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ST. AUGUSTINE TO DAYTONA SHALLOW CHANNEL I’m sorry to say it, we were anxious to head out this morning, but had to impatiently wait for the tide to come up a bit. Another cruiser that came in behind us the other day, In Your Dreams, a Krogen, I think and flying a British flag, was waiting too. We heard him call the marina on the radio and ask about the depth of the channel at this tide level. The young girl’s voice answered back, “its 6 feet deep all the way through if you stay in the center of the channel”. I guess we weren’t the only ones a little concerned about depth of the channel. Larry says he had about a foot under us when we came in. IN YOUR DREAMS, SHALLOW? Right now we are reading 3.2 feet under us at the dock. It should be enough but Larry wants to wait for the tide to come up just a little bit more, maybe until 9:30, so we can get just a few more inches below us. We see In Your Dreams heading out. Larry hails him on the radio and asks him to give us a report back of the depths in the channel once he gets out. We watched with our binoculars as the captain carefully followed the markers out. The wind is blowing a good 20 knots and there are white caps across the water. The channel looks a bit scary to me because you have to go very close to a sandy beach, closer than common sense tells you, but it’s supposed to be dredged all the way and that’s where the depth is. He heads straight for the shore as he should and then at the last moment makes a quick turn to port. A couple minutes later he hails us back. FOOT AND A HALF ALL THE WAY He said he never saw anything under a foot and a half below him. He draws 5 feet and we draw 4 ½. He did say there was one pretty shallow spot by the beach but if we stay in the middle of the channel we should have no problems. So we decided to go on out. I guess I haven’t mentioned that we are back at those darn docks with posts and no cleats again but so far they haven’t posed a problem because we’ve had a long side docks to tie to and there always has been helpful dock hands to take the lines but wow are they hard to get on and off the boat once docked. Today we were leaving without help from the dock hands. It’s always a concern for us because the boat sits so low in the water and the wooden docks so high off the water and depending on the tide, it can be even higher, so the issue for me is being able to get on and off the boat safely and quickly to do the lines. Usually there is a current so it can be dangerous if the boat starts moving before you can the lines off and get back on the boat. WE’VE GOT A NEW STERN THRUSTER, ME We were leaving just about slack,
which means not much current if any. I told Larry I thought I could get
the lines off and get back on the boat without a problem. So, I untied
the lines off the wooden posts and threw them on the boat and she sat
nicely in the slip without moving away from the dock. As I got the last
line off and threw it in the cockpit I put two hands on the top of the
boat and as I leaned forward to get on I pushed the boat away from the
dock. Once on, I grabbed the boat pole and continued to push the stern
away from the dock as we cleared the length of the slip. Once the stern
was clear of the last post and the end of the dock, I yelled to Larry that
it was clear so he could make his turn and head out.
This system has been working pretty well for us so far. The boat doesn’t have stern thrusters and only one screw so sometimes the stern has a mind of its own with these currents and wind conditions. It sometimes finds itself closer than we’d like to things that we don’t want it to be close to. I think I'm serving as an inexpensive substitute for a stern thruster. OUT THE CHANNEL I didn’t stow the lines and fenders immediately because Larry wanted an extra pair of eyes to watch the channel markers so we didn’t crab over and out of the channel in the wind. We got through the channel just fine with at least 3 feet under us the whole way out. In a flash we were back out in to St. Augustine’s Sound. The wind was blowing a good 25 knots and white caps and chop were everywhere. Larry told me to wait putting the lines and fenders away until we get up by the bridge where we’ll be more protected from the wind. I didn’t argue with that because it was freezing out.
IMPRESSIVE VIEW Again, even today with the wind and salt spray covering the windows the minute we left, the city of St. Augustine is impressive. I couldn’t take any pictures outside the boat as the wind and spray was too strong but it still through the salty windows it makes for some interesting pictures. It was still pretty windy by the bridge. Larry cruised under the bridge slow and careful as there was lots of construction going on and workers nearby on floating barges. Just outside the bridge are the public docks to the right where we stayed before and a large anchorage. I don’t remember that many boats anchored when we were here before, the same with Fernandina. I wonder if the economy is the reason or if that is normal. Once inside the ICW again and past the bridge, Larry slowed down and waited for me to put the lines and fenders away. Ziggy always comes out to help but mostly is just in the way on our narrow gang plank that we have to share. I think he worries that I may fall off as he watches with this concerned look on his face. CRAZY KAYAKER Everything stowed, we headed out past the anchorage. Suddenly a kayaker appeared from the anchorage in these crazy winds and looked like he was going to cut in front of us. Larry slowed down for him but he changed his mind and turned around heading back to the anchorage. As we passed he was a she and she came back out into the channel again and crossed behind us. She had a big gas can on top of the kayak. I couldn’t believe she was out here in this wind in that open kayak trying to get across the chop in these freezing temperatures and winds!!! She must be freezing and it looked dangerous. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.
