From the Captain

The Sunshine State

11/20/13-11/22/13 Amelia Island Yacht Basin, Fernandina Beach, FL.

I saw it as we were being towed back from Cumberland Island: hanging off the stern lifeline was a frayed segment of line used as a safety line while lifting the outboard motor onto the dinghy or back on the boat. I suspected right then that we had managed to do it again: wind a line in the propeller. This would be a far better problem than transmission trouble.

When the marina mechanic came to check the next day, I told him I suspected that we'd run over a line and perhaps before he got involved, we could call a diver to check. They marina staff did that for us, and by afternoon, John had come with his wet suit, mask, and air compressor, slid under the boat, found the line and solved our problem. He said I could save a bunch of money if I had a snorkel and mask. I do have a snorkel and mask, but he was under there for quite a long time. The commander was relieved I hadn't detected the line earlier while we were in the Brickhill River, lest I'd be tempted to swim under the boat again.

Will this happen again? Our dock mate, a Frenchman who keeps his 65-foot trawler here in the winter, told me about an attachment you can put near the propeller shaft to cut a line, should one start to be entangled there. Maybe this is worth it. Maybe we should be more careful, but we have been hyper aware of the problem ever since the first episode occurred at the Wrightsville Beach bridge.

We were glad to stay in the marina while the wind and rain raged for the next two days. We borrowed the truck and did some shopping. The staff was helpful. The place was clean. There were "No Fishing" signs on the dock, but we came back after a rainy shopping trip, and there was a man fishing on the dock where Luna was tied. "Excuse me," he said. "I'll get out of your way." We assured him he wasn't and there was no need to leave on our account.

Later I saw him at his car. I couldn't imagine this windy, rainy, and cool day was good for fishing. "It's the best weather," he said. He caught two good size trout and a bass. The latter was a reddish fish with large scales and a black spot on its tail. "Back in North Carolina, this is called a red drum," I informed him with my newly begotten Ocracoke knowledge. "Oh, are you from North Carolina?" he asked.

The commander has a cousin who has just moved to Amelia Island. She called him up, and we took a taxi into town. He gave us a tour of the island. It's a summer destination  for (mainly) Georgia residents who lack developed seashore. Pretty quiet this time of year. Like other Florida communities we have admired before they were spoiled by over development--St. Augustine and Bradenton Beach--Ameila Island has a bunch of older and smaller houses lining the beach. Until you get to the south end, where Hilton has a big new condo development and golf course. But the northern part, where John and Pat Hanley's condominium sits, remains relatively low key.

We also had some time to walk around the historic downtown of Fernandina Beach. This is the site of the first trans-Florida railroad, and I'm glad we could come in by taxi. Coming in by boat at night looked like entering the gates of hell. There is an active shipping port with lights and giant cranes, but the centerpiece of the entrance to the town is a huge paper mill with lights, smoke, and a fairly disagreeable odor.

Downtown, there are a lot of cute shops and restaurants. We had an excellent fresh fish taco at the Salty Pelican, a dive near the waterfront. There was a fish market where we bought a filet of snapper to grill for dinner. The town was nearly deserted on this cool midweek afternoon.

11/22/13 Ameila Island to St. Augustine, FL 50nm.

The waterway in Florida continued the Georgia marshes before giving way to developed shoreline that will get more intense and fancy the further south we get. Boats we encounter seem to be getting bigger. We're moving along at a decent speed. Failing to anticipate and plan for problems with the confused anchorage at Cumberland Island and the fouled prop take a chink out of our self-confidence. Late at night, when the doyens of doubt descend, a little internal voice says, "What ARE you thinking?" A little bad luck, lack of experience. We are gaining more experience each day. People who have less knowledge than we do make this trip on boats less sturdy than Luna. Everything looks better in the daylight, especially in the sunny daylight.

Luna, moored at St. Augustine Marina

St. Augustine lighthouse

In St. Augustine, we are staying at the Municipal Marina, right past the Bridge of Lions on the Matanzas River. There is a field of moorings, and we are renting one for the next four nights. Cost is $20 per night, which includes use of the dinghy dock and bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities. It's a pretty good deal.

The nieces, looking like lions

The weather was nice for the ride down, and even better the following day. We dinghied into town, took showers, and I had a Cuban cheese toast with ham and a cafe con leche for breakfast. Looking online, I found a barber downtown. Carol has gotten in contact with her niece, Kristen, who lives in Gainesville.  She brought her two daughters and their friend to meet us at the dock for lunch on Luna. Later we walked for ice cream in the historic downtown.

It turns out we arrived just in time for the twentieth annual Night of Lights. This is the event where visitors and residents of the town gather in the square for the grand unveiling, in the electrical sense, of the town's holiday lights. Kristen and the girls stayed with us for the lighting.

