Bluechablis
New member
Wow, great photography, thank you for the adventure. We will be putting the trip on our map of places to visit.
Dessert 1st to the St. John's River
- Thread starter Casey
- Start date
Gee's this was a tough day.
We departed the Naval Air Station a little after 0900 but missed the railroad bridge opening, so had to dink around until 1400 for the next opening.
Luckily, less than a mile south of the bridge was a Very large farmer's market with live music, being conducted right at the edge of the River. We stopped at the adjacent (free) dock and wandered, had a great coconut-fish sandwich, which then required that we nap until nearer the bridge opening time.
About a half mile past the RR bridge we came to the Jacksonville Landing, and naturally (because of all the open/free dock space), we felt compelled to stop and look around. Lots of families there, and it was a Perfect day. Mary claims to have found the best ice cream in the World (it was called: Calypso Crunch [chocolate with peanut butter and pretzel...]). Yes, it was good!
At the JAX Landing we also spent about two hours in the (free) Jacksonville Maritime Museum. Really a cool place, with lots of very good ship replica's, WWII history as it related to Jacksonville, and other interesting factoids. Example: Hunkins Yachts, a local company, was one of the major designer's producer's of PT-boats on WWII which were powered by three V-12 Packard engines. V'rooom!
Jacksonville permits boater's to dock at the Landing for up to 72-hours (free), but we felt we'd better make AT LEAST ten miles today, so off we went!
Two miles farther up the River we came to the stadium docks where you are also permitted to stay (free) for 72-hours. Do you see a pattern developing
here? So here we are. The sun is setting, the winds are light, the sky is clear, and there are only about eight boats in this (estimated) 60+ boat basin with nice floating docks (and electricity if you want it).
Tomorrow will be another high mileage day; we're planning to make at least fifteen miles tomorrow.
Life isn't Good; it's GREAT!
Best,
Casey&Mary
We departed the Naval Air Station a little after 0900 but missed the railroad bridge opening, so had to dink around until 1400 for the next opening.
Luckily, less than a mile south of the bridge was a Very large farmer's market with live music, being conducted right at the edge of the River. We stopped at the adjacent (free) dock and wandered, had a great coconut-fish sandwich, which then required that we nap until nearer the bridge opening time.
About a half mile past the RR bridge we came to the Jacksonville Landing, and naturally (because of all the open/free dock space), we felt compelled to stop and look around. Lots of families there, and it was a Perfect day. Mary claims to have found the best ice cream in the World (it was called: Calypso Crunch [chocolate with peanut butter and pretzel...]). Yes, it was good!
At the JAX Landing we also spent about two hours in the (free) Jacksonville Maritime Museum. Really a cool place, with lots of very good ship replica's, WWII history as it related to Jacksonville, and other interesting factoids. Example: Hunkins Yachts, a local company, was one of the major designer's producer's of PT-boats on WWII which were powered by three V-12 Packard engines. V'rooom!
Jacksonville permits boater's to dock at the Landing for up to 72-hours (free), but we felt we'd better make AT LEAST ten miles today, so off we went!
Two miles farther up the River we came to the stadium docks where you are also permitted to stay (free) for 72-hours. Do you see a pattern developing
here? So here we are. The sun is setting, the winds are light, the sky is clear, and there are only about eight boats in this (estimated) 60+ boat basin with nice floating docks (and electricity if you want it).
Tomorrow will be another high mileage day; we're planning to make at least fifteen miles tomorrow.
Life isn't Good; it's GREAT!
Best,
Casey&Mary
Larry Patrick
New member
Enjoyable read,sounds like a great trip,the water looks beautiful at the springs.
Avidmagnum12
Member
Casey & Mary,
We sure had a good time sharing anchor with the great crew of Desert 1st. Following their Spot travels is fun. It does however make us sad we had only those few days. It's a good thing for c-brats to get together. We're thinking about putting in at Daytona beach on Friday and heading north on the ICW to St Augustine. Let us know if you plan on still being out there then. We'll try to look you up.
Tom & Joyce, Out2C.
