We were up early, doing chores in preparation of our blue water adventure. Pete had to take down the radar reflector. It had become a spinner whenever it found a breeze. It would spin as fast as it could in one direction and then in the opposite. No matter what solution he tired, the expensive coated wire, that was many times more expensive then the reflector, broke. We now need to replace it. Ourboat needed to be moved so that the others could fuel up. I needed to run to the market for water and a few last minute items, unfortunately it meant a taxi ride. There was also securing the boat to insure nothing “flew”’ out of place if the waves kicked up.
This was one of the few times we waited to leave until noon. We need to arrive during sunlight. As a result, the 22-24 hour trip needs to be timed calculating average travel speed of 6 knots, factoring in the sails to assist the engines to conserve fuel during the trip and the proper arrival time. The late departure time also made a couple of us a little antsy to be on our way.
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| Pelicans keeping watching for their friends |
The trip down the Wilmington River was uneventful. I did see the first sign warning boaters to be cautious for manatees. Within a few miles of Thunderbolt, we left the ICW and continued down river to the Atlantic.
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| Andiamo at sunset |
This ocean voyage was slightly different then our first. We were able to stay closer to shore due to no shallows. We were never more than 18 miles from shore. It was a very clear, bright night, with an almost full moon to accompany us for most of the night. Breezes were very light as were the seas. Unfortunately, due to such a bright moon, Pete and I were disappointed in only seeing 2 meteors from the Leonid Meteor Shower. As to sea life, we saw a couple of miles of round brown and tan jelly fish in Georgia. As we approached St. Augustine, I saw some sponges ...but no dolphins.
The only “challenging” part of our ride was the inlet into St. Augustine. The charts do not give depth due to the ever shifting sand bars. Thankfully, Dan’s brother, Jay, was able to guide us in via “local knowledge.” We had a minimum of 12 feet under the keel as we rocked and rolled with the washing machine rollers courtesy of the winds, waves and outgoing current.
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| The Castillo de San Marco National Monument |
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| View of the waterfront downtown St. Augustine |
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| Bridge of Lyons |
Once we cleared the inlet, Andiamo headed for the Conch Marina where he will be using a friend’s dock, while we remaining three boats headed up past the Bridge of Lyons to grab our reserved mooring balls on the San Sabastian River. We were settled in by 12:30 PM.
After lunch, did some bills, attempted to read, then we crashed and burned . . . napped for a short while. Jay invited us all over for pizza at their place, which is only a short walk from the dinghy dock on the other side of the mooring field. Pegg, his wife, is away for a race relay until Saturday. However, the four couples, Jay and Mrs. Bliss never lacked for conversation, but Cruisers’ Midnight came real early for us. John and Betty needed to be driven back to the marina while the rest of us needed to find our boats in the mooring field. If it wasn’t for the Blog and my phone visit with my friend, Carolyn, I would be in bed already.
159 / 967 Total Statute Miles ~ ~ (\_~ ~ ~ Kathy and Pete
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