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.

Sunday 11/26/2017 - St. Augustine Layover

I had debated whether to stay another night in St. Augustine but I decided that it was time to finalize my reservations home and back for the Christmas holidays so I decided to stay another night and go to the marina (by water taxi) to shower, do a load of laundry, and use the marina wifi to schedule my trip.  Unfortunately shortly after taking a shower and getting my laundry going, the wifi crapped out.  I waited 3 hours for it to come back before giving up and returning to the boat.  There was a little more wind and more boat traffic than usual and the anchorage was a little bouncy the remainder of the day and night.   I called Joan and she agreed to help me with my reservations.  By chance, I got a call late in the day from Fred and when I told him I was having trouble getting my reservations made, a light went on (with us both) that he was planning on driving home about the same time I was planning on going home.  So, we made plans for him to pick me up in Vero Beach around 12/10 and for the two of us to drive back to Harrisburg together - another prayer answered!

Saturday 11/25/2017 - Jacksonville to St. Augustine

This was a pleasant stretch. It is nice that the days (and nights are getting warmer).  I was pretty nervous getting around the St. Augustine inlet.  The ICW almost dumps you into the inlet before letting you come back in.  Many of the buoys are where the charts and you can see fairly big waves coming in and breaking less than a half mile away.  Pretty scary stuff - for THIS sailor.  Fortunately, I had a 90' power boat to follow (not that I make a habit of following others that I don't even know).  Also, I came through at high tide so the current wasn't too bad.  I never saw less than about 12 feet of water.  So, what's the big deal??  I had a reservation for a mooring at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina so I hailed them and they told me where I'd be located - #23 on the north side.  That meant I didn't need to go through the Bridge of Lions that I had so carefully timed for an opening.   I was hoping to be on the south side of the bridge but that wasn't to be.

My good friend Captain Fred Chance has been planning a driving trip south for several weeks and had promised he would go anywhere he had to to spend a little time together.  He had stopped to see a friend in North Carolina the first night and was planning on spending 3 or 4 nights with a friend in Melborne, then stopping for  another visit in Stuart, then across Florida to spend a few days with his sister in Ft. Myers.  Fortunately, St. Augustine is only 7 miles off I-95 - so he didn't have far to go out of his way (to visit me).  Unfortunately, he ran into a major traffic jam in Georgia.  And, worse yet, this was the night when St, Augustine celebrated the lighting of all the buildings on the waterfront.  There were literally thousands of tourists in town for the event - meaning ALL hotel rooms were sold out and the traffic into and out of town was a mess.  To make matters worse, the last shuttle to the boats at moorings was at 6pm.  Needless to say, Fred and I only had a couple hours to visit.  He DID deliver a care package from Joan which, of course, was much appreciated (most critical was a replenishment of chex mix). 

True Blue was on a mooring just off the seawall next to the fort and I had a front row seat of the lights - and the music and celebrating that went on till after midnight.  But it was a nice evening with little wind etc.

Friday 11/24/2017 - Fernandina Beach to Jacksonville

This morning, he and I went to a quaint little restaurant for breakfast.  Then we walked around town. I'd have to say Fernandina Beach is about the coolest town I've ever been in.  The buildings are VERY historic.  Much of the old buildings and architecture still exists but the town has a very current and trendy feel.  It was "pajama day" and, even though it was chili, there were lots of people out and most of them were wearing their pajamas.  Wolfgang saw several people he knew and told them he and I were wearing our pajamas (sailors often sleep in their clothes).  A couple of the streets were closed off and they had activities for the kids and a couple different bands etc.  Fernandina Beach is a very "charming" little town. 

What's ironic is that the town is in between two large paper mills and from a distance it looks like an unattractive industrial area. 

I left the dock at 11:30am, after spending an hour getting water, doing some weather, tide, and boat checks, and donning my foul weather gear.  It was still blowing out of the north at about 20.  I made good time to my anchorage just south of the St. John's River (the inlet to Jacksonville).  The current and wind were with me most of the way.  I even used the genoa for about an hour. 

Tomorrow, I'll motor the 30+ miles to St. Auguatine where I'll meet my good friend Fred Chance.  Fred is making a road trip (starting this morning) down the east coast, visiting several friends along the way.  When he gets about half way down the east coast of Florida, he will head west to spend several days with his sister in Ft. Myers.

