The Wages of Sloth

The Wages of Sloth   ...   Friday 30^th November

Because we knew we had a short trip today, we got off to a later start.  As a result we learned about the wages of sloth… It was nearly windless when we woke up but by the time we got going at about 9 am, the wind was piping up.  This meant that we had to put on our foul weather jackets and our long pants.  Not only that but also the shallow Indian River was soon whipped up into a chop.  Sitting in the cockpit I got spray in my face from a combination of waves and wind from the side. 

We arrived at Cocoa at about noon.  Lunch was followed by a nap (for some).  Then we motored to shore in the dinghy.  Our first objective was to find the Tourist Info Board.  According to our guide that should have been on Florida Avenue but it wasn’t.  We got a lame map at a restaurant.  A large portion of the afternoon was spent wandering around Cocoa in partial confusion.  Finally we had the bright idea to go to the library where we got a decent map. I can just hear all those family librarians saying “of course”.

To my mind the strangest sight of the afternoon was the black-and-white car labelled “Cocoa Police”.  I expected him to stop and tell us that we couldn’t have both marshmallows and whipped cream…

28 21 01.6 N, 80 43 08.8 W

Looking out across the Indian River from Cocoa in the late afternoon when the wind calmed down

The trunk of a plan tree

Miniature poodle we met in the park

A quieter, less dramatic day

A quieter, less dramatic day   …   Thursday 29th November

We went to bed really early last night, pretty tired after the trials of the day. We set the alarm for 6am so that we could make the most of the favorable currents in the morning. We were up and moving down the ICW by 7am and it was really pleasant. The air felt warm, reminding us of previous trips that we had taken to Florida with Tasha. Last night was the first time we had anchored amongst mangroves, and today we saw our first white pelicans, both signs that we are getting further south. We covered about 35 miles today arriving at Titusville shortly after noon. Most of the trip was peaceful and pleasant, although I think we were more nervous than before about drifting out of the channel, having clipped a sand bar yesterday. The only real challenge was picking up the mooring, simply because it was blowing hard in the Indian river with considerable chop, but we managed fine. After a quick lunch of Raman noodles ("Squigs") we took the dinghy off the foredeck and relaunched it, dropped on the motor and headed into the marina. I'm sure we could have found space to anchor but the $15 for the mooring was well worth it as it gave us access to the dinghy dock and the showers, not to mention the peace of mind. Titusville is not the most inspiring town, but it has a nice "Cafe Chocolate" where we enjoyed a fine cup of coffee. There is also a pleasant park down by the water where we got to see little blue herons, ibis and wood storks. This evening we are having a quiet night on the boat.

Mike

28 37 34.6 N, 80 48 20.6 W

Little Blue Heron

Wood Stork - I thought they ate snails but these birds were hanging around a fisherman fighting over his catch

Another animal that had clearly been fed by humans

A man that introduced himself to us as a homeless veteran

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.

St Augustine

St Augustine   …   Tuesday 27th November 2012

We spent the day visiting some of the sights in St Augustine. In particular the Memorial Presbyterian church was was quite impressive and the docent and minister that we spoke to couldn't have been more welcoming. We also took a student guided tour around Flagler College. The central building on campus started life as the Hotel Ponce de Leon, built in ~ 1880 by Henry Flagler as a top quality resort hotel for the wealthy. Flagler made his money from the Standard OIl company that he founded with John Rockerfeller, and then went on to establish a number of these fine hotels and the railroad transport system to support them, including the railroad to Key West. in the mid 1960s the hotel was closed and the estate created a small private liberal arts college in the grounds. It's interesting because the buildings still have the interior decor of the hotel, including the worlds largest in-use collection of Tiffany glass. This evening was great fun - our friends Lynn and Lee, that we first met up at River Dunes (NC) during the hurricane, came round for dinner and drinks. They had spent the last couple of days bring their boat Serendipity down from Fernandina Beach.

Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will make an early start and go off the coast to cover the 54 nautical miles down to the next inlet at Ponce de Leon. We are currently moored in St Augustine just south of the Bridge of Lions, which is low vertical clearance bridge that opens on the hour and half hour from 7am to 6pm. We need to go back through this bridge to access the St Augustine inlet and the Atlantic ocean. We spent an hour this morning on and off the VHF radio with the marina trying to switch to a mooring north of the bridge so that we can get going before the bridge opens. This turned out not to be possible, but in the end irrelevant because we subsequently found out the bridge will open on demand before 7am … not very well publicized.

