Susan Smith
12/08/2011, St. Augustine Municipal Moorings

Day in St. Augustine

After the rocking stopped last night around 11PM, we got a good night's sleep and were ready for a day of being tourists! Still did not get the required numbers stenciled and painted onto the dinghy. We must do that! Eric, where are you? I know, doing much more important things, Good Luck! Anyway, we hopped a jitney and went to shore. Once there, we decided the best option of a St. Augustine tour was the narrated Trolley ride of 23 stops. It was great! We got off at several of them, looked around and hopped the next trolley. This was really a good deal as it was valid for 3 days! Wish we had had more time as St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US! Lovely architecture and a fort built of coquina stone in 1565, I think! Lunch was delicious at Casa Maya, Mayan/Yucatan food. We started with a glass of house made sangria with apple chunks floating! I had mahi tacos in tasty soft corn tacos and Brooke had authentic huevos rancheros (sp?) eggs, tomatillos and queso cheese. So yummy, and we had room to split a mango key lime pie slice decorated like a Christmas tree! A little rain was predicted, with high winds for late in the afternoon, so after we looked in vain for a market with fresh vegetables, we headed for the boat. Trying foods we do not normally get is a passion with us, so we stopped in a Cuban restaurant right across the street from the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, where we were moored. We enjoyed being the only customers at 3PM (had to make the 4pm jitney to our boat) and the bartender made us a super mojito! I don't know why she was not as thin as a rail, as much as she muddled and shook our drinks!! We took home a Cuban sandwich and black beans and yellow rice for dinner. It did start raining before we left the most BEAUTIFUL clean and tiled bath rooms! They reminded me of country club facilities! Remember, this is a City marina. Not to belabor the BR factor, but it is so nice on a trip of this length to find a marina with nice, adequate, true to listings in our marina guide, facilities. Several times we have paid top dollar to stay in a marina which we found out too late did not have all the facilities listed! WE RECOMMEND VISITING ST. AUGUSTINE!!
Picture is of Brooke and me at Casa Maya.

Susan Smith
susansmith_1@yahoo.com
www.sailblogs.com/member/liquidtherapy

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Brooke Smith
12/06/2011, ST. Augustine Municipal Moorings

I passed several boats hanging in lifts that were over the top. I'm posting one of them. The boat with FOUR outboards! One boat had three 300hp boats. But the boat with FOUR 225HP is the winning picture.

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Brooke Smith
12/06/2011, St. Augustine Municipal Moorings

Our passage today was from last nights anchorage near the St. Johns River to St. Augustine was fraught with the wrong tides all day long. We covered 39 miles in 6.6 hours. We passed some long stretches of homes along the ICW. Some were huge and some were old small places.
The drive today was nice with just a little breeze and sunshine and 79º .
But finally we pulled into St. Augustine harbor a little after 4PM; picked up our mooring and am preparing the dinghy for launch tomorrow.
Today's picture is my helm. I stare at all of these devices constantly to get us down the waterway without running aground and following the magenta line on the charts and screens, checking and double checking positions and the next marker. FYI the charts electronic and paper have the recommended ICW route in a magenta line. I love my autopilot that drives while i navigate.

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Brooke Smith
12/05/2011, Sisters Creek near Jacksonville

Fernandina Beach to our anchorage was a short 25 mile run today. We lazed in the slip this morning; took on water; tried to pump out the holding tank (their pumper was broken but we tried for 20 minutes to get it working). So then we left the marina and moved to Florida Petroleum for some cheap fuel. Well this pumping station usually pumps large shrimpers etc that can take fuel on at high speed and pressure. So I took their huge hose and nozzle aboard Liquid Therapy's port tank and it fit into the filler ok. BUT, I had to run it very slowly as the volume quickly overtook the vent and we started having fuel to spit back. I controlled it. We switch to the starboard tank and the filler pipe was smaller and I had to use a funnel. I had Susan jumping from getting towels, get me the funnel, watch the sight tube on each of the tanks. We were both busy. The shut off clicked off and when I re-sqeezed the handle fuel shot up in the air over the deck, all over me, BUT NONE WENT INTO THE WATER. So, no spills to report to the Coast Guard. No fines. But what a mess. We finally finished getting 98 gallons aboard and set off to find a marina with a working pump out for our holding tank. We entered Amelia Island Yacht Basin at low tide and barely slipped into their pump out facility. So after finally getting filled with fuel and emptied of "our stuff" we proceeded south and have now gotten close to the St. Johns River, Jacksonville area. Fresh pompano fish, green bans and potatoes for dinner was yummy. Tomorrow we will head for St. Augustine.
Picture is Sisters Creek Bridge that opened for a passing tug pushing a barge at of course sunset.

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Brooke Smith
12/05/2011, Fernandina Beach, FL

We weighed anchor at about 8:15AM after perking coffee to warm the cabin as well as give us COFFEE. The trip took us a little closer to the Atlantic as we followed Jekyll Sound into St. Andrew Sound and then turned back toward shore for the Cumberland River. It was a little bouncy since we were broadside to the breakers. But it was still rather protected. After we rounded St. Andrews on our stern it was all smooth and we had a good push from the incoming tide. The rest of this short day was uneventful. We came across the state line and left Georgia and entered Florida. We docked at the Fernandina Harbor Marina and did some laundry and ate at a wonderful Mexican Restaurant (Pablos).
The most interesting thing happened when we were registering at the Marina Dockmaster's Office. Susan noticed it first. There was Air-conditioning running in the office. We have run nothing but, or been in any buildings, that had been only running HEAT. Air-conditioning! Yep high of mid 70s today and higher tomorrow.
Picture is paper Mill at Fernandina

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Brooke Smith
12/03/2011, Jekyll Island, GA

This shrimp boat came by our anchorage and wouldn't you know it. Sunset

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