ST-MARY's, GA -> ST-AUGUSTINE -> DAYTONA -> TITUSVILLE -> COCOA VILLAGE, FL (Dec.1 - 11, 2013)

We left Saint Mary's on December 1st to Sister's creek. We anchored there however there is a free city dock where you can spend the night. We didn't see any literature about it probably because it was built recently, about 2 years ago.  (The following year, we did stay at the city dock).

We arrived in St-Augustine on December 2nd by means of the ICW. We paid $20 a night for a mooring buoy which included hot showers and laundry facilities.

ALPENGLOW MORRED IN FRONT OF THE LYONS BRIDGE IN ST-AUGUSTINE

Notice Alpenglow in the background

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States. San Agustín was founded in September 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez. We visited the Castillo de San Marcos, which was built by the Spanish to protect the city of St-Augustine.


CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS

St-Augustine is a quaint city with little shops, art museums, restaurants and many B&Bs. We had a lovely dinner of Lobster pot pie and Sea food paella which was mouth watering. How nice not to cook & clean !!!

It so happened that my girlfriend Tammy Burkey from Colorado was working in Jacksonville that week. She drove down to St-Augustine to visit with us. It was so nice to see someone familiar for a change. After drinks and dinner on board, we walked the town to look at all the Christmas lights. 













We left St-Augustine on December 5th towards Daytona (47 nmi) via the ICW since there just wasn't enough wind to sail outside. In Daytona, we anchored then walked across the bridge to the beach just to get off the boat. I can't say that I really like Daytona, so my motto is "DAY"tona is only good for a DAY trip unless you like the speedway of course.

It was somewhat tricky to anchor in Daytona because of the very shallow waters. You have to line up markers behind you so that you don't run aground. Also, there was quite a current going on while we anchored but managed fine. Not too far from us a Catamaran ran aground and got Tow Boat US to tow them off the shoal. So where do you think they anchored ? Right next to us. So close that Tim & I watched them very carefully until, they were just too close for comfort. We asked them to leave and they were very apologetic. They just did not seem to know what they were doing.

December 7th: We left Daytona towards Titusville (41 nmi) down the ICW.

IN TITUSVILLE

 December 8th: Left Titusville to Cocoa village (20 nmi). Being Sunday, there was an outdoor arts & crafts festival going on. I really didn't like much of the crafts so off we went to the Florida Key Lime pie factory. It was only a short walk away. We bought a deep dish key lime pie for $20 ! That should last only a few days !

Good 'ol facebook. I met Mike in New York City in 1985 along with his adopted Grandmother Lady Alice Mead (related to the famous Anthropologist Margaret Mead). I didn't know at the time but Alice is titled, wow, I know royalty or somewhat near to royalty !!!! Mike & Alice are from Australia and at the time they were traveling around the world (they've been around the world twice since then). In 1985, Alice was already in her 80s. For years, Alice would write me a nice long letter and send me a calendar every Christmas until her passing. She was so funny & delightful, I wish I had spent more time with her.

Mike happened to be in Florida and we crossed paths in Cocoa. We met for drinks and talked about when we met and the people we knew. It was pure luck that we hooked up and all because of facebook. Mike has good friends in the Marquesas since he spent many months helping his student open a business. He wants to meet us there in the near future. We definitely will !

I'm sitting here anchored at Cape Canaveral. Dolphins are poking their fins out and manatees are swimming by. It's just an absolutely beautiful day to write. I just wish there was a launch but no such luck.  We did however pass a Carnival Cruise ship.

We are going offshore tomorrow towards Fort Lauderdale. It should only take about 24 hours. Once in Fort Lauderdale, we need to provision and get some more 'stuff' for the boat before our departure to the Bahamas once we get a good weather window.






