Florida …. The 1st Coast
01 December 2010 | Daytona Beach, Florida
Wayne
During my lifetime I've visited Florida many times to see my parents who had bought a retirement home here and take my kids on the mandatory visits to the various Disney theme parks. I, like many, had a vision of Florida that consisted of vast tracks of 4 lane highways connecting hundreds of gated communities, strips malls and urban centres. Visiting this time by boat has introduced me to a totally different side of Florida.
Florida's coast is divided into 4 regions: The First Coast is the most northerly section and is the one ICW travellers enter first. The Space Coast is next and so named for its proximity to Cape Canaveral and NASA. The Treasure Coast is further down comprising the Indian River and communities around Ft. Pierce, Vero Beach and Stuart. And, finally, there is the Gold Coast around Palm Beach and Miami.
As you travel by boat through the First coast the ICW seems to transform from salt marshes to wide flowing creeks that begin to offer untold opportunities to anchor and gunk-hole your way around. The First Coast is the least developed and consequently the least hectic section of the coast. You move through creeks and canals that teem with wildlife and, while you know that it's all not far removed from the Florida you experienced on other trips, it seems a world away from experiences of those earlier visits.
We left Fernandina Beach, the 1st coast's most northern settlement, on a blustery cold morning that soon transformed into a chilly but gloriously sunny afternoon as we found our way down meandering rivers, arrow-like man-made channels and the first of numerous Manatee protection zones. The Manatee, or sea cow, is a marine mammal that can grow to be over a ton in weight and the problem is that this slow moving animal is particularly vulnerable to the propellers of fast moving boats. Statistics say that over half of the manatee deaths are caused by humans and in order to protect this endangered species Florida has introduced manatee protection zones where boats must travel at idle speed only and ignoring these rules carry heavy fines. For sailboats these areas are not a problem because of our normally slow pace but it is interesting to see the many fast power boats that are so prevalent down here slow to a crawl every time they encounter such a defined area. Fortunately these measures have managed to help the number of manatee to significantly bounce back over the last few years and unfortunately this has sparked a heated debate about whether these reduced speed zones are still necessary. The debate is far from over from what I can gather.
We made our way the first day to Jacksonville Beach and stayed at Palm Cove Marina in order to replenish supplies. In the morning when we were ready to leave we discovered that we were hard aground in our slip and couldn't move. Luckily we were on a rising tide and so decided to go for breakfast and wait an hour to see what the tide did in the meantime. Martin, my crew member, was astonished that we were aground and the marina had not given us a heads-up but by the time we returned to the boat we had just enough water under our keel to get out of the slip and although we ploughed our way out the entire length of their channel we did manage to get back into the ICW and on our way.
We managed to make our way to the wonderful city of St. Augustine which is about 50 miles further down the coast and after passing under the magnificently restored Bridge of Lions (see the lead picture above) we settled into the municipal mooring field just off the historic downtown. Splash went the dinghy and we were off to visit this historic town and take in the sights.
St. Augustine is a virtual treasure chest of historic sites ranging from before European settlement, to the British/Spanish tug-of-war over the region, to the modern civil rights movement and each is careful preserved and proudly displayed for all to see. The architecture is something to behold and magnificent buildings are around every corner to please the eye; historical museums and sights are well presented and many are free for all to see; and, modern attractions and amenities are close at hand. I found St. Augustine provided me with a useful educational window on the history of Florida and its place in the nation. Without a doubt, don't fail to make time to see the wonderful city and all it has to offer. Make sure you check out the pictures of the city in the photo gallery.
We still had some miles to put on before Martin left to fly home and so, reluctantly we left the next day with the destination Daytona Beach - the birthplace of speed. We noticed that the boat traffic was building significantly and we began passing row-upon-row of waterfront homes each with their own pool and one or more boats at the dock. The economy may be hurting down here but you can't tell it from the Florida waterways. The day was warmer and sunny and we managed to pass under 3 bascule bridges with a minimum of delays and reached the Halifax Harbour Marina (named for the river that passes through the area not the Canadian city). We decided to go to a marina because the fuel we had picked up in Jacksonville Beach appeared to have water in it and that was causing some problems for our engine. The marina has a West Marine store located there and we decided that we needed some fuel additive to rectify our problems and that running around would be best done from a dock. It turned out that the marina had the additive we needed and after shocking the fuel tanks and changing the fuel filter we were once more ready to go.
Unfortunately our schedule prevented us from seeing very much of Daytona and so we left the next morning but because of the continuing cool days and cold nights heading further south didn't seem like a bad idea.
Next stop Titusville and the Space Coast.