We spent a week traveling through Georgia and saw maybe a handful of people. Tonight in downtown St. Augustine we saw what might conservatively be called, "Everyone else in the world!"  A huge number of people, lots of families and kids, packed into town. We walked over the Bridge of Lions, and marveled at the hordes of people walking the other way into St. Augustine from Anastasia Island, on the other side of the bridge. This is a big event for folks from all over, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Party time at the Night of Lights

In the park, there was a bandstand decorated with candy canes. The All Star band warmed up the crowd with Christmas music. The ceremony began with a countdown to light the Christmas tree in the park. Then another countdown, and the mayor flipped the switch for the lights on the square and buildings around it. Very festive. This is the South. You can talk about Christmas without having to mention Chanukah or Kwanzaa under the same breath.

It occurs to me that not listening to the radio, not spending a lot of time in stores, and not walking around downtown Burlington after Thanksgiving, our exposure to the incessant repetition of holiday music will be severely limited this year. This does not feel like a loss. 

After our company left, we walked to Aviles Street, down in the old part of town, and had a late dinner at the Cuban restaurant there before motoring the dinghy back to Luna.

11/24/13 St. Augustine

There is a pattern of weekly cold fronts passing through our journey, and last night strong northeast winds and dropping temperatures brought a pattern of windy and cool weather that will be with us through the next week. With the wind and rough conditions in the river, we cannot take our dinghy ashore. Luckily, the marina has a shuttle that will pick us up and bring us back later. It runs every two hours and has its last trip at 6 pm. We can spend the day in town.

We stopped for showers and dried our towels in the laundry room, stowing our bags there while we walked around town. There is a lounge off the laundry room. With the dryers going, this is the warmest place around. Other boat people are sitting, reading, working on their computers, complaining about the weather.

From the toaster collection at the Lightner Museum

We've made arrangements to get together this afternoon with our friend from our earliest time in Vermont, Tom Santoni, who lives nearby in Hastings. On the meantime, we take in some culture by way of a visit to the Lightner Museum. This is a collection of mostly Victorian era stuff housed in the former grand Hotel Alcazar. They had a lot of stuff in the Victorian Era. Among the furniture, Tiffany lamps, cut crystal and Venetian glass, were a collection of toasters (I'm not kidding here), buttons, beer and wine labels, cigar band collages, embroidered samplers, lace, and some amazing mechanical musical instruments including a player piano/mechanical violin.

Spanish Renaissance Architecture, Hotel Alcazar

The hotel was built by Standard Oil partner, Henry Flagler, in 1887. Drawn to Florida on recommendation of his ailing wife's doctor, Flagler built a railroad to bring wealthy patrons down to the "healthy climate" of St. Augustine. Eventually, he extended his railroad to Palm Beach and then to Miami and Key West. The Alcazar, as many other buildings in St. Augustine, is in the Spanish Renaissance style and is one of the earliest buildings to be made of poured concrete. Publisher Otto Lightner bought the hotel in 1946 (it closed in 1932) to house his collection.

We met Tom, walked, had lunch and eventually dinner before returning for the 6 pm shuttle back to Luna. Winds picked up overnight but subsided by morning. We were securely moored and happy not to be riding on anchor during this blow.

Lunch with Tom, Carmelo's Restaurant

11/25/13 St. Augustine, FL, to Marineland Marina. 15nm.

Today served up a little break in the weather--we could dinghy into town, at least, and the wind has rotated eastward, bringing slightly warmer temperatures. Tomorrow, however, is forecast to be rainy with thunderstorms and strong south winds. We are headed south. Rather than motor into the teeth of the coming storm, we cut short our stay in St. Augustine and set out to Marineland Marina. The trip is a short 15 miles, and we cast off at 11am, timing our departure so we could ride the incoming tide and arrive at Marineland during the slack current.

The ride up was uneventful and even included an easy drawbridge. Calling ahead on VHF Channel 9 to announce our intentions, we were told, "Maintain your speed and come ahead." Steaming toward a closed bridge at 7+ knots with the current seemed like playing a game of drawbridge chicken. It required nerves of steel and a steady hand ready to crank back the throttle in an instant. I was confident in the hand part. But as we neared the bridge, the horn sounded, the cars stopped, the gates went down, and slowly the two halves separated and rose.

On the way to Marineland, a dolphin jumped twice in the distance, coming completely out of the water. Perhaps he's thinking of trying out.

Chris at the marina helped us with the dock lines, suggesting we add extras considering the forecast. This is a small protected harbor closed off from the main waterway but for a narrow opening. We seem quite secure here. We had time after the short trip to take a walk on the beach as the tide receded.

Seizing very opportunity for a beach walk

We'll be here for nearly a week, coming off the boat for a few days to have Thanksgiving dinner with my folks in Ormond Beach before heading south. Our good friend, Lee, back home in Vermont, advises that you can't count on warm weather until you hit Lake Okeechobee down near West Palm Beach. This sounds good to us, but then I read that Henry Flagler pushed his railroad south and established the city of Miami after two years (1894-95) that saw freezing temperatures at his Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach.

We'll keep optimistic. In the meantime, I'd like to wish all the readers of this blog a very happy Thanksgiving. The commander and I hope that as we on Luna, you feel blessed in your own way and have much for which to be thankful.

Ruins of an old structure on the Marineland beach.