April 22, 2015

11:30AM Calm west winds. Out the Inlet we go for a trial run, following instruction given by some cruisers who had just come in. “Favor the red marks, forget about #6 – it’s out of place.” Some inlets are notorious for shoaling – shifting sand – that can cause channels to wander about. St. Augustine is one of those, however we followed local knowledge and advice and made it out just fine. We motored out to the three mile mark. Out plan was to raise our brand new, never deployed mainsail as a celebratory function, which we did. But the celebration was short lived because we found much to our chagrin and mortification that the sail had two holes in it. Turns out a rat had nested in the sail over Christmas when we went back home for three months. What a bummer.

One cannot deploy a sail with holes in it. The wind will tear that hole into a rip and, before you know it, the sail is in shreds. So back to our anchorage we went, which is where we spent the night, contemplating options. Lucky for us, Paul knew of “The Irish Sail Lady” – yes a real Irish woman who happened to be a sail maker. We were able to contact her and set up a deal. We went back to River’s Edge for the night and the next morning Linda’s husband came to pick up the sail.

April 24, 2015

So yesterday we marked time at the marina and today Linda’s husband returned the repaired sail, so we are back in business. The estimate for the repair was $150 but the bill was only $87. That’s those Irish sail making ladies for you! Later today we are going back out on anchor to prepare for an early start on our off shore run.

Keep Breathing!

April 21, 2015

Beautiful morning, clearing skies, light west wind, 68 degrees. Great and snowy egrets feeding in the march lands at low tide. Other boats have left except for the “Passage Maker”. Had our usual Starbuck’s French roast, fresh ground, French pressed coffee, two cups per crew member, although Emily is heavy on the half and half so technically I get more coffee. Routine, routine, routine.

The plan is to wait for the tide change so we can run back down to St Augustine at seven knots instead of three. Big difference. Meanwhile we are taking care of a few maintenance items and tidying up – always projects on a boat – part of integrated boat living.

11:15 AM – Met Life blimp flies over.

We are going to run down to St Augustine and anchor as close to the inlet as possible to be ready to go outside at first light in AM assuming a good weather window (W to SW 10-15 knot wind steady for a couple of days).

                                                         Fort Castillo de San Marcos

Nice run down to St. Augustine with a helping current. Anchored at 3 PM in sight of Fort Castillo de San Marcos, a Spanish masonry structure built in 1672 to defend St. Augustine from marauding Englishmen.

Calm winds. A high pressure system has moved the storms out and brought pleasant temperatures and lower humidity. Predicted low of 58 tonight.

So now the movie begins. "Turn off you TV and move to the country", someone once said.

We are sitting in the cockpit with a cocktail watching birds come and go and forage on the exposed tidal mudflats. A roseate spoonbill is today’s local attraction. He prances along the shallow water foraging with that ridiculous spatulate bill of his (thus the name spoonbill). Ships come and go from St Augustine’s various marinas and private yacht clubs, many under sail, commercial, pleasure craft, law enforcement. The US Customs and Border Patrol fly by at thirty knots - fully armed and ready for action. At least three local law enforcement boats coming and going. Lots of dolphins. St. Augustine is an official port of entry. That might explain all the US Customs boats, all manned by armed men and women in their late 20’s.

                                                                     Shrimp Boat

                                                             Gaff-rigged Schooner

 

                                                         Ugly Box with Ratty Tourists

 

We were fortunate to see a once in a life time event. Right beside the boat at a spot Emily and I happened to be watching at the same time a fish of some kind, about sixteen inches or so, jumped straight up out of the water, which was surprise enough, but right behind him a dolphin surged up and snatched that fish right out of the air. It was spectacular. The fish never had a chance.

A shrimp boat came in a tied up to a pier just off our stern, hauled in his nets and raised his outriggers so he could pass through the bridge.

We capped the night off with grilled chops and Emily’s famous salad.

Tomorrow – we conquer the Atlantic Ocean.

Ah Ho!!

April 20, 2015

Winds S 10 knots, 75 degrees

Here we are marina bound in St. Augustine, FL, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in North America (excluding all those native Americas settlements here before us white folk showed up). Sign as you drive into St. Augustine from the south says, “Welcome to St. Augustine – Older than Dirt.”

We sailed up from Ft. Matanzas on Friday (April 20, 2015) and hauled into Rivers Edge Marina early in the afternoon. Paul, the marina manager met us at the dock to help tie up. Paul, who in his late twenties thirteen years ago sailed a Pearson 323 solo from his home in Cape Cod to St. Augustine, hauled into this same marina and has been here ever since, living on that boat.

