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.
Hope the wind stays in your favor for your off shore leg.
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