We had a wonderful two day crossing from the Bahamas to Saint Augustine, Florida. Most of the day was spent sailing west into the Gulf Stream with a stiff breeze moving Makai along at 7-8 kts. As the sun went down we entered the Gulf Stream and headed north making 10 -11 kts with the help of the Gulf Stream’s swiftly moving river of warm water. The next day the wind decreased and it was apparent that we wouldn’t make it into port by night fall, so for most of the night with the sails down, we along at 1 knot waiting for the sun to come up to safely enter the harbor.
Eric called U.S. Immigration to check in. They took our passport numbers and directed us to the office where we could have our faces matched to the passports. The rental car company couldn’t come pick us up until late afternoon, so we did a little sight seeing. I visited Saint Augustine when I was 11 years old on a family vacation and then again a few years ago when the kids and I visited my mother while she was escaping a Buffalo winter. This is a beautiful place to visit.
Saint Augustine was claimed for Spain in 1513 by Ponce de Leon, the settlement was later established in 1565 and is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America. Entering the harbor you are greeted by Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S., built in 1672. This fort was later occupied by the British, Spain again, Confederates, Union, and finally became part of the United States when Florida became a state in 1845. Castillo de San Marcos is made of a stone called coquina, meaning little shells in Spanish. Ancient shells fused together, similar to limestone, and was able to withstand the shock of cannon balls without cracking and crumbling like harder other stone might.
The view from the top of the fort looks over the mooring field where Makai is waiting for us, as well as the Bridge of Lions.
The Bridge of Lions was finished in 1927 connecting the mainland with Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici Lions guard the entrance. This bascule bridge opens regularly to allow sailboats to pass into the south end of the river.
We showed great restraint walking along St. George Street. This walking street is several blocks long, lined with shops full of brightly colored trinkets and restaurants with live music and delicious smells. The kids spotted dream catchers and thought of our friends on the Leopard Catamaran DreamCatcher. Hi Jeanette, Ken, and Beth
Once we got the rental car all kinds of adventures were open to us. Like lunch at Panda Express.
This light house on Anastasia Island in Saint Augustine was built in 1874 and is still used as an aid to navigation for mariners. We watched its light during the night before our arrival. There are many lighthouses along the eastern shore, each with unique tower and light patterns. Saint Augustine’s sister light house is Cape Hatteras, check out our Outter Banks post to see if you see the difference. It might be hard to see from this angle, but they both have black and white stripes, only Saint Augustine is red at the top and Cape Hatteras is black.
Mears must be a popular family name here on the east coast. In Florida there is a Mears transportation company with buses and taxis, Mears Marina in the upper Chesapeake Bay, and Hank Mears was a Saint Augustine Lighthouse keeper.
The water outside of Saint Augustine is very shallow with breaking waves for at least one mile from land. The channel markers aren’t even posted on the charts because the sand shifts so often that the markers are moved regularly.
We climbed the 219 steps for a spectacular view. From the lighthouse we could easily see the Bridge of Lions, Castillo de San Marcos and Makai in the harbor waiting for us.
The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park was an interesting mix of history, science and wild life.
While there are tales about searching for the Fountain of Youth for thousands of years across many cultures, I didn’t see any real evidence that this is what brought Ponce de Leon to Florida’s shores.
I’m sure the spring they found here was an asset for their new claim. The Timucua people had already been living in the northern part of Florida for nearly 200 years before the Spanish claimed ‘all they can see’ and beyond.
Spanish Moss is plentiful in the south eastern states. It grows in long drapes over live oak and cypress trees. The kids like to wear it like an old man’s beard.
The park is also home to a muster of Indian Peafowl. The white ones are simply the product of recessive genes. This guy spent quite a bit of time with his feathers fanned out and even vibrated them a bit to attract the attention of a peahen.
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All of these military exhibits like to demonstrate the use of gunpowder. We learned a bit about cannons and plugged our ears for the demonstration.
The kids put themselves back in time to do a little exploring in a dug out canoe.
My boy Roy turned 13 today, May 14th. We discussed what he might like to do. Since we had our fill of beaches, snorkeling and fishing, Roy decided to do something a little crazy for his birthday. He started with the new Captain America movie and then a little miniature golf.
The day finished up with Chinese food in the captain’s lounge watching River Monsters and finally lemon cupcakes on Makai. We now have a teenager on board.
The original plan was to stay for two or three days and then continue north, but a weather system came through bringing wind out of the north and thunder storms so we decided to live the good life. We had showers, laundry, tv, a rental car, access to stores and west marine, and a beautiful waterfront to walk along. Now lets get a few projects out of the way.
Our VHF antenna was worthless. We could only hear people in the same bay as us if they were using their radio on high power. In fact our hand held radio received transmissions better than Makai’s big radio. Before leaving the Bahamas, Eric ordered a new antenna and cable to go with it. After half a day at the top of the mast the little 18 inch antenna was replaced with an eight foot whip.
He finished the installation just in time to avoid the cold front. This season we’ve been able to see the fronts pass by. They look like a huge band of black clouds that passes over head. On the other side of it the air is much colder and brings wind and rain.
Last year we noticed our propane tanks were getting old. They’re in great shape but the inspection date expired and U.S. fill stations don’t want to fill them without a visual inspection. Having the car is great because a 5 mile ride down the road is a breeze.
The rental car came in handy once again, Eric spent a day helping a neighbor find new batteries for their boat. After a few trips to West Marine and an excursion to Jacksonville, they were in business. Meanwhile I lifted the Hobie, removed the trampolines, and restitched along every seam. Over time the thread rots and the stitches disintegrate, one of the tramps was held together by little more than the grommets around the edge. Unfortunately, I was half way through the three seams on the second tramp when my needle hit a grommet, threw the arm off to the left and snapped a metal piece in the machine. I can order a new piece, but it means I never finished the job. Eric bought new line to tie them down with and it took the rest of the day to tighten them down.
This week is an art and music festival at the waterfront. These young guys did a great job with old time surf music, no vocals, just jam’n guitars.
The marina is also home to two Spanish Galleons, El Galeon & Nao Victoria. There are also a pirate cruise and a harbor sailing cruise that sail by a few times each day.
Within walking distance is the Lightner museum displaying exhibits from the Gilded age. The museum started out as the Hotel Alcazar in 1887, built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler.
Walking through the rooms it was fun to imagine the beautiful clothes and parties this hotel hosted.
Back to 2014, how about a trip to Costco. Oh yeah! we loaded up on grapes, cashews, and juice. Somehow a few hundred dollars later we escaped with only one cart load.
Our week is almost over, better get that last minute haircut. We got tips on how to apply the fancy colors into that pretty blonde sister hair and trimmed several inches of dry abused hair off the ends.
Now we’re making our way to Cape Hatteras. Check out http://passageweather.com/ and the maps for the western north Atlantic, Florida to Cape Hatteras. Over the next week we’ll try to stay in the Gulf Stream, keep the wind to our back, and keep warm. The guys were complaining that it was getting cold so they had to put on a shirt. Wait until they’re north of Cape Hatteras, then they’ll be wearing a jacket and hat too.