We tied up in slip C-10 beside another Paul – Paul II – who came here from Cleveland aboard an old (1972) wooden power boat. He runs a construction company that chases major storms around the country. His crews replace roofs in the storms’ aftermath. Yesterday he was kind enough to take me to the Walmart Super Center three miles away (one of my favorite places) to pick up a new battery (long story to be told later). On the way he told me pretty much everything about his life – family, business, dissatisfaction with his job, his struggle with his weight (he is a big, big boy) and more. When we got back to the marine I thanked him for his kindness - boarded Flicka and sat for a while thinking about Paul and how intimacy comes to us in strange circumstances sometimes.

So we have been here for three days and now it’s time to move on. We are going to travel north today a short distance to an anchorage close to the St. Augustine Inlet – that is – an outlet to the Atlantic. Our intention is to go near off shore for a run up to Fernandina Beach at the top of Florida – a distance of about sixty miles. This is a big deal for us – our first off shore run. We will over night at the anchorage and leave at first light – to be able to make Fernandina before nightfall.

We left Rivers Edge Marina with moderate west wind on a near slack tide – which is not the same as a slack tide we soon discovered. Getting in and out of a marina in a sailboat is hard enough at slack tide, let alone with a strong tidal current. It’s amazing how fast a boat can move with current and distance covered is deceptive enough to measure – until, that is, you hit something. Here in Augustine the tide change is around four feet, channels narrow and the current can top two knots in some places. Most sailboats don’t back up easily or accurately and Flicka has a mind of her own in reverse. If you get broad side to the current you can quickly find yourself banging up against the dock or worst yet another boat. Boat owners don’t like that. With Paul’s help we made it out without hitting anyone but is wasn’t pretty.

We traveled north from St. Augustine and stopped at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina for fuel and a pump out. What is a pump out you might ask? All boats of a certain size are required by the US Coast Guard to have sewage holding tanks and approved septic systems. In most boats, on board systems allow for waste to be pumped directly into the holding tank, pumped directly over board or, in some systems, over boarded from the holding tank. You might ask, why is Steve Talley talking about boat septic systems? At first consideration, one might conclude that I live a pretty boring life with little to talk about, however waste disposal is an important and interesting question for all of us considering the enormous amount waste we humans generate, not only sewage but solid waste as well. Managing your our human waste aboard a small sailboat allows one to get "up close and personal" with the problem.

Sewage discharge within three miles of any coast in America is illegal and greatly frowned upon. Most recreational boaters we know abide by the regulations governing discharge. Adherence to the regulations governing the design and construction of on board sewage disposal systems is a little more problematic but the gist of it is most boaters play by the rules. Most marinas up and down the coast have pump out systems and generally charge for the service. All Florida marinas we know do not charge for pump outs. They figure to make it easy and painless for the boater. Free pump outs encourages compliance and makes for cleaner water – a good thing for manatees, dolphins and all manner of marine life that inhabit these rich waters.

Check out the picture of the ship that was anchored at the city marina – a replica of a mid-17th century Spanish galleon – a war ship – with eight ten pound cannon (four on a side) and other armaments. Imagine being a midshipman on that boat in 1756 and going up against a similar English boat in war time, especially knowing the ship’s surgeon was a barber before becoming a surgeon.

 

                                                       Spanish Galleon Circa 1650

                                             Up close and personal with the "ten pounders"


So we left the marina, passed through the Bridge of Lions Bridge and peaked outside (outside the ICW to the Atlantic) near the St. Augustine Inlet to get our brave on for our eventual off shore run, then proceeded north on the Tolomato River in a brisk west wind for about 10 miles to an anchorage at mile 765 – a beautiful spot – surrounded by tidal wetlands and many birds. A few boats including an all-aluminum 42 foot “Passage Maker”. 

 

 

No sooner than we anchored a fierce storm approached, featuring an intro fifty knot screaming wind for about three minutes. We freaked out, the anchor held and, just like that, it was over. Then it rained steady and gentle for an hour. Now the rain is over and we are having a cocktail in the cockpit (must be some connection there) in calm seas and clearing skies to the west.

Tomorrow back to St. Augustine for another peak outside and prep for the off shore run.

Namaste

April 20, 2015

Winds S 10 knots, 75 degrees

Here we are marina bound in St. Augustine, FL, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in North America (excluding all those native Americas settlements here before us white folk showed up). Sign as you drive into St. Augustine from the south says, “Welcome to St. Augustine – Older than Dirt.”

We sailed up from Ft. Matanzas on Friday (April 20, 2015) and hauled into Rivers Edge Marina early in the afternoon. Paul, the marina manager met us at the dock to help tie up. Paul – who in his late twenties, 13 years ago sailed a Pearson 323 solo from his home in Cape Cod to St. A, hauled into this same marina and has been here ever since, living on that boat.