CD Commuter 22
We sure had a good time sharing anchor with the great crew of Desert 1st. Following their Spot travels is fun. It does however make us sad we had only those few days. It's a good thing for c-brats to get together. We're thinking about putting in at Daytona beach on Friday and heading north on the ICW to St Augustine. Let us know if you plan on still being out there then. We'll try to look you up.
Tom & Joyce, Out2C.
CD Commuter 22
Stan Major
New member
Hey Tom and Joyce I have wanted to make that trip. My daughter is coming in this weekend but maybe we can do that in the future. On Thursday I am joining the Daytona Beach Boat Club and they have a short cruise scheduled almost every month. This past Saturday we did get from Edgewater to Inlet Harbor Restaurant Ponce Inlet. I thought I had seen reports of the inlet being dredged around disappearing island. I still ran across a shoal where the water was only a foot deep. Thank God for this C-Dory being able to get through shallow water.
We spent the night on anchor at Pine Island (only about ten miles north of St. Augustine), so we'll be there later this morning (Monday/11th). Pizza at "Pizza Time" tonight! (Yeah!!!)
Although mooring balls are only $20/night, we're planning to get a slip ($2/ft/night), but probably just for one night. We're not wild about paying upwards of $50 for a slip, but we figure that having a slip should make access to town easier. Now a weather concern....
The forecast is calling for NNE winds increasing to 30-35K Tuesday evening and BLOW Wednesday, tapering on Thursday. As a result we want to figure out where-to-be for the 'blow. Maybe St. Augustine, or maybe somewhere a bit farther south. We had planned too take-out at Ormond Beach (about 55 miles south) on Wed (20Nov), but we're about a week ahead of where we intended to be. Hmmm...wonder how that happened? Our average speed for the entire trip is less than 6mph, and we've spent extra days here and there. Oh well, maybe we'll have to go a little farther south. Stay tuned!
Yesterday, the trip down the ICW from JAX was fine. Most of it was in "the ditch" (a long straight dredged canal lined with homes). We didn't see any real anchorages until we arrived here at Pine Island, and we suspect the local's wouldn't take kindly to us tying up to their docks!
Anyway, we had a perfect night. Now it's just a matter of figuring out what to do for the next week, and avoid the coming wx.
Best,
Casey&Mary
Although mooring balls are only $20/night, we're planning to get a slip ($2/ft/night), but probably just for one night. We're not wild about paying upwards of $50 for a slip, but we figure that having a slip should make access to town easier. Now a weather concern....
The forecast is calling for NNE winds increasing to 30-35K Tuesday evening and BLOW Wednesday, tapering on Thursday. As a result we want to figure out where-to-be for the 'blow. Maybe St. Augustine, or maybe somewhere a bit farther south. We had planned too take-out at Ormond Beach (about 55 miles south) on Wed (20Nov), but we're about a week ahead of where we intended to be. Hmmm...wonder how that happened? Our average speed for the entire trip is less than 6mph, and we've spent extra days here and there. Oh well, maybe we'll have to go a little farther south. Stay tuned!
Yesterday, the trip down the ICW from JAX was fine. Most of it was in "the ditch" (a long straight dredged canal lined with homes). We didn't see any real anchorages until we arrived here at Pine Island, and we suspect the local's wouldn't take kindly to us tying up to their docks!
Anyway, we had a perfect night. Now it's just a matter of figuring out what to do for the next week, and avoid the coming wx.
Best,
Casey&Mary
Thanks for sharing your travels w/ the rest of us Casey and Mary.
The pictures are wonderful too.... so good I went thru the rest of your travel albums. Great to see you both enjoying so many varied locations. Great pics.... who usually 'captains' the camera? Pretty good eye to catch so many interesting images.
As to Florida area boat travel is $2 / foot a typical moorage price everywhere in the state?
Is there a dearth of anchor locations all around Florida also or is both moorage more expensive and anchorage availability much more lacking along the heavier populated Atlantic coast?
Thanks and safe travels!
Dan, Tanya, and Hannah on C-Renity
The pictures are wonderful too.... so good I went thru the rest of your travel albums. Great to see you both enjoying so many varied locations. Great pics.... who usually 'captains' the camera? Pretty good eye to catch so many interesting images.
