We checked the weather and there are no tropical storms off the coast of Africa, so that means no hurricanes for us, at least for a while. The hurricane season is from June 1st to either November 1st or 15th depending on who you have your insurance with. Our policy states that we can’t go south of Cumberland Island, GA before November 1st. So, we called our insurance and got permission to enter Florida before November 1st.
We had decided if the weather was good we would go outside from here to St. Augustine. We left Cumberland Island and headed out the inlet. It was cold this morning, 46 degrees. We thought we were in warm weather zone!
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| Sunrise |
Sea Salt wasn’t sure if they were going inside or outside. They wanted to get a peek at the ocean and see how it looked before making the final decision. The water looks good so out we go and Sea Salt comes out and takes the lead. The conditions were great calm seas and good breeze.
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| Looking out St. Mary's Inlet |
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| Fort Clinch on Fernandina |
We did get concerned when we heard the Coast Guard talking about live firing 5 miles east of Talbot Island. Once we checked the charts we realized we were ok so we kept going.
We got into St. Augustine about 4:30. It was a long day, but days outside are so much easier. No bridges, no shallow places, just go. We got moored and put the dinghy down to go pay our fees. On the way into the dock, we noticed several crab pots between the moorings. Neither Escape nor Sea Salt noticed them on the way to the mooring. We finally decided that the swift current pulled the float under the water. So when it was slack current you could see the floats and when it was swift you couldn’t. We asked the dock master and he said the crab pots were there before the marina, so they couldn’t do anything about them. Shay told him they should have at least told us about them so we would be on the lookout. We counted at least 5 scattered thru the mooring field.
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| Lighthouse at St. Augustine |
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| Fishing at the inlet |
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| Castillo De San Marcos |
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| Bridge of Lions |
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| Sea Salt |
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| We are moored south of the bridge |
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| Sorry we missed you Bob and Linda |
Shay notified the Wildlife Commission that they were a hazard to navigation and if they could not be removed at least put longer pennants on the floats so maybe they could be seen. He also posted on several boating forums warning people of the danger.
It could really cause a disaster if you got a line around a prop. You would lose control of the boat and be pushed by current, and run into other boats. Hopefully, something will be done.
We had a great time at St. Augustine, as usual. We walked around town and enjoyed seeing all the shops and sights. This is a beautiful city and great for boaters, as long as you don’t need to do major provisioning. There are no grocery stores within walking distance, unless something has been added that we don’t know about.
We called Bob and Linda, our friends in St. Augustine, but couldn’t contact them. Hope we catch you on the trip north. Give us a call!
We spent 3 nights in St. Augustine then decided it was time to head south. We know there is a cold front heading our way and want to get as far down as we can. So we left about 7:15 heading to Rockhouse Creek. If you remember, this is one of my favorite anchorages, I think it’s beautiful.
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| Rockhouse Lighthouse |
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| I love Rockhouse Creek anchorage |
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| Rockhouse anchorage |
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| Sea Salt |
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| Richard practices "bitch hips" |
We keep seeing “No Wake—Manatee Zone” signs along the ICW. We know we are in the land of manatees again.
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| Unusually shaped dock house |
We have seen lots of dolphins today. We had some follow us for miles. I was driving while Shay went downstairs and I could hear them splashing. I finally told them I couldn’t play, I was busy.
It’s funny, the different things I remember and Shay remembers. We were heading down the waterway and I told Shay I remember this house from our first trip north. I remember the railings. He said well, he remembers the unusual boat, tied up behind this next house. Well, men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
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| Along the ICW |
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| Bridge columns |
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| Sunrise leaving Rockhouse |
We left early the next morning heading to Cocoa. We had a very windy day, wind steady at 24 kts and gusts to 35. It was our roughest day on the water. Any big open body of water, like Mosquito Lagoon, was rough. Sea Salt told us we would really feel the wind when we came out of Haulover Canal. And we did.
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| Fishermen at Haulover Canal |
Sea Salt decided to go farther down to Melbourne to spend the night so we parted company. We knew it would be windy that night and knew Cocoa would be a good place to stay. Sea Salt goes faster than we do, so going 20 miles further was easier for them. We had a good night at Cocoa. We anchored south of the bridge near the west bank.
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| Cocoa anchorage |
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| We anchored south of the bridge. |
Yeah, today George and Pam get to the boat. We will meet them in Vero Beach. They are traveling to Marathon with us and spending a week or two. We left at 6:20 this morning! Daylight Savings Time has started! It gets dark too early.
The water is calmer and we are traveling with the wind. We had a good trip and are excited to get to Vero. We like Vero.
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| Pirates are everywhere! |
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| Pretty place |
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| Sailing sailboat |
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| Vero Beach mooring field |
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| Laundry day |
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| We were on mooring ball 33 |
Richard and Connie came over and took us out to breakfast. We went to TooJays. We had a great meal and enjoyed their company. Next Shay and Richard went to Sea Salt to work on a problem and Connie took me to get a haircut.
George and Pam called and they are in Vero so we went back to the boat to meet them. We took their luggage to the boat and had a good visit. We went back to TooJays for dinner and had another great meal.
The next day we went to Walmart to get provisions. We may not do anything else, but we will eat good! We took George’s car to Melbourne to leave it while they travel on the boat. We visited with his cousin and family then went out to eat. Back to the boat to give Dana a boat tour then he went back to Melbourne and we got ready to leave tomorrow.
Bye Sea Salt! We will see you in Marathon!
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| Leaving Vero Beach |
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| Shay, Pam and George |
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| Veteran's Island |
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| Pam and George |
We left at 7:00 heading for Peck Lake, a wide spot in the ICW. We had a good trip and we all figured out our duties. We “crossed our wake” again at St. Lucie Inlet.
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| Beautiful boat |
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| Crossing our wake, again. |
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| We met this strange boat on the ICW |
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| That's a submarine on back |
It’s funny, the different things I remember and Shay remembers. We were heading down the waterway and I told Shay I remember this house from our first trip north. I remember the railings. He said well, he remembers the unusual boat, tied up behind this next house. Well, men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
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