Second Attempt for Outside the ICW

Up early on Monday morning.  Captain Ed checked the weather on line and Eva spoke with Chris Parker regarding going out the inlet and down to St. Augustine. The winds were to be N 10-15 changing to NE at 10.  Seas were 2-4'.  Eva also  checked on the St. Augustine inlet as we have never gone in or out of it.  Everything looked fine, so the line was dropped from the mooring ball at 7:15 am and we headed towards the St. Mary/Fernandina inlet.  Going out was fine with a very light 5 knot north wind. There are jetties on both sides that extend out a couple of miles.  As we got past the breakwater the waves grew to 9-12' with short intervals. Waves came crashing over the bow and another came from the side into the stern and cockpit.  Captain Ed got soaked and poor Rylee (wearing a tether) quickly jumped to get off the deck and avoided swimming in water.  At that point we turned south to remove ourselves from the current in the channel hoping for relief.   A couple miles south of the inlet the seas calmed down somewhat to 8-9 feet. The waters were still too rough (no thanks to the NOAA weather forecast and buoy information)  We noticed another sailboat going in the inlet and Eva contacted them on the radio asking if it has been rough while they were out.  The answer was yes! They stated it had gotten worse the last few hours so they were coming in.  Well, we had to make a decision. We were heading back turning the boat around like the survival turn in the movie "Perfect Storm".  Our comfort is more important than being able to sail offshore.  We are currently back in Fernandina and will continue on down the ICW in the morning as the winds will shift more easterly.