Ft Mantanzas - at anchor

Ft Mantanzas - It's a national monument, free tours

Our neighbor who we were tied to wanted to leave at first light, an earlier start than what we're used to but since we were on the outside, we obliged. Along the way the devastation from Matthew was apparent all along the ICW. Mostly it took the form of torn up docks and walkways to the docks. The houses seemed okay and the boats must have been stored elsewhere. There is a lot of cleanup work to do still. The free docks where we stayed was piled high with grasses. Interestingly, they were not allowed to just put the grasses back into the creek where they came from. They had to be carted off somewhere else. As a result, the docks were piled high and only about half the width of the dock was available for a walkway.

Typical scene along the way, lots of this type of dock damage

We've taken to running the heater in the cockpit to keep the windows clear, it's better than raising the window which lets a lot of cold air in. We need our 3000 watt Prosine inverter for that but it works well and the batteries are still being charged by the 100 amp alternator. We like our comforts.

We stopped by St Augustine for fuel. They are functional except for the moorings which still needed inspection. There were a lot of anchored boats. We arrived at the  Bridge of Lions at noon, not a good time since it does not open at noon, otherwise it's every 1/2 hour.

On the way to Ft Mantanzas we had a dolphin race along side Fleetwing, the second time we've seen that. Ann took a video.  This time there was only one, Hoolie kept a close eye on him, no boarding!!

We plan on anchoring out at Daytona as our last stop before Titusville. It's another anchorage with Hoolie relief nearby, this time via a town dock. Then it's our home away from home in Titusville.