Thursday 11/23/2017 - Fernandina Beach Layover

I got a good night's sleep, even through the rain that started around 2am.  I woke up at 6 (as usual) but stayed in my sleeping bag listening to the wind and rain for another half hour.  I got up and did a few boat chores and come computer work.  I also had a few calls with some family and loved ones.  At about 1:30, I decided it was time to fix my Thanksgiving Dinner.  I was actually pretty happy with myself for making the effort. Of course, the entire event - from start to finish lasted only about an hour.  I can't figure out why so many people make a whole afternoon out of an event like this. 

Around 5pm, my friend Wolfgang returned from dinner with his girlfriend and her family.  It was a pleasant (and welcome) surprise that he brought back some left overs for ME.   It had stopped raining but a NNE wind was howling.  The marina had me tie up my boat on the other side of the T head from where Wolfgang keeps his boat (a Pacific Seacraft 34).  He is originally from Allentown.  He cruised to Fernandina with a friend a few years ago and liked it so much that when he got his current boat, he came down here from Rock Hall and has been here ever since (living aboard).  He rode out two major hurricanes (Mathew and Irma) that did significant damage to the marina and docks but his boat survived them both. 

Wednesday 11/22/2017 -  Overnight to St. Mary's River

I'm in Florida!!  Hooray!!  I'm at a mooring on the ICW just inside (south) of the entrance to the St. Mary's river.   The sun came up at 6:30am and we all rejoiced (on VHF channel 18) that the night was over.  We came in the inlet at 9:30am with a flood (pushing us in) tide, hung a left into the Amelia River/ICW and went about a mile south to the Fernandina Marina.  It was very sunny, light wind, and warm.  What a great welcome to Florida.  Once at the mooring, it didn't take me long to remove my long underwear and jeans and replace them with a pair of shorts. 

At first, I didn't really know where I was.  All I had really seen coming in was an old fort and a couple large factories spewing all sorts of smelly, ugly fumes.  After about an hour, I realized I was IN Fernandina Beach.  I've been here twice before by car and only remembered it as a really attractive little town.  Once I focused on the shoreline, I could see the buildings and the marina.  Unfortunately, in the afternoon, the wind picked up and it got a little rough on the mooring.  I called a friend who keeps his boat at the marina and made a reservation at the marina for Thursday.  I was really happy to be in Florida and to know things were warming up.  It was also nice knowing I had avoided a 3 to 4 day trip through the windy rivers of the ICW in Georgia.

Tuesday 11/21/2017 - Beaufort SC to Offshore from Port Royal Sound

I spent the most of the morning getting the boat ready for going offshore. You would think it would always be ready but I managed to make a list of over 20 items to check and do (like installing the jack lines etc.).  The plan was to pull anchor at 11:30am.  We did - and were on our way!  The other two boats were a Canadian Bayfield 36 (Tina and Mike on Cheroka) and a Freedom 45 (Eclipse 5) with Rod and his family of 5.  About a mile down river is a 65' fixed bridge and, guess what, the tide was a little too high for the Freedom 45 to make it under.  Mike and Tina held back to try and help the Freedom get through and I sailed down the river at a slow speed, knowing they would catch up soon.

We all went out the Port Royal Inlet at the same time at about 2:30pm. The current was with us at a fairly fast 2 knots.  The wind was fairly light from the east and there was about a 3', 6 second swell also from the east.  It was a little bumpy but it was about as good as it gets. 

We expected the wind to die overnight and shift to the north.  We also expected some rain.

What we got was wind light from the south, LOTS of heavy chop, and several thunderstorms.  This lasted from about 5pm till midnight.  Just before midnight, we contacted another cruiser (Peek-a-Boo).  We described our location (about 15 miles offshore) and conditions (very sucky).  He said he was only 10 miles out with fair conditions and doing 6.5 knots (we were lucky to be doing 4.5).  Well, the answer was fairly obvious - we were fighting the Gulf Stream!!  We made a 60 degree right turn and spend an hour heading closer to shore.  As we did, conditions got better and so did our speed.  After midnight, the skies cleared and we spent the next 9 hours in much improved conditions.  Lesson Learned - there is a Gulf Stream out there and it means business!

I must say that the first part of the night was as close to living a night mare as I want to get.  I've been in worse but so long ago that my memory helps me forget.