Day 11 - Tue 07 Apr 2015
Moored - St. Augustine, FL

[photo: fountain at Flagler College; the spire is a sword hilt as it represents a sword plunged into the ground. The frogs and turtles have significance, too, but too much to write here.]

We went to bed in St. Augustine and awoke in Maine! Well, it just seemed like it with the pea soup fog that developed in the still air. At least we both slept wonderfully sound with all the hatches closed, no bugs, and cool enough that even I was comfortable. I was prepared with an electric fan, if needed, but before bedtime I went up to the flybridge for a while and got a bit chilled, so I could get to sleep easily. By the time my body warmed up, the cabin temp had cooled in the night to remain pleasant.

I got up just before 0500 and Clyde and I walked the deck checking things out. He quickly concluded, "yep, we are still on the damn boat with no chance of walking on dry land," and wanted back inside. I got the coffee going with the wonderful percolator that Gretchen and Walt gave us. Thanks so much!

At this time, another problem is making itself known; our house battery bank drops from a supposedly full charge at 12.7 V to about 12.2 V in just 12 hours. Our sailboat batteries were smaller in capacity than these, and I don't think the loads we have are that much greater, so I believe these batteries should be holding a charge much longer.

One of the projects I had identified was to add a real battery monitoring system like I had installed on the sailboat, but other pressing problems prevented that. In the near future when I have part of a day to devote to it, I will rig up my volt/ammeter to the system and record what loads (amps) the individual devices draw. So far, I am running the generator in the evening for 30 minutes and in the morning for 30 minutes, unless we are going to run the boat for a few hours, in which case the alternators on the engines re-charge the batteries.

With a little time to kill after breakfast, I set out to find which of the 4 breakers on the panel controlled which AC outlets. I further determined that this inverter/charger draws a lot more power than the one on our sailboat, and confirmed that even when not being used to charge devices, the transformers do indeed cause the inverter to sap power from the batteries.

So, with an eye to conservation and running the generator a little less, we will try to turn on just the AC circuits we actually need at any time. It was a surprise to see that just keeping our numerous electronic devices powered up and charging 24/7 takes about 3A continuously, which totals 72 Amp-hours daily - quite a bit and probably more than our refrigerator/freezer.

I should mention that we have already met a number of other boaters who see our America Great Loop Cruising Association burgee and comment how that trip is on their "bucket list." I always polite note that none of us is getting younger and the time to go is sooner rather than later. We feel very blessed to be doing what we are, but you also need to make plans and work to make them happen, or they almost surely won't.

At 0930, we got ashore with the dinghy and walked briskly to Flagler College not far from the marina to take the 1000 tour. At a discounted cost of just $8 per person, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Originally, the college was the Ponce de Leon Hotel, built by Henry Flagler, as an over-the-top place for the extremely wealthy to winter for 3 months in FL. Whether you stayed the entire 3 months was up to you, but you still had to pay for the entire season and it cost the equivalent of about $100,000 today. I think that included meals. It was converted to a college in 1967.

Besides the incredible architecture, wood carving, ceiling work, and Tiffany stained-glass windows, the most incredible thing to me was that it took only 18 months to build! I had to quip that obviously they had not needed to pull any permits like we do today. After the tour, we strolled a few interesting streets and then headed back to Diva Di to heat up our tasty leftovers from last night's supper. Yumm.

After lunch, Diane got out the ingredients for tonight's supper and I prepared the chicken, artichoke, mushroom, onion, and pesto sauce (brought from home) to be served over tortellini. We know we are different than most, but it amazes us how folks are just starting to cook their dinner at 2000. We are an hour away from bedtime by then. Of course, most people are not awake before 0600 once retired.

Early afternoon, we got the bikes off the boat and into the dinghy for the first time in a long while. I have now resolved not to roll the tires across the deck as yet another important discovery has been made - this deck will pull the dirt off a rubber tire like a black hole sucks in all matter. This is part of the same universal theorem that no matter how well you wash your dirt hands with soap, water, and special degreasing cleanser, the best way to get the last bit of grime off is to handle the new light-colored upholstery or any of the clean linens.

Anyway... we got the bikes ashore and rode them for a few hours here and there, no place in particular. The streets are very narrow and often one-way; they are also often two-way when they only look wide enough to be one-way. Despite all that, and the many tourists driving around, it was enjoyable and burned some calories. After the ride, we stowed the bikes in the dinghy and brought our shower gear up. My other blogs have addressed how so many shower facilities are basically OK but lack one or more necessities, like a horizontal surface, or more than one hook to hang things. We both agree that these showers, while not perfect, have addressed all the basic needs, plus lots of great water pressure in a very clean setting.

Back at Diva Di, I stowed the bikes, hoisted the dinghy, and scrubbed all the tire marks off the deck, which in the current heat, meant the shower was almost for naught. At least it was clean sweat, and sitting up on the flybridge with the nice breeze and overcast skies cooled me down quickly. At 1800, Renee and Adam arrived by dinghy for cocktails and snacks aboard.

We had a lot of nibbles and drinks and much laughter and conversation until it was pretty dark and probably close to 2030. After we said our goodbyes, they dinghied back to their boat and we got ready for bed without any of the supper we had made ahead. We'll probably have that on Wed evening.