And More Boats.........

 

On the Walking Path

 

Taking a Break on Cumberland

 

The Other Side!

 

Wild Horse & Karen

 

Remains of Dungeness Mansion on Cumberland Island

 

Karen & Bill on "Blue Moon"

 

More Boats

 

Boats on the Waterway

 

In Georgia

Been almost a week since our last post - time is flying by! After a couple of days in St. Augustine we weighed anchor on Wednesday, April 22nd; and motored to Pine Island anchorage for the night. The wind was blowing pretty strong and we arrived at low tide. We are getting back to the lands of huge tide changes - up to 8 feet in Georgia. On Thursday, we made it to Fernandina Fl. Picked up a mooring ball for $15.00 a night. Upon arriving, we saw that Karen & Bill from "Blue Moon" (met in Boot Key Harbor), and Jan & Dick from "Cambia" (met in Fort Myers Beach) were there. Had dinner out with Karen & Bill at "Pompeo", an italian restaurant in town. Fernandina is a very nice stop - great shops, restaurants, and historic buildings. On Friday, we met "Blue Moon, Cambia, and First Light" for lunch & then explored the town all afternoon. Made a plan to travel with "Blue Moon" up to Georgia - 1st stop on Saturday was Cumberland Island. This is one of the MOST beautiful spots we have been to. Hiked the island to the beach, took a tour to learn about the history of the island, and even took a dip in the ocean. Saw wild horses & armadillos. Had dinner with Karen & Bill on "Kismet". Today we weighed anchor at 0645 and we will anchor off of Lanier Island by Brunswick, GA.

The Fort

 

Gopher Tortoises

 

The Matanzas Inlet

 

The Nature Trail at Matanzas

 

Fort Matanzas

 

The Cement Plant Anchorage

 

Back in Saint Augustine

We slowly made our way North to Saint Augustine; the oldest city in America. On day 1, we anchored in the Cement Plant Canal after motorsailing against a contrary current the whole way; at least the "whole way" was only 18 miles. The anchorage wasn't particularly pretty with a Sea Ray plant to our stern, but well protected. The guides stated the depths to be 16 - 20 feet, but we only saw about 10 feet. That was good since the canal was pretty narrow! On day 2, we motored & sailed 15 miles to the Fort Matanzas anchorage - very nice! We hit 7.7 knots sailing up the narrow channel. We anchored about 150 yards from the Fort. Walked the nature trail and then walked North about 2 miles on A1A in the wrong direction to a convenience store. Fortunately a nice man who told us that we were walking in the wrong direction gave us a ride to the store! Our bottoms of our feet were kind of sore, so the walk in the water on the way back felt really good. Fort Matanzas protected the southern approach to Saint Augustine. Day 3 - weighed anchor at 0700 and motorsailed to Saint Augustine; about 14 miles. Stopped at the City Marina for diesel, pump out, and water. Then anchored (after 3 drops) in the North anchorage in front of the Castillo San Marcos Fort. We will be here til Wednesday. Today we walked to West Marine to buy a new fresh water pump - the Life Caulk fix failed!

View From Kismet in Rockhouse Creek

 

Exiting Haulover Canal

 

New Smyrna Beach - A Must Stop!

After the storms....we had an absolutely perfect day to motorsail 50 miles North yesterday - past Titusville, through Haulover Canal, Mosquito Lagoon, and on to New Smyrna Beach. On the way south we past by a gorgeous anchorage called Rockhouse Creek, and that was where we hoped to anchor. Lo and behold we arrived at 1600, and the anchorage was empty! We anchored in about 10 feet of water, and looked forward to a relaxing evening.....but the fresh water system decided to torment us for about 2 hours. One of the screw heads on the pump had been sheared off causing a small leak. After unsuccessful attempts to remove the IMBEDDED screw, we turned to our trusty friend - Life Caulk! Just a messy dap or ten - fixed the problem.
Today we decided to hang out and enjoy New Smyrna. Dinghied to the beautiful beach at Ponce Inlet where cars drive on the beach for a $5.00 fee. There is also a walkway system over the protected dunes where you can walk for miles and see flowering cacti, and nesting tortoises everywhere! Then we explored Flagler Street - very nice with art galleries, shops,& restaurants. Since we secured our dinghy at The Grille at Riverview, we thought we would have lunch there. The food was great - we would highly recommend this spot overlooking the ICW! The folks in this town are also very friendly.