Mike

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Ceiling in Memorial Presbyterian Church

A small lizard in the grounds

The rotunda - Flagler College (formerly Ponce de Leon Hotel)

 Tiffany Glass windows in the dining hall

Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos   ...   Monday 26 November 2012

The whole flavor of St. Augustine seems different from towns we’ve visited recently.  There are lots of squares/parks dotted around.  Many beautiful buildings and tropical plants grace the streets.  We visited the cathedral where they play liturgical music—quite atmospheric.  Then we strolled the pedestrian street looking at the shops, restaurants and old buildings.  Outside one rebuilt “old” house, we saw a sign for a “ghost walk of St. Augustine, led by a pirate. Buy tickets here”.  My cynical side chirped up to say “you know there are no ghosts and you know the guide isn’t a pirate. You are already walking around so what are you paying for?” Later in the afternoon, coming out of the bathroom at the marina, I nearly ran into a guy all dressed up as a pirate with full beard and hat.  He looked pretty scary so what do I know.

The highlight of the day had to have been the Castillo de San Marcos. This large Spanish fort from the 1700s was built of a local stone know as coquina. Coquina is a form of limestone that is basically seashells compressed together with sand and mud.  The walls are reported to be 17 feet thick. While many flags have flown over the fort, it was never taken by force, despite several sieges.  The resistance of the walls to bombardment is attributed to the coquina, absorbing the forces rather than shattering. Originally held by the Spanish, the fort changed hands many times as wars in Europe and North America impacted the possession of Florida.  While the history is interesting, the view from the walls is stunning.  The fort itself sits on a man-made glacis (mound), once you are atop the walls you are quite high over the bay.  You can see right out the St. Augustine inlet and up the Tolomato River as well as down the Mantanzas River.  The person who picked this spot for the fort knew what he was doing.

One of the exhibits inside the fort tells of an era when the fort was used as a prison for Native Americans.  During the late 1800s, three different groups of tribes were held at the fort as “prisoners of war”. In 1837, Seminoles were held as a result of the Seminole wars. From 1875 to 1878, a group of “plains tribes” were held here.  Most shocking was the incarceration of the Apache people.  In 1886, a group of 530 Apache “POWs” were held at Fort Marion (as Castillo de San Marcos was re-named). These individuals were transferred to Mt. Vernon Barracks, Alabama two years later. In 1894, they were transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Eighty percent of the prisoners died in captivity.  They were finally released in 1913-14. Of the 275 prisoners released at that time, 170 were children who had been born in captivity.  As we have been travelling southward we have thought quite a bit more about the legacy of slavery and the plight of African Americans before and after the Civil War. The story of the Native Americans seems another shameful chapter of our history.

Gloria

29 53 03.4 N, 81 18 19.0 W

St Augustine Cathedral

Bunk Room - Castillo de San Marcos

Trestle table and stool - Castillo de San Marcos

The "pirate"

Chef taking a smoking break in an alley

Hibiscus stamen

City Hall / Lightner museum

Christmas lights in the St Augustine "Market Place"

The Dinghy Butt Crunch

The Dinghy Butt Crunch   …   Sunday November 25th 

We are now moored in St Augustine, Fl. This morning we decided again to take the outside route and caught the start of the ebb to take us back out of the St Johns river and then headed south for 30 nautical miles to the St Augustine Inlet. Although we had the main sail up almost immediately, the light winds dictated that we motor sailed the whole way, but it was still a very pleasant trip. Lots of dolphins, gannets, terns and pelicans - but sadly no right whales. There appears to be no detailed chart information available for St Augustine inlet (presumably because it changes so frequently), so we had phoned ahead to SeaTow in St Augustine to get specific advice on navigating the inlet. They were extremely helpful and provided guidance that was right on the mark. Despite this we still failed to see one pair of buoys off-shore and took a more direct line than intended, thankfully with no consequences. However, you can see breakers either side of the channel so you wouldn't want to go too far off course. Once we arrived we picked up a mooring and took the dinghy off the foredeck ready to go ashore.

One of the things we were unsure about before we left was how we would get a decent amount of exercise. As it turns out the opportunities are many and varied. We are doing a fair bit of walking and cycling - there's nothing like the lack of a car to get you moving. Then there are other fairly obvious sources of exercise - rowing, grinding the winches, all the lifting of stuff on and off the boat. The most surprising activity comes from our inflatable dinghy "the dumb dog". Every so often we need to pump up the tubes, the inflatable floor and keel tube. We have a bellows pump and on land you would put this on the floor and pump vigorously with your leg. On the water, and in particular in the dinghy, there are few firm places to put the pump. So we have devised a method whereby you put the pump on the seat of the dinghy and then squeeze it by crunching down with your backside. This works very well and provides an excellent source of exercise, but you have to be careful, the dangers of self-inflation are significant. After some thought we decided it would be a kindness not to show you the do-it-yourself photo.

We plan to be here for 3 nights - haven't yet figured out the best route from here.

