Daytona to St. Augustine, FL

Today:    56 miles, 9.5 hours, ICW St. M 1791.1

Total:     1786.4 miles, 296.2 hours

Newly replaced dock from Halifax Marina
with hundreds of seagulls enjoying the rising sun

4.9 mph is so frustrating
when there are a lot of miles to coverr!

     It was a long, frustrating day.  The current gods were not looking over us with pleasure.  We lost 2 hours due to current being against us for 95% of today’s trip.  We only had the current in our favor for the last 4 miles.

Fox Cut through another rock pile!

     With the low water in spots, we were able to identify another “rock pile” in the Fox Cut area of Beverly Beach.  The same rock formations can be seen along the banks of this cut as for the Rock Pile by Myrtle Beach.

Fort Matanzas

     Since the new sender unit for the fuel was installed 2 years ago, Pete has kept records of the gauge at the time of fueling up so that he can better understand the true levels of fuel as we travel.  Today, was the first time the fuel gauge actually hit “empty” while we were traveling.  He was concerned enough that the bottle of diesel used for the filter changes was added to the tank to help.  We even opted to miss the 4:30 opening of the Bridge of Lyons to stop at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina for fuel. While there, I met the skipper of SV COMPASS ROSE, who passed us earlier in the day.  He was talking with the dock master about flooding that affected his boat in Boston last year.  The normal tidal range for his area of Boston is 7-9 feet. During a storm, they experienced the highest tide ever recorded: 17 feet!  I just never found out what caused his boat to get wet inside, but it took months to thoroughly dry out. 

MV BROADSWORD

Bridge of Lyons

     While waiting for the 5:30 opening of the Bridge of Lyons, we were passed by MV BROADSWORD.  It has a very unusual aluminum hull and super structure that is very long and narrow. Also noticed: all the new, white floats around St. Augustine were all lying over on their side.  It was as if all of the new floats are defective.

     We were relieved to finally secure at Comachee Marina, after such a frustrating day.

     I emailed Deb and Hugh of SIMPLICITY that I had their printer cartridge, which was delivered after they left Ft. Pierce. We will meet tomorrow for lunch. I also emailed Pegg and Jay, who are friends (and Dan’s Brother and Sister-in-law,) who live in St. Augustine. We look forward to heading over to their place for hors d’oeuvres around 5:30 tomorrow.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P