WIND TOOK MY FAVORITE HAT! I went outside to check the water sprayer on one window and oops the wind grabbed my favorite hat and threw it right into the Sebastian River! I was devastated as it was my favorite hat, the one I bought in Annapolis, MD. Larry said he’d get it for me. He said to just keep an eye on it as he turned the boat around. I kept pointing at it like much like when we pick up a mooring ball. He turned the boat quickly and then slowly came right up to it so I was able to snatch it with the boat hook! Hooray! The boat was covered in salt practically the moment we left the dock today from the wind and spray and we’ve hardly begun the day’s journey. We were going a pretty good clip now and had the RPMs to a comfortable 2100 where the boat rides nicely. She was cutting through some pretty significant 2-3 foot waves in the ICW of all places. You couldn’t tell though as she rode them confidently, it felt smooth as silk. DAMN DEPTH SOUND ACTING UP AGAIN Oops, the depth sounder went blank again! It’s pretty shallow around here with only about 2 feet below us so we need it. Then just as quickly it reappears, then it goes off. Then on, off and so on. The screen shows this boat saying “DATA SYSTEM ALARM” and the alarm goes off. It’s so unnerving this thing. In the box is says DSM Connection Lost. We can’t have this going happening on a day like this. We need to be able to read the depths. When driving the boat in the ICW you have to have a constant eye on the depth, no question about it. “Maybe we should go back to the public docks and get someone to look at this!” I say. “Just give me a minute!” is Larry’s usual abrupt answer when something is going array. Larry punches buttons and different screens come up. I slow the boat down to a crawl. Nothing seems to be working. Even our last resort, the “reboot”, the depth sounder is still acting up. We can’t rely on it. Larry gets his cell phone out and calls Raytheon. He explains to their technician the problem we’ve been having. The technician is as confused as we are as to the reason this is happening. They go through several maneuvers and menus and then reprogram a few things. They try the fish finder and for a moment it shows the depth but then freezes up. Finally after what felt like a few very long minutes as what feels like I am blinding driving down the shallow ICW, they think they have “reprogrammed it” and hopefully fixed the problem but neither one of them is too confident. We have a depth reading now and it’s staying on the screen. Larry hangs up. I ask "What’s the problem?" He says we don’t know. Hmm that doesn’t sound good to me. “Let’s go!” he says. MEETING OF WEATHER ZONES MAKES FOR STRANGE WEATHER? I cranked her up again and the depth
sounder seems to be with us now. For the time being there are no more
Alarm messages and no flashing screens going on and off. We come around
Crescent Bend and go through some huge wind waves. The boat is doing
nicely. We both say to each other that it must be really hairy outside on
the ocean today. When we came north in the Nordhavn we didn’t come on the
inside of this long stretch but left from Stuart and did an all-nighter to
St. Augustine. 9 KNOTS, HOW DID WE DO IT? The scenery is great, we’ve seen an amazing amount of dolphin swimming by the boat and the depths are just fine. We’ve got a faster boat this time and can make good head way unlike the slow 9 knots we did in the Nordhavn. Now when we slow down for any length of time doing 9 knots I about go crazy. I don’t know how we ever did it. Imagine 10,000 miles at 9 knots or less! We’ve got about 75 miles to cover today. The sun is in our eyes most of the morning and salt spray is on the windows making it a real strain watching for the markers. The wind never let up the whole day. It just blew like crazy. NEW CLIMATE ZONE We have crossed a climate zone and it really feels different, maybe it’s a bit of humidity in the air? And we begin to see a few palm trees now and no more marshes. The marshes are done, instantly gone from the landscape. Now we have sandy edges and hammock landscapes. HOUSE COMES WITH A DOCK
It’s incredible the number of docks we pass. Everyone has a dock sticking out from their house. It goes on mile after mile and they are all so close together. Too bad they couldn’t just be satisfied with a nearby marina to keep their boats as it isn’t a pretty picture. The boats are mostly small boats and are sitting on lifts under roofs built over each dock. I’m glad they’ve got their boats up out of the water because we can go at a fast pace and not have to worry about waking them. I can’t take many pictures because the windows are so crusted with salt. It’s a pretty uneventful day I guess except for the strong winds, waves and the incident with the depth sounder. Whatever the technician and Larry did it seems to have worked. We had no further problems that day with it. It seemed like a long day but we were there at the dock by about 2:00. I think we could’ve gone further but no sense in pushing it. I’m still pushing to get south and out of this freezing cold. This to me isn’t fun boating. NO MONSTER MARINA We think we’ve got a pretty good
place to dock tonight, right by a Chart House. We won’t be lost in the
maze of the huge marina next door, tucked into a slip between tall boats
on each side so you can’t see a thing.
