Port Royal NC to St. Augustine, FL

 Today:     183 miles      25.8 hours          ICW St M “775.6 ”

Total:      903 miles    129.3 hours

FRIDAY / SATURDAY, 11/16-17/18 ~     Pete and PEKABU were readied for an ocean jump. I made up a bunch of sandwiches for him to grab when he got hungry. Enterprise picked me up at 10 so I was back by 10:45. The car readied and loaded, and I helped Pete depart by 11.

     Bailey, I and my good camera, headed back to Historic Beaufort.  She and I walked the areas we drove yesterday, so I could capture a few of the beautiful homes. Of course, I easily get distracted by the smaller things as well.  It was an enjoyable hour and a half. 

Historic Beaufort:
      

          

      

            

        

        



     After picking up lunch and fuel, we drove the 4 hours to St. Augustine and everything worked out with the hotel.  Even though I saw 8-10 dogs of varying sizes, we had not barkers in the hotel.  Bailey settled in nicely.

     Pete had the incoming tide for most of the ride out the Post Royal Inlet.  The current only helped the last few miles.  He called a few times while he still had phone service.  As he was approaching the breakers at the mouth of the inlet, he had been watching the wave action to port. Suddenly, about 200 yards away, a dolphin jumped a good 8-10 feet, did a somersault, and re-entered the water. Talk about an amazing site!

     For the entire journey PEKABU also had a traveling buddy-boat, SV OUR LOG.  The two boats kept in touch through the night and onto St. Augustine Inlet.  Originally, OUR LOG planned to grab a mooring ball at Fernandina, but Pete told them that they were now closed. So, they decided to stay with Pete and go in at St. Augustine’s.

     Friday night was height of the Orionid Meteor Shower.  Early in the evening, Pete saw bright meteors break and shower over the ocean.  Later, he thought they might have been the military training with flairs as he saw no others.

     The winds remained light, the waves minimal, the temperature: COLD, and with the assist of the Gulf Stream eddies, he made good time.  He had used the jib to help with speed, but on board SV OUR LOG, the wife wasn’t comfortable with the sail up in the dark. Pete never asked the story behind their name. I would love to know its origin. With sunrise came warmer temperatures, and Pete was able to take off some of the layers.

View from The Reef Restaurant ~ 
         I monitored his progress through the night by the SPOT messages.  He was faithful, sending them every hour.   This morning, I used the LIFE 360 app on my phone to monitor his whereabouts.  Bailey and I drove up on A1A to The Reef Restaurant, north of Vilano Beach to try to see PEKABU.  I called when we arrived and sure enough, I could barely see both boats out about 3 miles.  Pete said they were angling into shore towards the sea buoy, outside the inlet, so I figured I would try to see if I could get a photo of them entering the inlet.  Bailey was able to accompany me as dogs are permitted on the beach.  I got lucky, not only taking photos of PEKABU and OUR LOG, but also of birds and fisherman.

    

PEKABU  & OUR LOG entering
St. Augustine Inlet

  

PEKABU with the St. Augustine Light

Fisherman and 2 of his 3 catches!

        I headed to Camachee Marina and was able to help Pete get into the slip.  Once the bill was paid and Bailey walked, Pete secured the boat, put away stuff, then crashed for the rest of the afternoon.  I ran to do the food shopping, put away the perishables and return the car.  Unfortunately, the traffic was a mess due to the Christmas Lighting Ceremonies tonight.  I tried to call Enterprise, but they closed 20 minutes earlier. . .2 PM ON A SATURDAY!!! Since they are also closed on Sunday, we now have a car until Monday morning.

     Once Pete woke for dinner, we headed over to Vinny’s New York Pizza, right here at the marina. They have one of the best pizzas we have ever had.  From the large pizza, we only had 2 slices to put away for another day.

     Once back, Pete crashed and burned.  He slept on the sofa until I woke him at 10 to go to bed.  He slept until 9 the next morning.  I think is still needs more Zzzz’s before he is caught up.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P