Last Day in St Augustine

Last Day in St Augustine

Tuesday 30th March 2021

Seeing the work that our friends are putting into their boat inspired us to do be a little more diligent with our boat. The weather forecast this morning predicted thunderstorms around midday so we opted to hang out on Cotinga and clean the cockpit and work on polishing some of the stainless steel fittings. It does feel good to see the progress. The thunderstorms never materialized and so after lunch we headed into town for a walk. St Augustine is an interesting history and played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement and it’s fascinating to wander around and see some of the buildings where local prominent activists lived and visitors such as Martin Luther King Jr. stayed. We were also fortunate that it’s now possible to walk around the grounds of Flagler College. When we were here in December that was not possible due to Covid. Now restrictions are easing up (perhaps prematurely) but the grounds are once again open, although it’s still not possible to go into the buildings. 

We are now back on board and preparing to leave tomorrow for St Mary’s Georgia, right on the northern border with Florida. We are planning to exit the St Augustine inlet, which according to local TowBoat US should be straightforward and then it’s about 50 miles straight up the coast to the St Mary’s inlet. It feels like ages since we actually sailed the boat on open water so we are both a bit nervous. Depending when we arrive we may, or may not, blog tomorrow.

Mike

29 53.955 N, 81 18.454 W

The Flagler University has an attractive campus right in the heart of St Augustine

One of the Student Halls at Flagler University

Inside the courtyard of the form Hotel Alcazar which was built to accommodate the rich travelers from the north who came south on Flagler's railroad. It is now home to municipal offices, small businesses and the Lightner Museum. It's quite beautiful

Sunset cruise on a schooner - shot from our boat in the anchorage