02/27 - 03/01 - St. John's River Gathering

Avidmagnum12

Avidmagnum12

Member
Time now to plan for the Second St. John's river gathering at Hontoon state park. The dates we are looking at are Friday February 27 through Sunday March 1. Of course people can come and go as they wish. Last year we had 17 C-Dorys and Cape Cruisers attend! Lots of the greatest people in the world C-Brats! The staff at Hontoon Island State Park are looking forward to our return! Boating, campfires, food and fellowship are on the docket. If you were here last year you know what I am talking about. If you've never boated this area you are missing an adventure. The boat slips are only about $20 bucks plus tax with water and electric.....less if your over 65 and a Florida resident.

Tom and Joyce Schulke
Out2C
C-Dory 22 Cruiser



Added to Calendar
Signup list
-TyBoo
 
Tom and Joyce(the "other" one), :-), were hosts extraordinaire last year. We'll put it on the calendar and see where we are at after the first of the year. Those of you planning a Florida cruise this winter should not miss this. It is some of the best cruising in Florida, and us coastal types really, really enjoy the fresh water. Another great advantage is the ability to find protected water when the fronts come through. You can't go wrong with a St.John's River cruise!!!
 
Hi Tom & Joyce!
I don't know if 2 weeks earlier would make a significant difference in weather risk (northerlies), but Mon Feb 16 is a Federal Holiday for the for the 47% of us latched onto one Federal teat or another (I'm a contractor, Eileen is Civil Service).
Anyway, we enjoyed last years posts. We could launch at NAS JAX marina and drive truck/trailer down to Sanford and Enterprise back up...or just boat both ways, depending on how many slow/no wake zones there are. Do you have advice or a resource on that?
Cheers!
John
 
We have done the St. Johns in a 42' sundeck trawler in 2011. We now have a 26' Venture C-Dory and would love to do the St. Johns again. We spend the winter in the Keys so coming to Green Cove Springs is no problem. Keep us posted and hopefully we can make it. I know it's a great cruise.
 
We expect to be in AZ for the first few/several weeks of 2015 (downsizing 'stuff and getting a house ready to put on the market...) but if we can get back to The Villages in time we'll be there!

Best,
C&M
 
"We could launch at NAS JAX marina and drive truck/trailer down to Sanford and Enterprise back up...or just boat both ways, depending on how many slow/no wake zones there are. Do you have advice or a resource on that?"
Cheers!
John[/quote]

The river from Jacksonville to Palatka is somewhat industrial. From Palatka south I think the river is much more interesting. And it gets better the more south you head.The plan to get the trailer down to Sanford and get a rental car back to the boat would be my choice. Stop at Georgetown before crossing Lake George nice town and a decent marina. There is a nice stop off of Lake George called Silver Glen Springs on the west side of Lake George. Crystal clear 72 degree fresh water year round. Can get crowed on the weekends. Check location using Active Captain. They say the ten miles or so crossing Lake George can get rough if the wind kicks up. Then stay at Hontoon State Park or Holly Bluff Marina and then on to Sanford. In Sanford there is a decent German restaurant and an attached bakery that is a decent dinner or lunch spot. Nice marina and town to stroll around. Check Active Captain for places to launch and marinas or anchorages to stop at along the way. Safe Travels,
D.D.
 
How Exciting! Toby and I attended our first CBGT last year at the St. Johns gathering on the Comfy Dory. What a Hoot! Met some of the Folks that we had read about over the years and had a fantastic time. Good Food and New Friends. You can count on us to attend.
We will be spending a week on the St. Johns for our annual trip between Christmas and New Years', launching on Lake Harney and spending New Year's Eve somewhere in a cove or a bend in the River on the Hook...Best way to spend that night we have found. We'll do some exploring for new day trips at the CBGT. Can't wait to see everyone again and maybe some new Brats as well.
We just traveled down the ICW to St. Lucie Inlet from our home on Merritt Island last weekend and passed the 10,000 mile mark on the Comfy Dory since we bought her in July 2007. The Comfy does not like to sit idle for too long!
See Everyone in Feb.

