Weather forecast for July 23, 2019:
St. Augustine, Florida
Low 78 high 92
Southeast winds, 6 to 10 kts
Captain’s Log: July 14, 2019 thru July 22, 2019
07/14/19
We departed Cocoa Village Marina on July 14th at 11:00am. Our friend Doug and his 9-year-old grandson Elliot joined us for the trip from Cocoa to Titusville; Doug’s wife Kae was sick with bronchitis and was home in bed.
It was hot; 90 degrees, sunny and no wind.
We motored at about 6 knots north on the ICW. Elliot was busy scouting for dolphins and we actually had several good encounters; he was a well-behaved knucklehead and we enjoyed having him on board.
By 2:00pm we were tied up at the Titusville fuel dock. I pumped diesel in the sweltering heat while Shirley, Doug and Elliot gathered their belongings and headed for the air conditioned marina lounge. I rejoined the group just in time to bid farewell to Doug and Elliot. After they departed I stood in front of the lounge air conditioning unit for about 15 minutes to cool down.
At 3:15pm we slipped the dock lines at Titusville and continued our cruise north on the ICW. We transited the Haulover Canal, which is beautiful, and worked our way up Mosquito Lagoon. We dropped anchor at 6:00pm just east of the channel at green marker 19.
The temperature began to cool and we had a really nice evening relaxing on deck and talking about how fortunate we are to have this life. However, after the sun went down, the mosquitos came out in force.
07/15/19
It was an uncomfortable night; the boat was hot and the mosquitos were awful. Neither of us slept well and we woke up to a hot, stifling morning on still water with absolutely no wind and plenty of mosquitos. We had to get the boat moving to get some air flowing and to lose the bugs.
The anchor was weighed at 10:00am and with the boat moving it was finally comfortable in the cockpit. It was a lazy day watching the world go by at 6.5 knots (7.5mph); sand bars, mangrove-covered small islands, sea bird, fish camps full of old RVs, beautiful waterfront homes; a typical day motoring on the ICW.
Somewhere between Oak Hill, Florida and Ariel, Florida, two dolphin began to swim in the wake of the boat. They stayed with us for quite some time and Shirley managed to capture some video of our temporary friends. We lost them somewhere before New Smyrna Beach.
(click on the arrow in the picture, it is a video)
We pushed on to Daytona and attempted to anchor on the eastern shore of the ICW just south of the Seabreeze/Oakridge Bridge. We set the anchor three times but, with the wind and the current in opposition the boat would not turn into the wind. This made me nervous as the boat would drift over the anchor chain, getting caught in the dolphin striker. We finally decided to try the anchorage just to the north of the bridge. The anchor set this time with no problem and, with a beautiful full moon rising over the bridge, we settled in for a comfortable night.
07/16/19
Shirley had a 10:00am conference call so we didn’t get underway until around noon. Our destination for the day was the Marineland Marina, about 30 miles north on the ICW. Cruising at 7.5 knots, we anticipated arriving at approximately 3:30. Shirley worked inside the cabin the entire time trip while I watched the world go by and kept our good ship in the middle of the narrow channel. North of Daytona is very pretty and I enjoyed the scenery. We arrived at the marina right on schedule and Eric, the dockmaster, helped us tie up. It was a pretty easy approach, even with a strong cross-current.
After we settled in, I convinced Shirley to put aside her work and join me in the short walk across the street to the beautiful beach.
The Marineland Dolphin Adventure Park sits directly across highway A1A from the marina. It first opened in 1938 and has been in operation for over 80 years, and it shows. The ‘Park’ is run down and not very attractive. That said, it was the precursor to all of the slick new aquarium-related attractions across the country. We did learn that the old TV series 'Sea Hunt' was filmed there and that Clint Eastwood worked there as a technician before becoming a star.
We walked past the park and followed a well-worn path down to the beautiful, wide, deserted beach. Outcroppings of coquina rocks occasionally protrude from the smooth, off-white sand. We strolled through ankle-deep surf for miles and then turned and retraced our step.
At one point a guy suspended form a huge kite and wearing on his back a small motor turning a large fan blade flew by us at very low altitude.
We waited for the full moon to rise out of the haze layer between ocean and clear, black sky before heading back to the boat. It was a beautiful moon rise.