Mike

29 53 03.4 N, 81 18 19.0 W

Views from the St Johns River

 The St Augustine Mooring field in the evening light

Short Hop Outside

Short Hop Outside   ...   Saturday 24^th November 2012

We went back and forth on our views about outside vs. inside for today.  Outside would be longer.  Inside would be dull.  Finally it was the thought that we were forgetting what to do with those large white sheet-like things that pushed us into going outside.  We set off before 9 am.  Before getting to the inlet channel we put up the mainsail. We carried on east through the channel finally turning south once we were well past the breakwater.  The wind seemed fairly strong.  The following sea was mostly okay with an occasional patch of noticeably bigger waves.  As the morning progressed the wind seemed to ease and we were forced to unfurl the genoa to maintain a decent speed.  It seemed that the swells were worse the slower the boat went so maintaining speed was a priority.  After about fours hours we turned to enter the St. John’s River inlet. 

Shortly after entering, Mike pointed out a place where he thought we could anchor, off the side of the channel.  I wasn’t too taken with it; it’s not in the guidebooks and might have a lot of current and boat traffic.  As we carried on motoring up the river, a Canadian boat ahead of us circled back and anchored in Mike’s spot.  A further five miles up the river, we came to the listed anchorage.  Once the anchor was down, I could tell that the current was sweeping the boat in a very odd direction.  Then came a parade of small powerboats.  Slightly later we heard a very deep hooting noise and looked out to see a Carnival Cruise ship going by.  So this anchorage has lots of current and lots of boat traffic AND it’s five miles further out of our way for tomorrow.  What was I thinking…  

No photos tonight.

30 23 49.3 N, 81 30 25.6 W

A great day for the birds

A great day for the birds   …   Friday 23rd November 2012

We decided to stay the extra day in Fenandina Beach. The weather was beautiful, the town is really nice, and we wanted to visit Fort Clinch State park. We took our bikes in to the dock and cycled across Amelia Island towards the Atlantic coast. About half way across we stopped to take a walk down the Egans Creek greenway, which is a long narrow strip of land that has been set aside as a key natural area. It was beautiful walk and we saw a lot of good birds. Highlights were an American Bittern, Roseate spoonbills, wood storks, tricolor heron, yellow bellied sapsucker, kingfishers and our first anhinga of this trip. After a picnic lunch we headed on to the state park. Fort Clinch was built around 1820 and intended to have a garrison of 500 men and 50 ten inch cannons. In fact it was never fully completed and had only a fraction of its intended soldiers and armaments. It's in a fine position overlooking the mouth of the St Marys river. The state park also boasts an impressive half mile long fishing pier. There were many people fishing off it , but nobody seemed to be catching much. We figure the pier must have cost millions of dollars to build and we are wondering who paid for it and why. Tomorrow we plan to move on - but we are still undecided as to whether to do a leg outside from the St Marys river inlet to the St Johns river inlet or to stay in the ICW. It would undoubtedly be shorter, quicker and easier to stay inside, but we feel we are losing our ability and confidence to sail and think it would be good to go off the coast.

Mike

Egans Creek, St Amelia Island, FL

Building within Fort Clinch

Inside Bastion within Fort Clinch

Brick steps up Bastion

Ruddy Turnstone on Fishing Pier

Pandannas leaf

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day   ...   Thursday 22^nd November 2012

For the last two Thanksgivings we traveled to California to see our daughter Tasha.  This year was different.  Thanks to Skype and the internet ‘gizmo’ we were able to see and chat with Tasha this afternoon.  She seemed happy and was on her way to cook a meal with her cross-country team-mates.

This morning we planned the timing of our meal and then went for a walk around the town.  I was a little surprised to find that the large paper mill to the north of the town is very nearly duplicated right to the south.  The ‘old town’ is very attractive and seems to have a wide range of restaurants and shops.  Nearly all of these were closed except for one bakery where we managed to acquire some cinnamon rolls as our ‘dessert’.  We walked all the way across the island to the Atlantic beach where the surf was violent, driven by the strong northerly winds.  We walked back studying the marshy area for clapper rails (no luck).

Back on the boat we started the preparations for T-day dinner.  I made meatloaf while Mike prepared a strawberry and avocado salad.  To go with out meal we made potatoes and ‘sunbeam broccoli’.  While the meatloaf was in the oven we had our chat with Tasha. Then there was a modest flurry of final preparations for lunch (including, of course, photos).

Our plan for the evening is to go to the Palace Saloon (the oldest tavern in Florida) and watch the Patriots game.

Gloria

Marshes - just east of Fernandina Beach

Black skimmers on the Atlantic Beach

Sanderling

Strawberry and avocado salad

Meatloaf, potatoes and "sunbeam" broccoli

Cinnamon roll from the local bakery

Schooner at sunset - as seen from our mooring