As to Florida area boat travel is $2 / foot a typical moorage price everywhere in the state?
Is there a dearth of anchor locations all around Florida also or is both moorage more expensive and anchorage availability much more lacking along the heavier populated Atlantic coast?
Thanks and safe travels!
Dan, Tanya, and Hannah on C-Renity
C-Renity ... Good questions. Mary is the photographer. On our trip to AK last summer she took several thousand photo's. I, on the other hand took four ... or was it five??
I don't think there is a 'regular per foot charge for marina's; it's what ever the market will allow. On this trip we've seen everything from Free to $1.95/ft. We particularly enjoy anchoring out, but sometimes it's just not possible. We'll have a better perspective on that later this year when we do the South Florida Loop again.
Currently we're in St. Augustine. The marina is very comfortable and well-placed for walking to downtown. We may stay here another couple of days, or head south to Marineland, we just don't know yet. Stay tuned.
Best,
Casey&Mary
I don't think there is a 'regular per foot charge for marina's; it's what ever the market will allow. On this trip we've seen everything from Free to $1.95/ft. We particularly enjoy anchoring out, but sometimes it's just not possible. We'll have a better perspective on that later this year when we do the South Florida Loop again.
Currently we're in St. Augustine. The marina is very comfortable and well-placed for walking to downtown. We may stay here another couple of days, or head south to Marineland, we just don't know yet. Stay tuned.
Best,
Casey&Mary
El and Bill
New member
We're tuned -- thanks, guys. Cheers --
Avidmagnum12
Member
Hi Stan
Always fun to be on the water......no mater where that is. We spend most of our time on the St. John's. But time to stretch our wings out a little farther.
We will have to get together sometime soon. I always carry a collapsible push pull on the Out2C.....it has come in handy more than a few times. Usually when I want to push the stern away from the shore when I bring the boat parallel. Have fun with your daughter this weekend.....family is important.
Tom and Joyce
Out2C
Always fun to be on the water......no mater where that is. We spend most of our time on the St. John's. But time to stretch our wings out a little farther.
We will have to get together sometime soon. I always carry a collapsible push pull on the Out2C.....it has come in handy more than a few times. Usually when I want to push the stern away from the shore when I bring the boat parallel. Have fun with your daughter this weekend.....family is important.
Tom and Joyce
Out2C
Stan Major
New member
Thanks Tom & Joyce. Future get together sounds good. I used to carry a pole in my Duffy since I was always catching some sand. I have gotten out of the 16 before to push off into deeper water.
We wondered if the forecast was off, or had the Wx Service over estimated the coming winds. Yesterday in St. Augustine was beautiful, sunny, cool, and fewer people than on Monday.
The forecast had been calling for upwards of Gale force winds to arrive late Tuesday night. By bedtime it was (still) nearly calm. I got up at 0110 and the wind had picked up to maybe 10mph. I figured the weatherman had missed the 'call. Wrong. By 0140 it was blowing about 20, and increasing ... And that's what it has been the rest of the night. It's now a little after 6AM and the wind is enough to be howling outside. I'm guessing it's sustained 25-30K with some higher gusts. ...pretty impressive.
The wind is supposed to continue today and taper tomorrow.
Nice to be in a secure slip.
Best,
Casey&Mary
PS: in a totally unrelated, and worthless 'aside, today is the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve. The USD has reduced in value by approx 93-94% since its inception in 1913. I wonder what tricks the Fed may have up it's sleeve for the Next hundred years, eh? Who knows - maybe they'll have a party at the Jekyll Island Club tonight....
The forecast had been calling for upwards of Gale force winds to arrive late Tuesday night. By bedtime it was (still) nearly calm. I got up at 0110 and the wind had picked up to maybe 10mph. I figured the weatherman had missed the 'call. Wrong. By 0140 it was blowing about 20, and increasing ... And that's what it has been the rest of the night. It's now a little after 6AM and the wind is enough to be howling outside. I'm guessing it's sustained 25-30K with some higher gusts. ...pretty impressive.
The wind is supposed to continue today and taper tomorrow.
Nice to be in a secure slip.
