Heavenly Anchorage

Heavenly Anchorage   ...   Wednesday 28^th November 2012

Never has an anchorage seemed more lovely and welcoming than this one. That is to say it was one scary day. Our plan was to go by the outside route to the Ponce de Leon Inlet. The distance between inlets is 54 nautical miles plus some for getting through the inlets.  An early start was required. We were up and through the bascule bridge by 5:45.  We headed out through the St Augustine inlet in the pitch black. Thank goodness for the GPS with the track from the inward trip.  It seemed very bumpy going out but we figured it was just wind over tide as the forecast said 1-2 ft. seas. Think again sailor types! Things didn't calm down at all outside. It was blowing fairly solidly in the morning and the seas were more like 5 ft swells with lots of white caps. We had our main up from the outset, but being pretty much dead down wind we couldn't keep the genoa filled consistently. It was very bumpy and not very pleasant so we decided to keep the motor on to help augment our speed and get the journey over with quickly! We had the added excitement of a coast guard alert to a submerged 28 ft. fishing boat just south of Ponce inlet. As the day went on I would swear that the wind got stronger and the swell increased. I’m not the greatest judge but some of these were twice human height so they must have been 8ft or more. Prior to turning into Ponce inlet we double reefed the main (rather than take it down) to help stability and ensure we had some power if the motor went off. The breakwater was a mass of surf and spray, but once behind it the seas flattened immediately and then 10 minutes later we ran aground! We were still in the channel, fairly close to a buoy, but obviously too close to the side. We felt a distinct lurch. Fortunately by gunning the engine and turning more to the center we came right off. I think having some sail up also helped. All in all it was quite the experience. We are now anchored in Rockhouse Creek (just off the ICW). Boy, does it seem tremendously fantastic to be here. 

Mike pointed out that we are now 110 miles from Vero Beach.  He said “Two more sails outside like that (today’s), and we are done.”  Au Contraire! One more sail like that and we will be done.

Position: 29 03 40.3 N, 80 55 53.4 W

This shot of Gloria really doesn't capture just how bumpy it was today - but it illustrates a couple of things: Firstly, we do take safety seriously and wear offshore life jackets and harnesses clipped to pad eyes on the boat when we are off shore.  Secondly, the controls for our auto-pilot are housed in the smaller of the two control pods. The auto-pilot is a godsend and we use it a lot, however today the boat was squirreling around so much that it kept tripping out every 20 minutes or so. We set the controls and sat back to ride it out. It's worth noting that in 8 hours of sailing we did not see a single other sailboat.