St.Johns River, Florida

[Molly Brown]

Tab and Toby....
You've certainly had some fine weather and it looks as though it should hold out for our launch. I see the record lows/highs for my cruising time is 85 to 11 degrees. Quite the spread! Hoping you'll post on your return. It's all I think about these days. In fairness to my wife, I should be thinking about her completing her first marathon, which is to happen the day we launch. Run, Baby, run :-)

[Tad and Toby Jackson]

Hi James and Betty,

Well, we had ourselves quite a week on THE RIVER! We had our Christmas Eve party for about 60 Friends and Family, Christmas Day dinner with our Kids and Familes and then launched the Comfy Dory on Wed. the 26th about 11:00 AM. Pretty good wind with approaching front and no one on Lake Harney. Spent the first night up Deep Creek and awoke to 38 degree temps...BRRR! Caught a couple of Crappie and a Channel Cat on the Lake and then headed north. Thurs. night on Dutchman's Loop near Blue Springs and 38 degrees again the next morning. Went to the Springs to watch the manatee...they had just done a count and there were approx. 325 in the Spring Run. Quite something to watch those Gentle Giants move so gracefully through the water and there were many babies. We saw a 22' Cruiser at Hontoon Island named Merideth Anne with NC #'s, but no one around. Made the run up to Lake George and spent that night at the mouth of Juniper Creek with Temps in the 4o's. Also went into Silver Glen Springs and there were only 3-4 boats in there. Next night, we spent on the old Ocklawaha after a delightfull late lunch at Cafe Blue at the Welaka Town dock. Food there is great and Roxy and her husband Blue (the Cook) are quite a pair...she's a retired showgirl from NY and he is a fine cook. Unfortunately, we had to turn around there and head back south as we both had to work on Wed. the 2nd. Another night on Dutchman's Loop before a run all the way back to Lake Harney on New Year's Day. About 275 miles round trip at about 4.5 miles per gallon.
Enjoy your time on this wonderful body of water. You will enjoy and I think your weather timing will be better than ours. Pictures to follow in the near future.

Tad and Toby.

[Molly Brown]

Top ten cruise just completed, and we can wholeheartedly recommend this area to all. Our particular range extended from Lake Sanford to Palatka, 222nm, 83.7 gallons of fuel, with an average cruising speed that would make the Birdman proud, 3.5 nm/hr. Never exceeded 7.5 knots, and that only surfing wind waves across Lake George ahead of the first "cold" front. The Honda's never revved above 2200 rpm which produced the best gas mileage this vessel has ever gotten, and I have to say we really enjoyed the slower pace. I may be a closet trawler man and didn't know it, but practicality of my lifestyle demands the get up and go of our beloved Dory's. More to follow and I WILL post some pics unlike our Florida Loop cruise where all we managed was one lousy pic.

[Sunbeam]

Sounds like a great cruise - I can't wait to see photos

[Larry K]

Sounds like you had a great time. We are headed down to Sanford March 23 to travel to Jacksonville and back. We would love to hear about the trip and what ports you stoped at, where you eat and any other info you might pass a long. Also what charts did you use?

[Molly Brown]

First a disclaimer...I am not a writer, nor a scientist/educator so this post may seem disjointed. Also, my apologies for calling Lake Monroe, lake sanford, as there are those that would take exception to that mistake. When I lived in Orlando back in the early 70's it was always "the lake at Sanford" and I'm having to always correct myself.

We launched from the Monroe Harbour Marina mid Sunday afternoon and got a slip for my triumphant wife who successfully completed her first marathon. Way to go, Baby! After a 5 hour run you kinda need a shower, and I bought her dinner at Wolfy's just a short walk from our slip. She was dead asleep by 5:15. I commend the city of Sanford for they have quite the Riverwalk and is well used by all sorts of folks.

The next morn we commenced our "no itinerary" trip with a slow cruise out of the marina, across Lake Monroe to our first railroad bridge. We will hear the trains using this railway all throughout our trip. This added quite well to the ambiance of olden, slower days of the paddlewheels that plied these same waters. It was not expected that we would never get on plane and the slower place was a nice change. Being coastal saltwater types, the fresh water environment was a welcome change. Easier on the systems too, and allowed us to really extend the onboard supply of fresh water. We could easily do a week, 2 adult humans and 2 canines, without resupply. It should be mentioned that when someone speaks of the St.John's that we are talking about a major system of interconnected waters. We visited and transversed lakes Monroe, George, Little George, Woodruff, Dexter, Beresford,; did spring runs up the Wekiva, Juniper, Salt, De Leon; ran the "Dead Rivers" Hontoon, Norris and Zeigler; in addition to the Oklawaha River, Murphy Creek and numerous coves. A couple of notable exceptions would be Rice Creek and Silver Glen which we did the last trip and remember well. For the timid, we admit to bumping a few logs, but at sub 3 knots no damage to boat or engines and I can say that with reasonable care you're well rewarded by the experience. The river water level is 8-10 inches lower than when we were here in 06/07 and this afforded myself and the pups endless opportunities for virgin swamp walks. We managed 3+ stops per day and even got in a couple of swims. Swimming begs the mention of gators, lots of them. In fact, if one was to do a "Big Year" this would be a good place to start. The wildlife was incredible with lots of gators, hundreds of turtles and thousands of birds. Betty caught 7 or 8 different species of fish, so we had surf and turf dinners, and channel cats with eggs for breakfast. These are not NW/Alaskan fish in size but quite edible none the less.

Some random thoughts and observations.....