Best,
Casey&Mary
PS: in a totally unrelated, and worthless 'aside, today is the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve. The USD has reduced in value by approx 93-94% since its inception in 1913. I wonder what tricks the Fed may have up it's sleeve for the Next hundred years, eh? Who knows - maybe they'll have a party at the Jekyll Island Club tonight....
Stan Major
New member
Played tennis yesterday at Plantation Bay near Palm Coast and the winds and chilly air were awful. Won our match though, so all is well.
BoaterHomer
New member
Well, we made it though the storm, safely tied up at the very nice and conveniently located St. Augustine Municipal Marina for three nights. But it blew and blew gale force winds for almost 24 hours creating some very rough waters in the harbour causing several boats some damage and one to sink. Apparently out of the 6 boats that were anchored north of the Bridge of Lions, 3 of them drug anchor and 2 of them hit the bridge...a houseboat and a sailboat. The houseboat had signifcant damage to its roof and its solar panels were completely destroyed. The sailboat hit the bridge and sank. No one was injured.
The marina was pricey at $1.95/foot +$6 for electricity (with tax = $56/day) but worth every penny to enable us to tie up securely while waiting out the weather. About 4 months ago, the marina completed their 17 foot wide and 4 feet deep breakwater that protected us from the storm. We still rocked and rolled quite a bit, even tied up securely in the middle of the marina. Can't imagine what it would have been without the breakwater. The marina has a nice laundry facilty and a lounge with comfy chairs and a TV, the nicest showers we've ever seen at ANY marina, and three wi-fi locations so that every slip had good reception. And it was RIGHT in the heart of St. Augustine. We toured St. Augustine via trolley, ate (3 times!) at our all-time favorite pizza place, Pizza Time, twice at our favorite bakery, The Bunnery, and explored some new places as well. After the front went through it was cold, so we sat in the lounge reading and talking to other boaters. And it was great to have electricity on the boat for our "Big Heat" (our little cube-looking electric heater) and our computers.
We are currently heading south. Don't know where we'll end up tonight. It's fun just to meander with no plans.
Mary&Casey
The marina was pricey at $1.95/foot +$6 for electricity (with tax = $56/day) but worth every penny to enable us to tie up securely while waiting out the weather. About 4 months ago, the marina completed their 17 foot wide and 4 feet deep breakwater that protected us from the storm. We still rocked and rolled quite a bit, even tied up securely in the middle of the marina. Can't imagine what it would have been without the breakwater. The marina has a nice laundry facilty and a lounge with comfy chairs and a TV, the nicest showers we've ever seen at ANY marina, and three wi-fi locations so that every slip had good reception. And it was RIGHT in the heart of St. Augustine. We toured St. Augustine via trolley, ate (3 times!) at our all-time favorite pizza place, Pizza Time, twice at our favorite bakery, The Bunnery, and explored some new places as well. After the front went through it was cold, so we sat in the lounge reading and talking to other boaters. And it was great to have electricity on the boat for our "Big Heat" (our little cube-looking electric heater) and our computers.
We are currently heading south. Don't know where we'll end up tonight. It's fun just to meander with no plans.
Mary&Casey
El and Bill
New member
South up the St. John's or down the ICW? Have a good trip.
B&E,
Mary already reported on our excellent experience at St. Augustine (in spite of the heavy winds). We love the town, and being forced to stay there three nights was a real burden. We sort of overdosed on pizza!
We're currently at Ft. Matanzas. The sunrise is spectacular with the fiery fort outlined in bright morning color.
Best,
Casey&Mary
Mary already reported on our excellent experience at St. Augustine (in spite of the heavy winds). We love the town, and being forced to stay there three nights was a real burden. We sort of overdosed on pizza!
We're currently at Ft. Matanzas. The sunrise is spectacular with the fiery fort outlined in bright morning color.
Best,
Casey&Mary
Stan Major
New member
We plan on joining up with the Daytona Beach Boat Club on a cruise from Halifax Marina to St. Augustine Marina Friday 12/6 and Saturday 12/7. There are 12 boats signed up. This will be our first time. Should be a lot of fun.