The wind picked up again during the night and shifted to the northwest. It was neat lying in bed, listening to the wind howling and the waves splashing against the hull, but I kept worrying that we might drag anchor or one of the other boats near us might drag into us, so I got up early to check. I could see by the lights on land that we were staying put, but it was too dark to see the other boats until dawn. Then I saw that even if they did drag, they wouldn't hit us, so I was able to relax, but by then I was wide awake and dressed, so I stayed up.
The storm has increased instead of decreased, so it looks as if we'll be spending Christmas in Fernandina Beach, which is fine. We're very lucky to be here. We're very glad we shot right down the coast, without stopping along the way. There's a raging nor'easter along the South Carolina coast, with winds of 55 to 70 MPH! Sure glad we're not in that. Even here in this protected harbor, the wind is blowing 30 knots. Roy had a hard time keeping the diesel heater going, due to the wind blowing down the stovepipe. He finally went outside and put the stainless steel bucket over the top of the stovepipe. Then the cabin stayed good and warm.
We were unsuccessful in getting the line loose. Going backwards or forwards didn't affect it at all, so Roy concluded the line is caught on the rudder pinion rather than the prop shaft. It doesn't seem to affect the steering, so we might just try to go to St. Augustine with it like it is. The water here is very murky, so Roy would have a hard time seeing anything if he dove on it.
It was too windy and cold to do anything outside, so we spent the day doing inside things. It was relaxing and pleasant.
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