07/17/19
Our plan was to spend one more night at Marineland Marina before heading for St. Augustine. Shirley had work to do and, while she was busy on conference calls, I took another long walk on the beach.
About 2 miles into my walk I came across the very fresh carcass of a shark, it looked to be about 3ft long. It had a large steel hook in its mouth; the hook had about 5ft of monofilament line attached to it. There were no flies buzzing around and the body showed no signs of trauma or decomposition. I wondered when and how it got to where it was.
Later, while walking that same route with Shirley, we discovered that the carcass was no longer there. It was well off of the water’s edge when I first found it and there were signs that somebody had physically removed it. Perhaps someone responsible for keeping the beach clean had taken it away; who knows.
On our walk back to the boat we met David and Kathy. They own a huge beach-front home that we had walked past several times. They also own O. C. White’s restaurant in the St. Augustine historic district. According to the brochure, “O. C. White’s Seafood and Spirits is located in the historic General Worth Mansion, built in 1790, which most say Mrs. Worth still haunts to this day”. We made plans to visit O. C. White’s while in St. Augustine.
Later that evening we met Frank and Debra; a couple living on s/v Janus, the Gulfstar 47 Sailmaster that was in a slip across from us. We gave them a tour of our boat and then they reciprocated. We talked until almost midnight and we hope that our paths cross once again as our mutual but separate adventures continue.
07/18/19
We left the Marineland dock shortly after 11:00am and had the St. Augustine Municipal Marina in sight by 2:15pm. We contacted the marina asking for a mooring ball assignment; they gave us mooring ball #4, close in to the dock and to the historic downtown; it looked to be a great spot.
The marina and mooring field are just south of the Bridge of Lions and the afternoon tourist activities on the water were is full swing. We past a Spanish galleon flying the Jolly Roger and a beautiful steel-hull schooner as we made our approach.
I was told by the dock master to stay in the ICW channel until marker ‘red 8’ and then make a hard turn to port. This maneuver would allow me to approach the ball into the wind. I made the turn, evidently too wide, and we ran hard aground; Perfect Love draws 6ft and it was low tide. We were 100 yards from our mooring ball, 50 yards from the dock master’s office and about 200 yards from the downtown sea wall busy with tourists (many of whom were now watching us).
I tried several times to get us off of the bottom but finally had to throw in the towel and call TowBoatUS. Thank the Lord that we are members! TowBoatUS was at our side within 30 minutes and, after three attempts, extricated us from the muddy bottom. On the final, successful attempt, the boat was healed hard to port. We had all of the round portlights open and, if we had healed just a little more, we would have taken on water through those ports. Lesson learned; never leave the dock, anchorage or mooring ball with those portlights open.
Fifteen minutes later we were tied to our mooring ball and ready for our SAD (safe arrival drink).
After relaxing for about one hour I splashed the dinghy and we motored to the dock. We paid the dock master for a week on the ball and then headed for town where we ended up at Prohibition, a bar featuring live blue-grass music and a great atmosphere. After a very good dinner we headed out on our initial exploration of historic St. Augustine. St. A. is a really cool place and we promised ourselves that we will try to hit every bar/restaurant in the historic district before we leave.
As dark was approaching we motored back to the boat; we were exhausted.
07/19/19
Shirley was extremely busy for a Friday; she was on conference calls almost the entire day. While she worked I did miscellaneous boat chores and then relaxed with a good novel.
The temperatures have reached the low-to-mid 90’s each day and the humidity has been high; the heat index has been over 100 and the direct sunlight is brutal. We don’t run our air conditioning when we are not connected to dock power so, when at anchor or on a mooring ball, it can get a little sticky inside the cabin.
As my mind wonders during this hot, lazy day I think about the Spanish conquistadors who founded St. Augustine in 1565. Coping with the heat, the bugs and the hurricanes must have been extremely difficult (not to mention the hostile natives). They were certainly tough people to have survived and flourished down here 450 years ago.
Each afternoon, generally after 3:00pm, thunderheads form farther inland and we can hear the rumble of the distant thunder and see an occasional bolt of lightning. After almost one week without rain the deck is a bit dirty and a good cleansing would be welcomed. We almost got wet today, but the rain stayed just to our west.