We tied up in slip C-10 beside another Paul – Paul II – who came here from Cleveland aboard an old (1972) wooden power boat. He runs a construction company that chases major storms around the country. His crews replace roofs in the storms’ aftermath. Yesterday he was kind enough to take me to the Walmart Super Center three miles away (one of my favorite places) to pick up a new battery (long story to be told later). On the way he told be pretty much everything about his life – family, business, dissatisfaction with his job, his struggle with his weight (he is a big, big boy) and more. When we got back to the marine I thanked him for his kindness - boarded Flicka and sat for a while thinking about Paul and how intimacy comes to us in strange circumstances sometimes.

So we have been here for three days and now it’s time to move on. We are going to travel north today a short distance to an anchorage close to the St. Augustine Inlet – that is – an outlet to the Atlantic. Our intention is to go near off shore for a run up to Fernandina Beach at the top of Florida – a distance of about sixty miles. This is a big deal for us – our first off shore run. We will over night at the anchorage and leave at first light – to be able to make Fernandina before nightfall.

So, keep the faith, keep breathing and don’t take anything too seriously. More later.

April 16, 2015

Hello to all. Its Thursday, April 16 3:40 PM. We are on an anchor at Fort Matanzas, Florida, having arrived here last night after a long northbound fifty-four mile run from New Smyrna Beach in the rain with a fifteen knot wind on our nose. But we were accompanied by dolphins on and off and we seemed to be the only boat on the ICW (at least in sight). Throw in a few manatees and virtually thousands of pelicans and the journey was anything but boring or uncomfortable.

We are laying low here at Fort Matanzas to rest up before beginning out long journey back to Virginia. Tomorrow we are bound for St Augustine to provision and visit new friends at Hurricane Patty’s (a local watering hole). Fort Matanzas was built in 1740 by slaves, indentured servants and a few drunk Spaniards and used to defend the southern approach to St. Augustine against those low rent, dirty scoundrel English raiders.   

We arrived back in Florida on April 1 after spending three and a half months in Virginia for Christmas with friends and family and rotator cuff surgery. The cold, snow, dark winter days, surgery and rehab just about did me in. But we are back at it. Flicka has a brand new dinghy (little boat used to come and go), life raft (more on life rafts later), new bottom paint and other upgrades. Our original plan would have had us in the Bahamas all this time but the surgery rehab took longer than I expected. The Bahamas are just going to have to get along without us until next year. So we are bound for home over the next six weeks largely covering the same ICW route and maybe a few off shore runs.

I have been remiss in blogging so I have some catching up to do. Just hitting the highlights for the past two weeks.

We spent the first week back in Florida working on the boat and driving around looking at stuff. Splashed Flicka in on April 8 and on the 9^th left Titusville headed south making 40 miles to Melbourne. The next day we headed south to Vero Beach where we met my old high school buddy Dennis Latta and his girlfriend Pat. Dennis is recently retired and living in Florida. He had a remarkable career as chief sports editor for the Albuquerque Journal. His many experiences included ten final fours and watching Mohamed Ali dance around a few opponents. We had dinner together at the Dockside Grill in Vero Beach. The owner was especially attentive to us because Dennis had wowed him earlier in the day with sports stories.

Next day we motored south with Dennis and Pat to Fort Pierce where for a while we watched the ongoing salvage operation of a barge that sunk in the middle of the inlet.  Fort Pierce is where one begins to see that azure blue tinge to the waters characteristic of the topics. Emily and I were planning to go off shore at this Inlet on our journey north but the sunken barge changed our minds.

We motored back to Vero with some pleasant sailing on a broad reach, said our goodbyes to Pat and Dennis and anchored a little north of Vero Beach. On Sunday, April 12 we motored northward on the ICW for forty-five miles and anchored in the vicinity of Cocoa Beach and on Monday, we motored from Cocoa to just north of  the Addison Point Bridge that connects the mainland to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center.

We were there to watch the anticipated launch of a Space X Falcon 9 rocket that was to carry two tons of supplies to the International Space Station. Space X is a private company under contract with NASA. They have made multiple deliveries to the space station over the past few years. They are working on a way to capture the jettisoned rocket on an ocean barge for reuse. We had a front row seat for the scheduled 4:33PM launch but at T minus four minutes it was cancelled due to thunderstorms in the area. The US space effort is a remarkable story – one that these days seems sort of routine to us mortals. But the actual story as it is unfolding today is anything but routine. Soon two astronauts (actually one astronaut and one cosmonaut will live aboard the space station for a year.  One can read about it at the NASA web site. Lots of great science being done and many heroic stories.

The launch did not happen for us so we left that anchorage and went to Titusville where we anchored for the night just outside of the Titusville City Marina. Off course the launch went off successfully the next day.

On Tuesday, we left Titusville, crossing through Haulover Canal where saw hundreds of roseate spoonbills and many manatees. I’m not sure there is anything more beautiful than a roseate spoonbill in flight. Thirty-one miles later anchored for the night at New Smyrna Beach and on Wednesday we slogged our way to Fort Matanzas. So here we are. St Augustine tomorrow for a couple of days then homeward bound.