13 days/12 nights we anchored out every night but two. There is nothing like fishing in your slippers. I have to wonder, and have yet figured out, why a day on the water goes sooooo much faster on the boat. Believe me when I say there is not a moment to spare, never bored, and unlike summer days, not one single nap! We did the first night in Sanford and they have a very nice waterfront. Day 11 we rented a slip at Hontoon Island State Park. We had a friend drive over from the Brooksville area and spend 2 nights aboard with us exploring that area. This is a very nice facility and we spent 3 hours walking their trails the one morning we were there before our departure. We were the only boat other than the marina host boat. Water, power, quiet, low cost. Note, be sure to circumnavigate the island by heading upriver from the marina to marker Red 82 and take the old mosquito ditch to the Hontoon Dead River. Very cool and don't forget to lower all antennas, flags, anchor light. We did this as a routine for all our spring runs. You will find marinas, some not more than a fish camp, and others with the full facilities. Most of my need is for supplies rather than a place to spend the night.

Astor has a couple of marinas and 2-3 restaurants.

Georgetown Marina at the top of Lake George has always been a good stop for us, maybe not for overnight but we have always resupplied with them, friendly and have a working pump out.

Welaka is a jewel. You can stop at the public boat ramp and walk up the hill to the bait shop. JR runs the place and has ice/bait/local knowledge. One block further east is a convenience store, pharmacy, restaurant.

Palatka has made great strides in establishing themselves as a waterfront destination. They have very nice courtesy docks and a charming waterfront. Unfortunately they do lack downtown businesses still. We walked several blocks in search of a grocery store before learning there are none within walking distance. However, East Palatka has a grocery store which is accessible from the dock at Corky Bell's, a restaurant located at Devils Bend on the River. The restaurant was gracious enough to let us dock and walk across the street to buy provisions. When we returned we opted to stick around for some drinks and dinner. BTW...the cruising guides that mention Burger King on the water...well not any more, they moved across the road and are now located by the grocery store.

Pictures at http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=St-Johns-River-2013&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

[Sunbeam]

[Molly Brown]

Thanks but you have no idea at how I struggle with this and the time I've spent trying to condense it all down. Don't hesitate to come on down, most do in the wintertime, and we had most places all to ourselves which surprised me some. There was very little river traffic especially during the week. Not to mention these Dory's go places most don't or can't.

[Sunbeam]

[ddenver]

Great read and wonderful pictures too.

Do you get lots of mosquitos down there this time of year? Other bugs?
Did not notice netting and appears to show you all out and about quite freely.

Sorry if it's a dumb question but never spent much of any time in Florida and absolutely ZERO time in Florida's non-coastal areas.

Tanks,
Dan, Tanya, and Hannah on C-Renity

[Hunkydory]

I thoroughly enjoyed your sharing of this cruise. We too have come to prefer the slower trawler speed for the majority of our cruising when there isn't a specific need for going faster. In your photo album Betty does look quite relaxed & comfortable sitting in that blue adjustable chair. last summer we brought two of them with us on our Alaska cruise & what a difference in comfort they made during those three months compared to our previous extended cruises over the last 10 years in our CD 22.

I think your concerns about your ability to share your cruise in writing is the same one which stops many from sharing their adventures here & the main reason there are so few who do. It is a daunting task that for most is a difficult challenge not only in the doing, but in leaving yourself open to critique. I have very little formal education & prior to my sharing of our boating adventures here with the C-Brats my only writing was letters home during service time & a occasional memo during my working career, so probably had even more concern then you before beginning my first attempt. Just wished more would put their lack of confidence in their ability to share their adventures behind them, like you, because I think for many of us it's one of the things we most enjoy about this site.

Jay

[Molly Brown]

The bug question was one I meant to address. I'd told Tad and Toby that we wouldn't be bringing the air or generator but the weather was so warm leading up to our departure that I decided to bring them anyway, and glad I did. The first 4 days of our cruise saw temps in the 80's and though the air did not have to work hard, I set it all up each evening. We all, human and canine, seem to sleep better with the gentle vibrations of the generator and the "white noise" of the air's fan, like being enveloped in a cocoon. Once the first cold front settled in we never used it again. I have been in Florida a long time and have never experienced the bugs we encountered on Lake Woodruff. Though they were not bitters, I have never seen the shear number of bugs that descended on us that night. Thousands! maybe a million. The buzz was deafening and that alone warranted the extra effort as my air is a portable unit for the time being. After that, each evening at dusk we would get some bugs but they would soon vanish once dark set it. Evenings were very pleasant.

[JamesTXSD]

Hi James and Betty,

Great write up! Enjoyed the photos, too. As one who has written up a trip or two , just write for yourself. It makes a great "diary" you can refer back to. The more you write, the easier it gets.

Thanks for sharing that with us.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[ken 120]

Great info and description of a neat cruise-planning on cruising this river in Nov. of this year- just wondering for navigation purposes did you use paper charts or GPS chip?

Thanks

Ken

[Molly Brown]

Ken, I flew blind. Used the sonar exclusively. I would have gladly download the gps info but Betty really enjoys navigating. Gives her a semblance of control, lol. Anyway, I talked to a local captain about this one route we were unsure of and he says " got a phone? ". Betty does happen to have an Iphone and we did bring up aerials of some tight spots but I agreed with her it's more fun to just go with the paper charts and discover what's what. We used a flip chart kit from Maptech, East Coast and inland, that's been on my boat for 10 years. These are based on NOAA charts and for the most part are amazingly accurate.