Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

Titusville Municipal Marina, Titusville, Florida:  January 7, 2021

28.6122° N, 80.8076° W

Space X rocket lift off. View from Titusville Park.

Marc-  We motored today in South winds to Titusville, home of Cape Canaveral.  We met Bob 423, Ann and their dog, Hoolie, who are here for the Winter.  I have been following their blog for years as they have travelled from NY to FL 10 times in their Beneteau 423.  This is their 11th year.  They have a fantastic blog at:  http://fleetwing.blogspot.com/

There just happened to be a Space X rocket launch, and we got to see it.  There is a very nice park next to the marina that was excellent for viewing the lift off.  A Turkish communications satellite was set into the Earth's orbit.  Michael sent out zoom invitations and we had Ann & George in Arizona, Martin & Peter in Syracuse, Brian, Irene & Lizzie in Hardwick, VT, Brendan in DC, Doreen & Kerry in Pompton Plains, John & Laura in Stamford, VT and Steph in Watertown, MA.  Michael showed the launch to everyone on his ipad.  

We have a new go-pro camera from Bill Lewis.  Thank you, Bill!  I used it to video the event.  I will try to post the video.  For further details on the mission go to spacex.com.  

Bird viewing today included seeing large numbers of brown pelicans North of the Haulover Canal, to almost all white pelicans South of the canal.  The dolphins were everywhere, but as usual, we just saw their fins and a little of their backs.  There are very busy fishing and don't jump out of the water and do tricks like Flipper.

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

Rockhouse Creek, Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida: January 6, 2021

Latitude: 29.0702 N, Longitude: 80.9178 W

Marc-  We departed Palm Coast at 10:30 this morning after a very nice visit to an excellent marina.  Sue and I especially enjoyed the scenic hiking trails.  Unfortunately we did not time the tidal currents well and only managed about 5.5 knots today in our journey to Rockhouse Creek.  There were two draw bridges that opened on demand.  Winds were light out of the North.  Our destination is in a peaceful creek that forms a passage to the Atlantic Ocean from the ICW.  We were visited by one elusive dolphin and many pelicans.  The Ponce de Leon Lighthouse is seen to our East flashing away while to our West is a magnificent sunset.

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

 Palm Coast Marina, Palm Coast, Florida: January 5, 2021

 29°34.620 N / 81°11.607 W

A 70 foot sailboat at River's Edge Marina, St. Augustine, purchased at auction for $100K

Marc-  We left St, Augustine today.  We waited for the depth sounder to indicate 4 feet and then we backed out of our slip at 10:00.  It was a great day to sail South with Northwest winds of 10-15 knots, a favorable 2 knot tidal current, bright sunshine and temperatures in the 60's.  We averaged 8 knots on our trip today slowing only for a drawbridge that did not respond to our VHF call.  I reached them via a phone call to the regional bridge dispatcher.  Palm Coast marina was much nicer arriving by water than our previous land visit.  The town has 120 miles of pathways for biking and hiking (we checked out 4 miles of beautiful ICW side paths).

Our engine starting issue returned today.  The problem is connected somehow to a very warm engine and its refusal to restart after a brief shutdown (like a refueling stop).  

We enjoyed a nice grilled dinner care of chef Sue in the marina picnic area. 

Palm Coast Marina

Funny banana lady

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

     Rivers Edge Marina, St. Augustine, Florida: January 4, 2021

29 degrees 53.175' N Latitude, 81 degrees 19.267' W Longitude

A marina inhabitant

Marc-  This is our last day in St. Augustine.  A cold front came through cooling things off and bringing welcome Northwest winds excellent for us heading to the Keys.

We spent today doing more boat projects on both boats.  Most importantly our diver arrived and cleaned the bottoms of both boats. He reported that our zinc was fully intact around the shaft and that the propeller was clean.  Unfortunately Fiddler's Green was missing its zinc protector.  

Sue and I went off on two walks around town enjoying some neighborhoods, blooming flowers and the Christmas lights.  Our turn around point was the Cross which marks the ocean channel entrance.

The St. Augustine Cross at Notre de Dios

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

    Rivers Edge Marina, St. Augustine, Florida: January 3, 2021

29 degrees 53.175' N Latitude, 81 degrees 19.267' W Longitude

Marc-  Today we explored the area via Michael's very comfortable pick up truck.  We went over to Anastasia State Park for another hike, first through the old Spanish Coquina quarry and second through the campground.  Michael suggested that we go down to Palm Coast Marina to see the place and make reservations.  The drive down Route A1A was nice with a stop at Ft. Matanzas National Monument.  The tours of the Fort were closed but we could walk around.  Palm Coast looked fine so we are all set for our first stop on our journey South. 

After dinner on board Lucy III Sue and I decided to do another evening walk downtown to see the lights.

Casa Monica Hotel

The Lightner Museum 

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

   Rivers Edge Marina, St. Augustine, Florida: January 2, 2021

29 degrees 53.175' N Latitude, 81 degrees 19.267' W Longitude

St. Augustine Light from Anastasia State Park

Marc-  Today we did more boat projects:  cleaning the hull and cabin, putting the dinghy back on the davits and mounting its outboard.  I went over to Michael's boat for morning coffee and our daily briefing with technical consultant and electrical engineer Brian Gilmartin.  We are rewiring part of the Ranger tug's 110 volt shore power wiring that seems undersized for the load (it melts down). 

We also went to the beach.  Anastasia State Park, https://www.floridastateparks.org/index.php/Anastasia/bird-watching-anastasia,  has an awesome 4 mile long beach and forested areas with an extensive campground.  The site also includes a coquina "stone" quarry created by the Spanish when building their area fortresses in the 16th century.  Did the Donnelly's name their boat after this coquina?  There were very few people at the beach and only a few surfers. 

We saw large crowds downtown, including a very long line to get into the Castillo de San Marcos fort.  Many people here do not wear masks outside.  This is strange for us because by law they must be worn outside at home.  It's probably not the law here.  We have even seen people in Publix not wearing masks, which is frightening.

In the afternoon we visited an animal shelter cat adoption event that a fellow boater told us about.  The cats were adorable.  Unfortunately I am allergic to cats.  Sue had a really nice time at the event.

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

  Rivers Edge Marina, St. Augustine, Florida: January 1, 2021

29 degrees 53.175' N Latitude, 81 degrees 19.267' W Longitude

Follow up to the mittens shown on the first leg of our trip.  They have been felted and are now warm boiled wool mittens.  Left in Watertown for the girls.

Marc-  We are still in the same spot awaiting a diver who is coming on Monday.  We spent today doing boat maintenance projects and putting some order in the boat.  The projects included general cleaning and an engine oil change for Lucy III, and engine oil and filter changes on Fiddler's Green diesel generator and diesel engine.  These projects take a considerable amount of time first in finding the necessary filters and then actually removing the old oil and adding the new oil.  You have to be a contortionist to access the parts of the engines to complete these tasks.  Michael and I did these projects together.

We also had time for a daily walk.  Part of the walk was on the very busy Route 1.  Florida's Route 1 is a four lane highway with every form of retail imaginable.  There are many types of big box stores near us including Home Depot, Target, Lowes and a Winn Dixie.

That's all for now.

A remarkable sunrise photo during our drive here on December 30.