| CHAPTER 15 Daytona to Savannah, GA Page 1 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
WE'RE HEADING NORTH AGAIN!
APRIL 9 ST. AUGUSTINE, FL
We got underway from Daytona Beach at 7:00 AM. The Memorial Bridge
promptly opened for us, and we were on our way. We met up with several
sailboats and trawlers along the way, but were especially happy when looper
friends from Michigan, Charlie and Linda, on Freedom's Turn called us on
the radio after hearing us talking. They caught up with us, passed us, and
headed up the Sebastian River for 2 nights. We will meet up with them
tomorrow and can hardly wait to hear about their travels. We haven't seen
them since Steinhatchee back in November. We are staying at the St.
Augustine Municipal Marina which is right downtown, however, a little rocky
from passing boats. They are also repairing the Bridge of Lions, and we are
right at the base of it. There's lots of tugs and noise, but it's all part of
the "experience!
APRIL 9 ST. AUGUSTINE, FL
We got underway from Daytona Beach at 7:00 AM. The Memorial Bridge
promptly opened for us, and we were on our way. We met up with several
sailboats and trawlers along the way, but were especially happy when looper
friends from Michigan, Charlie and Linda, on Freedom's Turn called us on
the radio after hearing us talking. They caught up with us, passed us, and
headed up the Sebastian River for 2 nights. We will meet up with them
tomorrow and can hardly wait to hear about their travels. We haven't seen
them since Steinhatchee back in November. We are staying at the St.
Augustine Municipal Marina which is right downtown, however, a little rocky
from passing boats. They are also repairing the Bridge of Lions, and we are
right at the base of it. There's lots of tugs and noise, but it's all part of
the "experience!
| CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL PICTURES TO ENLARGE FOR DETAILS. |
Pictures of Halifax Marina as we were leaving. Marina office The park along the ICW
Here are some beautiful houses along the ICW in Palm Coast. "Freedom's Turn" Linda
is waving!
is waving!
Charlie rented a car from Enterprise for the 3 days we will be here. We had dinner at an Old English
Pub a few miles from downtown. Our dinners included Cornish Pasties, Cottage pie, and "Banger and
mash", which was sausage, potatoes, and gravy. Jim had blueberry pie for dessert, and Jeanette and I
had bread pudding with custard. It's now 10:30, and the wind and water has finally calmed down and
there's no more boat traffic.
Pub a few miles from downtown. Our dinners included Cornish Pasties, Cottage pie, and "Banger and
mash", which was sausage, potatoes, and gravy. Jim had blueberry pie for dessert, and Jeanette and I
had bread pudding with custard. It's now 10:30, and the wind and water has finally calmed down and
there's no more boat traffic.
APRIL 10
We started the day with a good breakfast at a local shop on George Street called The Bunnery. It has
been a custom to have breakfast sandwiches on a croissant since being in Daytona. We spent the
afternoon walking the street with all the shops. Since we had a big breakfast, we decided to all have a
traditional "looper" lunch...waffle ice cream cone!
My phone suddenly rang and it was our "looper" friends, Charlie and Linda from Freedom's Turn who were
also out walking around the city. We were on the same street just a few minutes apart. It was so good
to see them and spend time talking about our adventures. We met up with them in Appalachicola, and then
traveled together to Carrabelle. We also crossed the Gulf of Mexico on that rough day to Steinhatchee.
We haven't seen them since then. It's amazing how you meet people, then travel in different directions
for a while, then meet up, and it's like old times. That's what makes doing "the loop" so special.
We had dinner at an Italian a few minutes from the marina...excellent food. It's now almost 10:00, and
the water has calmed down to smooth. The wind really picks up in the afternoon, and I would say the
water hitting our stern and with the strong current, some waves were near 2 feet. I need to get my sea
legs back from the protected marina in Daytona. Tomorrow we will be meeting up with a teacher friend
from my school who has retired here, then do some historical sightseeing. We decided to leave here
Sunday rather than Monday since the forecast is leaning towards some nasty weather.
We started the day with a good breakfast at a local shop on George Street called The Bunnery. It has
been a custom to have breakfast sandwiches on a croissant since being in Daytona. We spent the
afternoon walking the street with all the shops. Since we had a big breakfast, we decided to all have a
traditional "looper" lunch...waffle ice cream cone!
My phone suddenly rang and it was our "looper" friends, Charlie and Linda from Freedom's Turn who were
also out walking around the city. We were on the same street just a few minutes apart. It was so good
to see them and spend time talking about our adventures. We met up with them in Appalachicola, and then
traveled together to Carrabelle. We also crossed the Gulf of Mexico on that rough day to Steinhatchee.
We haven't seen them since then. It's amazing how you meet people, then travel in different directions
for a while, then meet up, and it's like old times. That's what makes doing "the loop" so special.