As we approached the channel, we hailed the dock master and he gives us instructions to come in the little dredged entrance channel. He says that once we get in past the big boat, to make a right and come right in. Well, these were big boats in here and we were looking like a little munchkin. Once we got in the channel we turned right but couldn’t figure out where he wanted us. We called him again and finally we saw him waving at us. He wants us to go there? …BUT MONSTER YACHTS He was waving us in to a space against the concrete wall between two monster yachts. I guess we had just assumed he was going to put us on the outer docks with boats more our size but no, we were going right up to the bulk head next to the big guys and just steps from the Chart House. Thank goodness they helped us with the lines as the wind was blowing like crazy. At first he wanted us to go in on our port side and with the wind. We didn’t have much control with the wind and current. It’s hopeless for me to do anything
to help when these docks are so high I can’t jump off to get the lines
secure so in these situations you hope someone is on the dock to take the
lines and know what they are doing. Finally, I yelled out “Can’t we just
come in on our starboard side and into the wind? I think we’ll have more
control over the boat?” That was OK with them they said and I quickly
switch the lines and fenders while Larry turned around. Larry then was
able to get right up to the bulkhead nice and easy.
They were very nice and helped with the lines. We would’ve had a hard time, maybe an impossible time, without them because the concrete and posts were so high that I couldn’t lasso anything nor get off the boat. CLIMBING A JUNGLE GYM GETTING OFF THE BOATOnce we got settled, Zig was ready to go, as it was a long day for him. The problem was, how do we get off the boat? The dock guy and I laughed when we both realized it was next to impossible to get off on this high bulk head. He said, “Well, you could wait until high tide which is in about 2 ½ hours but that dog looks desperate.” Zig and I moved to the front of the boat where it was higher and I literally threw Ziggy up on the dock and then dock hand reached down and pulled me up. It probably looked very ungraceful, hilarious and I must admit a bit embarrassing since we were surrounded by monster yachts that were at the height where they could just walk straight off their yachts in the high heels on their fancy ramps. All I’ve got to say is with Larry things are never boring. WARM YET? Is it warmer here? Maybe two degrees. Yep, it was still freezing. We hosed the salt off and wiped everything down. Larry wanted to get something at West Marine so even though we were dog gone tired we decided to hoof it down to the next marina and find it. We also thought we’d find someplace to get a snack or drink but quickly found that there’s not much around here or if it there was it wasn’t open.
That night we had a nice evening out at the Chart House which was only steps from the boat. The food though was surprisingly really pretty mediocre considering the ridiculous prices and the pretty pretentious attitude of the wait staff.
THE TOWN WAS HYPED UP The town was hyped up and ready for Daytona 500. Big yachts were arriving by the hour like a parade and the crews were diligently working, polishing their every nook and cranny for the arrival of the owners, most of surprisingly fly in. Gourmet catered food supplies for the upcoming parties and VIPs were being delivered nonstop at the nearby parking lot and carted past our boat down the dock to the mega yachts. It was fun to watch. Soon some of the “big shots” began arriving having been picked up in their fancy polished cars from the airport by the crew and once delivered at the docks their bags were scooped up by the rest of the crew and delivered to the yachts. I wish we could have stayed a few more days to watch the excitement but a yacht was reserved for our space so we were leaving the next day. When we made our reservation they said we could only have the space until Friday because the races were starting and the place was going to be packed.
THOUSANDS OF BIRDS Thousands of birds were in the sky that day flying in big swirls with the strong winds. It was the most amazing sight. We wondered how they were faring in this unseasonably freezing cold. Maybe they are thinking they didn’t migrate far enough south. I know we were thinking we hadn’t gone far enough. Something was going on with them today as we’ve never seen anything like it. IN SEARCH OF WINE There was not a grocery store or wine shop within walking distance anywhere. Larry decided to check out the convenience store near the boat. I laughed wondering what kind of wine we could possibly find in a convenience store. Surprisingly he found two bottles of New Zealand Yellow Tail Chardonnay. It’s not on any connoisseur’s list but will do in a pinch. We took a walk behind the nearby boat yard across from where the Knotty Dog was docked. I wanted to get a picture of our pipsqueak boat in between all the mega yachts. It will be good for a laugh someday I thought.
