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!!