Tornadoes to the Left - Tornadoes to the Right!

This AM had a threatening weather forecast so we weighed anchor at the north of the 520 bridge in Cocoa and reanchored on the southwest side. By 1100 there were tornadoes sighted a few miles south of us and one to the north by Kennedy Space Center. It was 15 minutes of blinding rain, lightening, hail, thunder, and the boat heeling! The weather improved so we rowed to shore to the world's best hardware store for some odds and ends that we needed for projects. We stopped to talk to folks that came into the Marina in Cocoa "Radical Jack" who actually experienced the tornado this AM. They said they have never been in any weather to compare it to...thought they were going to die! They have been sailing for years out of Nova Scotia. They also said more weather was coming so we high-tailed it out and rowed quickly...very quickly back to Kismet! While in Cocoa we met an artist, Carolyn Seiler, that used to live and paint in Key West. Her work looked very familiar. It happens that I purchased two of her prints about 25 years ago on a trip to Key West and they hung in our house til we left NY! What a small world!

Time in Vero ...Then off to Cocoa

The time we spent in Vero Beach flew by.......we helped Susan "Swan" take down sails & other tasks to ready their boat to be trucked back to MA. Sadly, our friend Barry had a heart attack in the Vero area and was hospitalized so they are heading back home in a few weeks. FORTUNATELY, he is doing well. Vero is such a great place to spend time. The beach was beautiful. We left the mooring ball at 0650; and motored and sailed 50 miles to Cocoa. The wind piped up to around 20 knots from the south...so we were zooming! We anchored just north of the Cocoa bridge on the east side of the ICW for protection from the SE wind. Thunderstorms and gusty winds are predicted; looks like severe storms in northern Florida. We are soooo pleased (so far!) with our Manson supreme anchor. It hasn't failed us yet. A good anchor is essential! We were supposed to get off the boat tonight and go out to dinner; but given the wind, etc. I'll be making dinner - pork chops & roasted sweet potatoes.

Is it Wonderland or Hobe Sound/Juptiter Island?

We spent three great days anchored off the Jupiter Island Club in Hobe Sound visiting friends. Judy M. was a wonderful host - with daughter Mindy & the adorable year old twins; Jude & Wade. We took this opportunity to go to the local DMW to get our FL drivers licenses, and register Kismet & Porty in FL. This was by far the best DMW experience we have ever had - quick & very pleasant employees. On Friday, April 9th, we left Hobe Sound and motored North to Vero Beach. Not half as crowded as when we were here in December. We are solo on a mooring ball! Ed & Betsy - "Haven" - are here as well. Went to the Happy Hour at the Marina last night and met new folks. We will be here until Monday when our plan is to go to Cocoa with "Haven".

Riding The Magic Carpet

After spending five days at the Hollywood Marina while visiting Mom; we threw off the lines and headed to the Port Everglades Inlet to sail up the coast to Lake Worth. Jim responded to Neptune's call and headed towards some disturbed water about 3 1/2 miles offshore. There we found a favorable current that moved us North at 9+ knots! The water was a beautiful midnight blue color and was 500 feet deep. What a glorious day!
Until ......we entered Lake Worth inlet. It was Sunday afternoon with almost 90 degree temps. You can't even imagine the number of boats and jet skiis we had to dodge around Peanut Island. We finally anchored in North Palm Beach around 1600. Invited Greg from "Argonauta" over for dinner; and fell asleep early after a great day! Today we weighed anchor at 0815; and motored North on the ICW through 6 bridges to anchor by the Jupiter Island Club where friends Judy and Ken live. There is a strong front coming through; so we will be here til at least Wednesday. We are looking forward to the cooler temps that the front will bring with it.