We walked out on the old wooden pier behind their warehouse and just when I got a couple shots the freezing wind whipped off my hat and blew it in the water. THAT HAT AGAIN It was my favorite hat again! This time it was scooting in the wind across the choppy water of the marina. We were a long ways from the boat so it would be next to impossible to get the kayak launched in time to try and retrieve it. Also, I’m not sure I could paddle across the windswept chop to get the hat and still get back safely or easily or without freezing. “Oh well, it’s only a hat” I said sadly. We watched as the hat was heading towards a long tall concrete bulkhead over by some condos. We stood there for a long time wondering where exactly it was going to end up and why it hadn’t sunk yet. Finally Larry said he was going to walk around the block to the condos and get it. “NO, you won’t be able to get down the concrete wall and if you did, if you could, and once you did, you’d never be able to get back up again! I don’t have to have the hat!” “No, that’s your favorite hat and I can do it. We’ve rescued it once in St. Augustine’s so we need to get it again. You just wait here so you can point to where the hat is by the time I get over there!” “No, let it go!” There was no stopping Larry. He was
going to get my hat back for me. Zig and I stayed like glue to that pier
though the wind was freezing cold. That was the least I could do. It
seemed like it was taking Larry forever to get around all those condos and
we were getting so cold. After awhile, Ziggy didn’t want to stay and was
pulling and whining to leave.
It seemed like hours before Larry finally got to the condos and then when he showed himself he had picked the wrong one coming out on the wrong end of the bulkhead. The condos were fenced in like a prison (he later said as one was a ghetto and the other was upscale) so he couldn’t get through to the other side though the hat was only a few feet away. Poor guy, he had to walk all the way out of the war zone complex and then come through the other one next door. This time he came out at the right place. I still tried to convince him to go back and forget it but he was determined. He walked the length of the wall and finally at the end he found some big concrete blocks piled up in the water to protect the wall from wakes. That’s where he decided he could climb down and he did. He then walked the whole length of the wall by the water line where only a bit of shore was exposed because it was low tide (otherwise this exercise would never have been possible). By now the hat had worked its way to up onto a small patch of sandy beach by the wall and Larry snatched it up! He held it up and waved with a big cheesy smile! Then back he went, down the strip of shore, up the concrete wall and back through the condos. A woman who had just come back from grocery shopping and was getting out of her car by the wall saw him and asked what in the heck he was doing down there.
“Just getting my wife’s hat!” “Well, I hope it was worth it!” That was real gallantry. That darn hat seems to have a mind of its own or a very adventuring spirit. That hat is so valuable now that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to throw it away having twice been rescued in the ICW! TIME TO GO Next morning, early, we were out of there. The marina office has someone on hand 24 hours a day. I guess there has to be someone available at all times for these mega yachts. One came in late in the night during our stay. I asked the guy in the office if he could give us a hand with the lines because it was next to impossible to for me to get on or off the boat because of the wall this morning. He asked which boat was ours and I said “You can’t miss it because it’s the littlest one out there”. He laughed and said not to worry as most of the time this place is mostly full with only little boats as the big yachts are only here now for the races.
So off we went after a short exciting stop in Daytona Beach. Next stop today is a place called Cocoa Beach or City, not sure which, and we don’t know a thing about it.
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That was a terrifying trip for us. We had fifty knots
winds and wild thunder, lightning and the skies went black with scary
looking clouds. I felt like we literally were in the Bermuda Triangle.
This area is weird and stormy I think but Larry just laughs when I say
that. I read that this is where the temperate zone meets with the semi
tropic zone and they must like to spat a bit. Well, I’m glad I’m on the
inside route today, in the protection of the ICW this time.
For breakfast the day after we
arrived we walked down to the “historical district” about a mile and a
half away looking for a place. It was freezing cold as usual, nothing new
about that. We found one place and luckily it had some tables and chairs
outside where we could sit with Ziggy. Again…what we do for this dog!
Everyone was inside, nice and warm, and there we were outside and
freezing. The waitress was happy to wait on us though and would put on
her jacket every time she came out to fill up our coffee cup. 
We then walked the historic district
“strip” and poked in some of their funky “antique” shops along the way
mostly just to get out of the cold. We came across a cute little hot dog
stand called “Stinky’s” right on International Speedway Blvd. 