We had dinner at an Italian a few minutes from the marina...excellent food. It's now almost 10:00, and
the water has calmed down to smooth. The wind really picks up in the afternoon, and I would say the
water hitting our stern and with the strong current, some waves were near 2 feet. I need to get my sea
legs back from the protected marina in Daytona. Tomorrow we will be meeting up with a teacher friend
from my school who has retired here, then do some historical sightseeing. We decided to leave here
Sunday rather than Monday since the forecast is leaning towards some nasty weather.
The park across from the marina. Shopping on George Street. Barbara in front of the Charlie and Linda
oldest school house. Charlie and Jeannette
Jim and Barbara
oldest school house. Charlie and Jeannette
Jim and Barbara
APRIL 11
We drove over with Charlie to Enterprise to return the car rental. My friend, Aurelia ("Re"), who I had
taught school with for many years who is now retired lives in St. Augustine during the winter. She picked
us up, and we spent a few hours at her house with her husband, Gus and friend, Mary Ann, catching up on
old times. She made a wonderful lunch for all of us. When we returned to the boat, we walked over to
"Ripley's Believe It or Not". Jeannette and I took the tour of the museum. There was so much to see, I
only took a few pictures since it was pretty dark in a lot of the displays. We saw pictures of the lizard
man, a man who had a snake that went through his nose and out his mouth, the largest ferris wheel
made from an erector set, ancient false teeth, cow with 6 legs, and many more "oddities". Some of them
I had seen on the TV show a few years ago, but there were also many artifacts from the past.
We had a great supper at "Harry's" - Louisiana type cooking and lots of food. We plan to leave tomorrow
and hope the weather is good. The forecast is winds 15-20 and chance of showers and T-storms. The
next few days do not look good, and sunny days so far don't look like they will be here until Wednesday.
We drove over with Charlie to Enterprise to return the car rental. My friend, Aurelia ("Re"), who I had
taught school with for many years who is now retired lives in St. Augustine during the winter. She picked
us up, and we spent a few hours at her house with her husband, Gus and friend, Mary Ann, catching up on
old times. She made a wonderful lunch for all of us. When we returned to the boat, we walked over to
"Ripley's Believe It or Not". Jeannette and I took the tour of the museum. There was so much to see, I
only took a few pictures since it was pretty dark in a lot of the displays. We saw pictures of the lizard
man, a man who had a snake that went through his nose and out his mouth, the largest ferris wheel
made from an erector set, ancient false teeth, cow with 6 legs, and many more "oddities". Some of them
I had seen on the TV show a few years ago, but there were also many artifacts from the past.
We had a great supper at "Harry's" - Louisiana type cooking and lots of food. We plan to leave tomorrow
and hope the weather is good. The forecast is winds 15-20 and chance of showers and T-storms. The
next few days do not look good, and sunny days so far don't look like they will be here until Wednesday.
Entrance to Ripley's Believe The Bead House It was too difficult to get a The shrunken head
It or Not picture of the ferris wheel...too big (yuck!)
It or Not picture of the ferris wheel...too big (yuck!)
The fort in St. Augustine The Bridge of Lions under construction Jim and I will Re and Gus
Easter sunrise from our boat at St.Augustine
We left the marina at exactly 7:15 AM and with the tide being fairly low, there was a 30 foot
clearance at the Bridge of Lions. Our mast puts us at 26 feet, so they did not have to raise the
bridge for us. It was a breezy day, winds hitting 20 MPH with gust up to 25. Most of the trip was in
very narrow passages, however, there were several open water areas where there was a long fetch for
the chop and white caps to build, but it was a good ride and not uncomfortable at all. The
uncomfortable part was those large power boats that don't seem to understand about passing with
HUGE WAKES. We rocked and rolled more from them than from the choppy water.
We arrived at Fernandina Beach at 3:15. We are both tied up at the long, very secure cement floating
dock, and luckily on the inside since the open water was filled with 2 foot waves bouncing the boats on
the outside. We took a walk around town while Jim watched the Masters golf on TV. For our Easter
dinner, we ate at a Mexican restaurant just up the street.
Jim is doing his homework for the next part of our trip to Brunswick, GA. We have to pass through
about 4 miles of St. Andrew Sound which can be tricky. The ICW goes way out to the opening of the
inlet which is quite wide. With strong winds coming from the ocean and tides, the waves can build to 6
ot more feet. So we are going to choose our day carefully. Tomorrow is supposed to be chance of
T-storms, but worse is the southeast winds at 20-25 MPH with gusts to 30. NOT GOOD! Tuesday is
supposed to be the same but with a 70% chance of rain and high winds, but Wednesday through Friday
looks better: wind 10-15 MPH from the west. The trip to Brunswick is only 40 miles so we don't have
to leave quite at the crack of dawn which will give us a little time to decide whether it's a good day to
leave. Fernandina Beach is a very quaint town and since we are day early anyway, we are not in a
hurry to leave on a day that could make a nasty day on the water.
| Augustine. There was a sunrise service at the fort. The cross faces the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. |