Cruisin’ Down the Florida ICW

We woke up in St. Augustine to clear skies, and by the time the coffee pot had boiled, we couldn’t see the bow of the boat. Oh goodie, another day of fog. At least we were only planning to make 12 miles to the Matanzas Inlet. We needed to dinghy into town, send out the Xmas presents to the kids, and take advantage of the showers at the marina one more time. By the time we had walked to the Post Office, the fog had still not let up, yet when we walked out of the building, the skies were the clearest we have every seen. It was eerie, but very welcome.

We dinghied back to the boat, and got ready leave. Sitting in the cockpit we got the opportunity to watch someone try to cut over the shoal, and see them hit it dead on. Later we actually talked to them, and they figured that the tide was 5 feet, and they draw 5 ½ feet, and since they couldn’t see the shoal at low tide, there must be enough water. Even to me that seems logical. Just goes to show that cutting corners can be a dangerous thing. We went around the shoal, but we draft a lot less, and probably could have made it. Lesson learned.

If you read the last blog, you know that we never got to see the Bridge of Lions that we went through on the way into St. Augustine, well, here is what it looks like when there is not fog. Very pretty.

Vita in the mooring field. $20 per night, reasonable, but we wouldn’t have even paid that except we needed to get into town to mail the Xmas presents, and there just wasn’t anywhere to land a dinghy for free.

So we left St. Augustine around 11:00, check out time, and made the quiet 2 ½ hour trip down the ICW to Matanzas Inlet, where we anchored just off of the Matanzas Fort. We launched the dinghy, and headed to the beach. The visitors centre offers free ferry rides to the Fort, and free guided tours. It was really cool. And, although this is probably the smallest fort ever built, it was one of the most enjoyable visits I can remember. The park Ranger made it all worth while. Refreshing to meet someone so passionate about his work. Full of information, and friendly, friendly, friendly.

Guard Serena. I’m scared.

This was the hole to climb up to the roof of the fort. Getting up was easy, but getting back down was a little more difficult. I guess the old Spaniards were a little smaller than me.

The working deck. With the original guns.

From the top of the roof I took this picture of the boats at anchor. Vita is the left most boat. There were a couple of others further up that I couldn’t get in the picture. At the beginning of the tour the guide explained the boats out in the anchorage. It was weird to listen to someone tell us about ourselves.

The boats from the fort. Friend or foe!

Main floor of the fort, 6 men shared this room, food, booze, and games. The whole fort only held 7 men.

It was a quiet night, and we woke early to clear skies. So clear that we actually hauled up the anchor and left before the sun was up, with great visibility. It was going to be a long day, we were trying to make 48 miles, and most of it against the tide. So we needed an early start.

We saw this little guy along the way. Far from home, but still see wildlife all the time. In fact at one point today the dolphins were only about a foot from my outstretched hand.

This tug was someone’s home.

So we dropped the hook in Ponce De Leon Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach Florida. It was a good run, and tomorrow we are hoping for another good one. Racing down the coast may not be the most fun way to cruise, but we are trying to get to the Bahamas before they close down the borders. You just never know….