As we arrived in St. Augustine the clouds were building. Listening to the NOAA weather broadcast days before we decided it best to reserve a slip at the St. Augustine City Docks. The thought of a dinghy ride from the mooring into the marina in 25 to 30 knots of wind was not appealing plus we wanted to spend some time exploring the city. 35 minutes after setting the spring lines and fixing the fenders we were watching 35+ knot winds and hail pelt away at the Great Blue Hereon taking shelter behind the stairs at the next slip (see image above). Visibility was down to � a mile and lightening strikes were at one counts or less. Whew - glad we are not on the water. As the skies cleared and the winds increased we joined Al & Maureen aboard Permission Granted to whittle away the afternoon with conversation and gawking at other sail and power yachts attempting to dock in the high winds. Like NASCAR wrecks these crash and burn docking attempts are difficult not to watch no matter how sympathetic we are towards the struggling captains.

For the next few days we will wait out the winds, take care of life's obligations, and explore St. Augustine, FL while these winds blow themselves out.