After Shirley wraps up her final conference call we jump in the dinghy and motor over to the dock. After long, refreshing showers we head out for another evening of exploration.
Sitting at the bar at Chadworth’s, we meet Dennis and Jan. Dennis is a retired business owner from South Carolina and Jan is a Miami University graduate, class of 1981, from Dayton, Ohio. Colonel Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was Jan’s great uncle. Her father started the Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise. Like us, they are full-time live-aboards. We have a wonderful evening chatting with our new friends; we will see then again before we leave St. Augustine.
07/20/19.
After sleeping in until about 9:30am, we managed to drag our sorry bottoms ashore to tour the Lightner Museum, which is housed in the old Hotel Alcazar. The hotel was built in 1889 by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil, and designed by New York City architects Carrere and Hastings, in the Spanish Renaissance Revival Style. The firm also designed the Ponce de Leon Hotel across the street, which is now part of the campus of Flagler College.
The hotel had a steam room, massage parlor, sulfur baths, gymnasium, a three-story ballroom, and the world's largest indoor swimming pool; however, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932.
Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner purchased the building to house his extensive collection of Victorian Era pieces. In 1947 Lightner turned the building over to the city of St. Augustine.
The tour was interesting and it kept us out of the intense heat for several hours.
Following the Lightner Museum tour we walk over to the San Sebastian Winery for a free wine tasting. After sampling at least ten different wines and feeling no pain, we ended up at the San Sebastian roof-top bar where we met Manny and Eva. Over pretzel and beer cheese we had a great conversation with this 40-something couple, mostly about living full-time on a sailboat. They were enthralled by the idea of living on a boat and traveling. Like so many other people that we meet in completely random situations, their response to our life style reminds me of how fortunate we really are.
We had been told by several people that the Columbia was a great restaurant so, after bidding Manny and Eva a fond fare-thee-well, we headed to the Columbia for an early dinner. As is our custom, we found two places at the bar. We immediately began a conversation with Jim and Donna from Ocala, Florida, who were sitting next to us. As fate would have it, Jim’s father graduated from Elder High School, my alma mater, and his entire family lives in Cincinnati. They too were fascinated by our life-style. We had a wonderful conversation during which Jim actually bought us a round of drinks; we had a great time with them. Shirley gave Jim one or our boat cards; we fully expect to continue an on-line relationship with The Big Dog and his lovely wife.
After dinner we stopped at the Colonial Oak Music Park, a really cool open-air venue in the heart of the historic district, just in time to catch the Saturday night presentation of the 'Sing Out Loud IPA Sessions'. A local band called The Wobbly Toms was featured and the place was packed.
07/21/19
We attended 11:00 mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. The church is stunningly beautiful and the service was poignant. We lingered inside the church for a while after mass and, after admiring the amazing architecture, I light two votive candles; one for my Mother and one for my Father.
At 3:00pm we toured Flagler College, which is housed in the old Ponce de Leon Hotel. The tour guide, a senior at Flagler, was not particularly well informed regarding the history of the building and the symbolism of the beautiful paintings that adorn many of the walls and ceilings. However, the building is simply magnificent! We enjoyed ourselves.
At 5:00pm we met our new friends Dennis and Jan at O. C. White’s restaurant. We had a great time over drinks and appetizers. We then retire to their beautiful 47ft trawler for a night cap before heading back to Perfect Love. It was a great day.
07/22/19
Another hot day here in northern Florida, but I guess that it is hot everywhere. It has been a lazy day. Not much happening and I am getting the urge to start moving again. We should be out of here in a couple of days.
We met our Cincinnati friends Jan and Rich from s/v Slip Away for lunch. They drove down to St. Augustine for the day from Jacksonville, which was the finish line for their 7-year-long circumnavigation. Imagine sailing a small boat around the world; what an accomplishment! It takes a special kind of person; tough, confident, self-reliant, curious and a bit crazy, to accept a challenge like that and to successfully pull it off. They shared with us just a fraction of their many amazing adventures.
Jan and Rich recently turned a new page in life; they sold their boat, a 44ft ketch, after living on it for 17 years. Whatever they decide to do next, we wish them all the best!
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas.
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