Tad and Toby
 
Wow ....lots of interest this early.....great! Just got back from a scuba diving trip a little while ago in Marathon Florida and........Yes, you can SCUBA dive from a C-dory 22.

Hank and Pat...Glad you made it last year and this year even better with your boat! Great!

James and Betty.... Hope the Molly Brown and crew can make it! Fun to see you dock with 2 engines.

Stan.....Cliff slept on his 16......are you up to the adventure?

John....Sorry the dates were already set last year.....some folks leave their boat and trailer in Astor and cruse from there. I like the area from Astor to Sanford the best. Be fun to see a 25' tomcat. I'll post some notes on launch sites soon..... See the Will-C notes...good info.

Hope the Grace Full can make it. You'll love the river by the Deland area.

Casey and Mary.....I know all about downsizing! You'll get it done. See you at Hontoon.

Tad and Toby....glad you can make it for the second gathering. We will probably be on the river over Christmass time....hope to see the Comfy Dory while we are Out2C.

More later...Tom Schulke
Out2C 22 Commuter
90 honda
 
After reflection I see no reason not to commit. Just added us to the sign up list. Obviously looking forward to this cruise. We'll be on the river prior to and after the event as well so monitor 16 and keep an eye out for the crew of the Molly Brown, human and canine :wink:
 
Looking through this thread, looking at posting dates, and looking for geographic information, (maybe it's because I'm from the left side), I am a bit confused.

Which year is this setting for? Prob 2015, but there is a early notation stating 2014.

Feb and Mar are coming up so 2015 seems logical. Could we see a full date set.

And Where, since there are more than one St Johns rivers to choose from? Appears most likely in Florida. Have not found that state park yet.

Sorry to be a pain. Just looking at future planning possibilities.

Thanks for the updates.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Ya mon in 2015. The 2014 Feb train left awhile ago. Hoontoon State Park is near Deland Florida which is about 40 minutes west of Daytona beach. The St John's river runs north to Jacksonville, Florida where it dumps into the Atlantic ocean.
D.D.
 
I am in the process of purchasing a cruiser 25 and the Hontoon gathering may be fun. The boat is out of state at this time; but is plan to have it in florida by the time of the meet.
 
Taking place in early 2015.

For info see.......

http://www.floridastateparks.org/hontoo ... efault.cfm

And just down the river is Blue Springs........

http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/default.cfm

Cruising areas on the river......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocklawaha_River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wekiva_River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Johns_River

2 major lakes.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_George_(Florida) with numerous spring runs....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Monroe_(Florida)

and a whole lot of other small rivers and lakes, manatees, gators, turkeys, birds, fish, deer, maybe even a black bear if your lucky. In a specific section of the river you may even hear wild monkeys. That will get your hair up the first time :o
 
James and Betty on the TomCat Molly Brown, and DD,(HBofA),

Hey, Thanks so much for the clarification and the links. This may still be wishful thinking but isn't totally out of the realm of possibility. The wildlife sounds cool, well up to the wild monkey bit :shock: wild but not native :?: right :oops:

Won't be signing up right now but will be following along, in case. I like the idea of some group travel, especially in new places.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Your welcome, Harvey, and don't sweat it. I've the same situation as you but in the other direction. Right coast, left coast. I'm continually having to look at maps when you guys talk about your cruising grounds. And your right about a group....local knowledge. We freak out and are amazed at even a 4' tide, wimps that we are :shock: We are spoiled down here. Last cruise the water temps were in the low 90's. Yes, I said water temps! Needless to say we get to leave a ton of gear at home, though with my figure I should probably cover it up, lol

James
 
This is my first year retired from teaching and our first C-Dory gathering. If everything falls into place, we hope to be down at the Astor marina a few days before the gathering.
 
James,

One of the things I often leave at home is a cooler. I haven't even seen air temps in the 90's for ages. (We did have a long hot dry summer but I was busy working, in an air conditioned office.) Might have to reconsider the long johns :?: :lol:

Lots of new things to learn. Like 4 foot tides. Could be a big deal if you only have 10 feet of water to work with.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

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