Hint for Cruisers:
1 - St-Augustine: at the city moorings, better to be north of the bridge which is closest to the dinghy dock.  There are several machines in the laundry mat & great showers.
2 - St-Augustine: At the Legend, I think it's on Friday nights, they have lobster for very reasonable prices.
3 - Cocoa Village:  Buy very good Key Lime pies at the Key Lime Pie Factory.
4 - Cocoa Village:  You can bike very easily from Cocoa Village to Cocoa Beach or take the bus.  Along the way you will find every imaginable store.
5 - Biscane Bay, FL:  Great little anchorage before heading out to the Bahamas.  There is NO dinghy access at all.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina to SAINT MARY'S, Georgia (Nov.25 - Dec.1, 2013)

After spending several days in Charleston, we left on November 25th and sailed offshore towards the St-Simon's inlet in Georgia. This trip only took us 24 hours however, again, the winds were strong and relentless. More dancing to 70s music.

We arrived at St-Simon's inlet and motored to Jekyll Island. We anchored there and didn't get off the boat. In the morning, we decided to leave at low tide in case we'd run aground and because of the current. We were aground for only about 45 minutes until the tide came up. This was expected. With our center board up, we draw about 4.5 feet so it was pretty shallow in this area.

The very next day we left Jekyll Island towards Saint Mary's Georgia by means of the ICW. We went across St-Andrew's sound against 30 knot winds and it was pretty darn rough....again. I'm certainly getting used to it and our boat handles it extremely well. It fact, sailors do say that most boats handle bad weather better than the crew. That's so true.

We arrived the day before Thanksgiving in Saint Mary's, Georgia where we docked for 4 nights. And what a docking it was. Strong winds made it difficult to get into the dock without hitting the boat but we managed just fine. Being docked meant we had shore power and thus we were able to use our heater. It was quite cold again and finally got some relief from it with our heater. There was no time to waste as the city put on an oyster roast for the cruisers that evening.

TWO DAYS BEFORE THANKSGIVING

At the city hotel, 5 minute walk from our boat, we found 150 sailors swapping stories and getting to know each other over cocktails and oysters. What a feast.

FREE OYSTER FEAST PUT ON BY THE TONW OF ST-MARY'S

I am realizing that most cruisers are older than us by about 10 years. Some have just begun cruising like us others have been on their boat for 15 years and went all over the world. We made numerous friends and hopefully, we'll meet up with some of them in the Bahamas. However, along our route, we constantly see cruisers we've met in other ports. 

NANCY & RICK on s/v ANGEL EYES BECAME GOOD FRIENDS AND BOAT BUDDIES OF OURS

I am speaking French more than ever. There are many cruisers from Québec. Almost everywhere we go, I hear French. Apparently, many go as far as Grenada and leave their boats there for the summer while they earn their stay in Québec to keep their health insurance. I believe they must remain in Canada 180 days a year. From what I've been told, the Government does allow them to remain outside the country for a 2 year period every 5 years or so.

Back to Saint Mary's Thanksgiving bash....There were volunteers willing to drive the cruisers to grocery stores, laundromats, West Marine or any other store we required. We took advantage of this and stocked up on provisions on Thanksgiving day. There was a huge Thanksgiving Pot Luck. Since there were left overs, we were able to bring some home for the next day. All was very delicious. Now, do you wonder how do sailors cook a turkey on board ? They don't or they cook turkey legs. Volunteers from the city cooked turkeys and hams for the pot luck and didn't charge us anything although there were tip boxed. There just isn't enough thank yous for all the locals and volunteers who put on several days of celebrating. It didn't stop at Thanksgiving of course. There were happy hours after that and a pancake breakfast.


On our last day in Saint Mary's, we took a ferry (yeah, we could have motored), to Cumberland Island where JFK Junior got married. It was very windy and cold and slightly rainy. We had all the necessary gear on so we stayed dry and warm. Some people were dressed in fashionable leggins and flip flops. Gads, I'm glad I'm old enough now to know better. We went back to this place the following year and weather was much warmer :)

THE CARNEGIE's HOME

In the early 1880s, Thomas Morrison Carnegie and his wife, Lucy Coleman Carnegie, came to Cumberland Island and established the family's presence, which exists to the present day. They were extremely rich and mostly lived a life of leisure.

The island boasts wild horses and smaller wildlife. The Island now is part of the National Parks service.










Hints for cruisers:
1 - Thanksgiving activities start a week before Thanksgiving so get there early.
2 - Across from the hotel, there's a candy store that has coined laundry. in the back
3 - If you don't want to take your big boat to Cumberland Island, take the ferry