OtherGoose: February 1

February 1, 2015

We left the dock at Sister Creek at 7:30 this morning and went through the bascule bridge with C-Soul. They got off to a great start and we were right behind them... for awhile. Passing under the bridge and around the bend was a huge boat yard. There were two mega-yachts, one in dry-dock one in the water. Looked like they were being worked on. Then there was the destroyer parked at a dock with its guard dog circling. Oh, speaking of guard dogs, I haven’t remembered to call HS since we left Lady’s Island. I called this morning and they didn’t even ask questions! He just gave me a 1-800 number and told me to call every time we hit a port in Florida. Ok?!?

This must be nesting season for the white pelicans. They are all hunched together along the oyster beaches in bunches and pairs. Still seeing lots of dolphins that are oblivious to us!

Crossing St. John’s River was less than dramatic. IN fact it was hard to tell when we were over it. There were lots of signs and warnings about traffic and tide and current but I guess Sunday morning is different. Everything slows down for church.

Coming down the Tolomato River (I am NOT making these names up!), the contrast between one shore and the other was staggering. Mansion after mansion all bigger than the next...two storey screened sun porches that covered half the lawns, water roads into subdivisions and across the river just wilderness! Of course there was the odd section of slummy houses...only one storey, not so many boats at the dock...

We passed an old sailboat sans mast and rigging. The number of solar panels could have bought a pretty nice engine, but I imagine the quiet is the biggest benefit.

I’m starting to hate Florida. The fishermen here are complete idiots outclassed only by the jerks driving big cruisers. One boat passed so closely I could have passed him a line. I was going to say something else but...you get the picture.

Today we have very warm weather but the winds are 20 knots on the nose!..Makes for a cold ride in the cockpit with the window open. We can’t get into the Marina we had hoped but we are going up the San Sebastian River to a place called River’s Edge Marina. It recently changed names so it probably changed ownership too. We are in sight of the St. Augustine Bridge and its 1:30 pm, but this is slack tide and our 5 knots will drop dramatically in the next hour as the tide comes in. We just passed a 45 foot Lagoon going up river with the wind and no sails! What a waste...I guess he likes the smell of gas or diesel.

Wow! Somehow the tide change was different here and we managed 4.5 knots all the way! We missed the Bridge of Lions and had to circle for half an hour before it would open again. It sounded so impressive in the guide book but it wasn’t as nice as some of the bridges in New York State. There were no lions on the ramparts, either!

We tied up at 4:20 and went up to register, then, we sat in the cockpit for a half hour reading and waiting for the sun to go down. It was very warm. Of course that is the last of the warm weather for a few days. So Barb and Dan arrive tomorrow and we will visit for a couple of days. Hopefully we can get some sightseeing in. Last night was the last night for the Festival of Lights that has been up since November. Rats!

Not sure what the destination will be this time but it will be further south. If there is an anchorage near NASA I will be stopping there!!

ttyl