Dayton - at anchor

Crew coiling line after leaving the dock on Halloween

Happy Halloween, ah wait let me start that again. Today I woke up and put my tiny little costume on, a orange tiny witch hat on a head band, Halloween t-shirt, and black sparkly tutu. We went under  a couple bridges and a lot of boats past us, there was ten tiny speed boats and a couple big ones. I read Calvin & Hobbles and played on my tablet, some people went by and liked my costume and gave it a thumbs up. I also got Nana a ball mask, I got to go at the helm for a ways too. Then we got to are anchorage, I pulled in the dink and then we were settled. After that Grandpa and I went  to go bring Hoolie to shore, I helped get the dink ready. It is a nice little park and it sounds like some people are having a party next door. We are going to have a some popcorn and watch a movie tonight, well Happy Halloween. Sarah

Strange crew steered the boat too

We found an anchorage about 45 miles south of St Augustine with a lot of room and a nearby dinghy dock at a park. The travel weather was ideal with temps at 80 and full sunshine, couldn't be better, Florida is great! It's Halloween so Sarah came out today with her Halloween costume on which she wore all day. She had a mask for Ann and an eyepatch for me.So we celebrated Halloween in costume although she did not get a chance to Trick or Treat, not many places to do that when at anchor. 

We love the easy access to a dinghy dock at Bethune Point Park in Daytona

We went through the shallows at Ft Matanzas and found good water except by G81D where you had to favor the red side for 7 ft MLW. Otherwise, there were no problems. We're headed for Titusville Marina on Sunday where Fleetwing will reside for the next two months as we head north for the holidays before returning in January to continue south to Key West.  

St Augustine - We take the tour

In the lighthouse, a long way up!

This morning I got up and did my school work, I read a lot. Then we went to a tour train that takes you places, we went on it, there was one even near the marina. We saw the fort, old buildings, fancy old hotels and really nice churches. After that we got off to wait for a van to take us to a lighthouse, when we got there it looked really big. I was determined to go up 290 steps up and down, the view was amazing you could see everything. Everything looked so tiny and small, there was also a very nice breeze up on top. After that Grandpa and I went back down the 290 steps, Nana did not want to go up so we met her back down. I have to say my knees hurt coming down a lot, that was gym and history  class in one. The light house keeper had  to pull a thirty pound bucket of oil up all of those stairs. Then we saw a person hand carving a small sail boat that looked really nice and smooth. Then we met up with the van and went back to the boat for lunch, after that we went back to the train. We saw every historical thing or place in St. Augustine, then we played on a mini golf curse, I was third, Nana second and Grandpa first. It was really fun with all the Halloween decorations everywhere, then we headed back. I read a tiny bit and watched all the boats come in, there is really a lot, now am talking to you bye!  Sarah

View from the top

St Augustine now provides a shuttle in the mornings for either Publix or Walmart as well as other stores along the way such as Home Depot and Lowes. There is no charge for the shuttle and it's even advertised as free but they do accept donations. They pick you up right at the St Augustine Marina and allow for one hour for your shopping while they wait outside. They have shuttle service everyday of the week at two times: 9:00 to Publix and 10:30 to Walmart. 

A peacock in a tree? I didn't know they flew that high?

After the provisioning run we took a ticket for a tour of the city. The tour "trains" make 90 minute runs where you can hop on and off anywhere along the way. It's a great way to get introduced to the town. We took advantage of a free side trip to the lighthouse. Sarah wanted to climb the 200 plus steps to the top. I tagged along, it's a long way up! As expected the view is great and the look down will pump a little adrenalin. 

On Saturday we're headed for an anchorage at Daytona that we've used before. There's a dinghy dock by a park in the anchorage for Hoolie. The next day we're due in Titusville. Meanwhile, I posted a route on Active Captain showing a 10 ft MLW path through the famous shallows south of Fernandina. I wish the Coast Guard would buoy the path. 

St Augustine - at a dock

There was really no way to get at the fort

Today we didn't leave that early, enough time to take a shower. I read my book a lot and did my math, but before I read two pages in my book we were there. I coiled up the rope when we left the dock sat down a tiny bit and  then got ready to get the lines out. It wasn't  marina from marina, we have had some long trips and one hour is short for me. I looped the cleat this time, but the guy undid it to take it on another cleat that made me mad. I know he was just doing his job, it's just I really feel I caught the cleat when the rope stays on the cleat. After that I started on math and then chilled out for a while, It is crazy hot here about ninety (well it feels like ninety)! Then we went to Castillo de San Marcos fort that was real old. It was made with bricks of sand and shells, It had a interesting lay out so it is undefeatable. We saw big rooms with some had old carvings on them, the fort itself looks majestic with the drawbridge opening. At the top there were cannons on platforms of wood, also at each end of the fort were towers. The one tower that was the biggest faced the ocean  it had a bell to spot any approaching ships. After that we headed back to the boat because we saw all there was to see, as we went down the dock we saw more boats arriving. In mine time I made my own fort that is very awesome, with an alligator moat. We also saw fish that were tiny jumping out of the water, Nana said they were being chased. A big boat came in next to us that has shaded windows, and it is a big power boat. More and more boats come in and the docks start to fill up, we are having shrimp tonight a goodbye! Sarah

It was just a short trip today, a couple of miles to Ft Augustine. We took a dock at the town marina since we wanted easy access to downtown and the fort for Sarah. In the afternoon we walked over to the fort and I think Ann almost wilted from the heat. There was very little wind and I don't remember it ever being this warm in late October down here. 

