Monday 11/27/2017 - St. Augustine to Matanzas River Inlet

I planned on leaving early but since I only had 10 miles to go, there was significant fog in the area, and I had decided on a flight for returning to Florida after the holidays, I decided to delay my departure.  Joan helped me get the flight reserved so  I was set with that.  I let the mooring go, went through the Bridge of Lions and began a 30 minute wait for the fuel dock to be free.  By the time I got fuel and topped off my water tanks, it was 10am - but I was underway.  As a reminder for those of you who  don't know, this is all new territory for me.  I've never been on the ICW south of Brunswick GA. 

About an hour into my 2 hour trip, I got a call on the radio from S/V Selvko.  The skipper had spotted me leaving St. Augustine and I was coming up on his stern.  He reminded me that we had been anchored in Dunn Cove and had chatted in Mill Creek in Solomons.  It took me several minutes to recall but then it hit me.  He is single handing a P-26 to Marathon.  He will go through Lake Okachobee and then south to the keys.

So, here I am, almost all caught up with my blogging with one exception.

Since I left the Chesapeake, I have had what I consider a major issue with anchoring.  That is that the anchor line has wrapped around the keel several times.  When it does, the sound the waves make as they go around the boat (turned 90 degrees to the current) is SCARY - and I DON'T LIKE IT!

I had commented on this a couple days ago and my friend Ed gave me some advice on what to do.  So, after pulling into the Matanzas inlet (with it's 2.5 knot current), I decided today was the day to solve this problem.  I called Ed and he gave me the details.  It was fairly simple.  First, I set the anchor, as usual.  Then, I connect a kettle to the anchor line.  Like Ed, I have a 10 lb. mushroom anchor I planned to use for the dinghy.  I tie a 20 foot line to the anchor and connect a large shackle to the line at the anchor.  I connect the shackle around the main anchor rode and let it slide down the rode so that the mushroom anchor is down at least 10 to 15' off the bow (but not touching the bottom).  I tie the bitter end of the mushroom anchor line off to a cleat on the bow.  With lots of current, the mushroom anchor rides near the surface since the main rode is taught.  But when the current approaches slack, the weight holds the main rode down - below the depth of the keel.  Presto - problem solved.  A BIG THANKS TO ED!

As I finish typing this, it's 5:20pm and I successfully went through one tidal change at 3pm.  I think I'll sleep tonight.