An undefeated soldier

As Sarah said, the fort was never defeated. The British came one time and occupied the town and sieged the town for 50 days but everyone retreated to the fort and the British couldn't get in. In spite, they burned the town down as a going away present when Spanish reinforcements arrived. The walls are made of a combination of small shells with cement type structure mixed in. The combination resulted in walls that dented when hit by cannonballs but did not fracture, a natural energy absorbing structure. 

It's a national park so my Golden Passport was honored for all of us. On the way back it grew even hotter, good thing we have A/C on the boat. After it cooled down in the evening, we walked into town to see the shops. They have several streets where cars are not permitted, nice for walking and looking. We will do more of the same tomorrow before leaving on Saturday for an anchorage in Daytona.

Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor - at a dock

Well, we'd rather have the boat on the right...

This morning we went off to Camachee Island, it is a new marina they have never been to. I started in my school work this morning, I read and now am on page 200 something. The trip  here was mostly work, but I did get a chance to write a little bit before we went in. I had the stern line like usual, but I couldn't quite throw the rope right. We went to the diesel dock first to refuel, then they moved us to our dock for the night. I tried to throw it again, but I only got half of the cleat. That made me mad, so after we got in I tried to practice with the ropes on the cleat. Then I put the step out and curled up the lines on the dock. It is so hot out here I think it was 90 degree when we came in, I also saw some birds resting on the bow of the boat. We don't want bird poop on deck so I went to go scare them off. We are having chicken salad for dinner tonight and bye!  Sarah

Great to be in Florida with the warm weather and great sunsets

We left Fernandina around 9:00 and negotiated the famous shallows south of there with an eight foot tide! That was obvious easy but I did map the path corrected for MLW and found a 10 ft MLW path which I'll post on Active Captain later. The rest of the shallow spots between Fernandina and St Augustine were unchanged and passable at low tide if you knew the path. 

We had intended taking a dock at Harbortown, just south of the St Johns River, but the condo governing body decided to not rent out slips to any mre transients given their past bad experiences, too bad for us. We we motored on south to Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor. It's not a bad place and makes a good stop before St Augustine which we'll go to on Thursday. We want tos how Sarah the town and the fort. It's a great place to visit if you've never been there before. Our normal route is to bypass St Augustine and anchor out at Ft Matanzas and then anchor out at Rockhouse Creek before winding up at Titusville Marina but with Sarah we thought we'd see the sights.  

Fernandina - at anchor, we dine out at Pepper's

Not a wise maneuver in my view - he got five blasts on the horn

This morning I woke up and we had breakfast. I read a bit of my book that was good and did my math for today. After that I had a tiny snack, It's a rainy day, but goes from a mist to a pour. I finished my book work then we go out to town. Nana went to go get her hair cut, then Grandpa and I went around and looked at stores. There was one store that had a fish and turtles out front in tiny ponds, I thought the turtle would be so much happier in the wild. We went into some stores with paintings, they were really detailed and looked so real. Then we met up with Nana and her haircut looked very nice I think. After that we went to a Mexican restaurant for early dinner late lunch. I had really good taco that had pork and onions in it. Then we headed back to the boat, I was pretty cold with the tiny drops of rain and the wind. Now I might read some more of my book and well we had dinner so bye! Sarah

There are a few places where we always dine out, Fernandina is one of them. We like the Mexican restaurant, Pepper's, which is only a few blocks from the Marina. There are lots of restaurants in the area of all types and lots of places to browse through. It's a nice, compact town. However, there's very little in the way of provisions nearby, it's devoted to tourists, not cruisers. 

It's Fernandina so it must be haircut day!

It was a rainy day and we were in the cockpit when we heard the ship danger signal, five loud blasts. Looking over in that direction we saw a small sailboat crossing right in front of a huge ocean going ship being helped by a tugboat to dock. I am sure they did not appreciate the sailboat crossing their path! 

On Wednesday we're off for Harbortown Marina at Jacksonville. It's right on the ICW so we don't have to motor up the St John's River to the city proper. The marina was willing to rent dockage to transients until one unscrupulous couple sued the marina for supposed tripping on one of their docks (they are all brand new, in mint condition) so now they no longer welcome transients. They never made much money off transients anyway, they were just letting transients use docks empty for the moment owned by a condo as a goodwill gesture. However, the dockmaster knows us and we're still invited. It is really unfortunate that one bad apple can spoil it for everyone.  

Fernandina - at anchor

Sarah tried making conversation but no luck

This morning we didn't have to get up early we actually left at eleven o'clock. I read To Kill a Mocking Bird, it is getting really good, I love the characters. Then we arrived, it was a very short trip only hour and a half. I did all of my work and I read a little bit too. We went in to shore to the dingy dock and looked around. We saw some people that knew Grandpa from his website, we talked to them for  while. Then we walked down the street, it looks like a very old town. There was jewelry, clothes and books and we stopped by the bookstore because I am going through books fast. We looked around and found two from the series my aunt said were good. We walked around a little more and headed back to the dink. It was a nice and windy from the sky, we hooked back on then I read. I also played with Hoolie a bit, he's really cute and small. We are having something delicious for dinner bye! Sarah

Lots of shrimp boats in Fernandina - even in the harbor

Fernandina is only a very short distance away but it's always a place we like to stop at. They have a variety of shops to look through and a bookstore along with many restaurants. The marina is overpriced at $2/ft and the moorings are likewise too high at $20/night so we just anchor out. There's enough room for an armada, no problem and by anchoring you don't get the annoying mooring ball knocking up against the side of your boat at 2:00 am in the morning with wind against tide. The marina has a dinghy dock for use by those that anchor out with a fee of $3/day which is reasonable. 

Ready for Christmas?

So we walked through town and Ann and Sarah went through a bookstore to find reading material for Sarah, they found a couple of books that looked good for her age group. Fernandina is one of  the places where Ann always gets a haircut. They have an outstanding hair salon, Magna's Salon. If you don't make an appointment weeks in advance, you won't get in. They are very good and very popular and less than 1000 ft from the marina, right on main street. 

So we will be here another day and leave Wednesday morning. I'll take the girls out for a Mexican dinner Tuesday evening. We always have mexi at Pepper's, our twice a year treat. Sarah likes Mexican food too so she's also looking forward to the experience. 

Cumberland Island - last day

Sarah's main occupation on the island, taking photos of the wild horses

This morning we had pancakes for breakfast, I had two of them and they were really good. I read some out of my book and then we decided to go to the island. We saw four horses, they were so pretty and were in a field. There were palm trees that were pretty the grass their names are London the biggest horses, the small one Ella, and Lena. They were one little pack, then we walked aways and saw two more horses, a foal and mom. They had pretty white spot on there snout. I called the big one Tulip, and the tiny one Ginger. I took a lot of pictures, then some people said there more up ahead, but we didn't see any. After that we went back to the boat, I read up on deck because the breeze felt so nice and I wanted to enjoy my last day at this horse wonderland! After that we headed back to the island we saw Tulip and Ginger with the other horse now. We went down the path to go to the lily pond and on are way there we saw another horse. She was so pretty I named her Lily since we were headed to the lily pond. We saw the pond that was so pretty it had a palm tree in the middle almost like a tiny island. Then we headed back out and Lily was still there chewing some grass. We took a different path back that lead closer to the horses in the field. We went around them and said good bye. That's when we heard the horses talking to each other, with Lily. They talked a little bit and then we saw her running so beautifully to the other horses. It was interesting to see horses interact with each other. Then after the greeting we had to go, and I said bye to my wild friends. I drew some of the horses when I got back to the boat. I will miss them, but It will be an experience I'll never forget! Well we are having chicken for dinner bye. Sarah

They were used to humans and didn't run away but we didn't approach too closely

On a settled night, the anchorage here is great. I don't expect it to be so good if winds were kicking up 20 to 30 kts but with the winds less than 10 kts it's perfect. Early this morning there must have been fishing boats going out the inlet around 5:00 am since we rocked quite a bit. Once they cleared the channel, the anchorage settled back down again and was calm the rest of the day. 

The live oaks grow into really strange shapes. The wood has to be strong to support the long, horizontal branches

Our morning trip took us to the southern set of docks that were closer to where the wild horses roamed. The grounds looked perfectly manicured with the grass very short and the obvious reason was the horses. They were grazing constantly and the grass had no chance to grow to any height. The grounds were also covered with live oaks. We were told that much of the timbers for the early frigates of the new USA came from here. The live oaks are known for their durability and strength as well as growing in shapes that fit the odd bends in a boat hull. The wood is no good for furniture since the wood is full of a swirling pattern of grain. However, that mixture of grains make for a very strong wood since there's no fracture path through the swirls. 

Sarah was enchanted with the horses. They ran free all over the place. She must have took over a hundred photos! Luckily, they are all digital. She found one she especially liked and she's making a drawing of the horse. 

Monday is a new week for Sarah and algebra restarts. She's doing well in the subject and is working hard on the word problems. Sarah and I spend at least an hour a day during the week on algebra. Ann's covering French and English and for literature they are reading "To Kill a Mockingbird". 

We'll leave for Fernandina on Monday and anchor just outside the mooring field. Anchoring works best there since with the current, our boat does better with the anchor as opposed to a mooring ball which can start knocking up against the hull in the middle of the night when the tide changes and there's any type of wind opposed. At anchor, that does not happen and at Fernandina there's plenty of room to anchor. The marina allows anchored boats the use of the dinghy dock for a small fee, $3/day.