View of Hammock Beach Marina - a wonderful place
Along the way to St. Augustine.
St. Augustine visit.
Leg 37 - Hammock Beach Marina
It was a cool evening and still very windy. The winds did change direction to more of an easterly direction which made departing from the slip a little easier. We had a light quick breakfast so we could get going and be at our first bridge when it opened on the hour or half hour. So, we were underway by 9:45 and at the bridge by 9:55 and waited for the opening. We had two other bridges to go thorough today but they both opened ‘on request’. Once we were past the bridge I deployed the jib as the winds were favorable to assist in our travels. They, once again, were somewhat gusty between 8 and 21 knots with the average somewhere in the 12-14 knot range. But, it allowed me to throttle back the engine to about 1,200 RPM while still moving along at 7+ knots. We weren’t in a big hurry but to turn off the engine would have made it way too long. It keeps us going when we change direction and when the winds die down or are shadowed by buildings. Once after the bridge we headed up Ponce de Leon cut – where, if you remember on our travels down we got stuck in some shoaling. There was another sailboat in front of us who left from New Smyrna with a deeper draft so we just followed them. No problems. Also, it helps to pass through on a rising tide versus at low tide. It was a very enjoyable ride with a partly sunny sky and temperatures in the mid 70’s. I did have to put on a long sleeve shirt when it got a little too chilly. We arrived at our marina as they were docking other boats but the slips are very wide with floating long concrete finger piers. It was a breeze to get into the slip and we cleaned up, took showers and got ready for dinner. I compounded out some ‘marks’ on the hull (since I had access to the port side – I did the starboard side yesterday) while Sue prepared spaghetti and meatballs and fresh salad for dinner. We relaxed after dinner and shall call boaters midnight soon. I explored the marina as they have a pool, hot tub, showers with everything you need including a towel, an outdoor lobby and an indoor lobby. Quite the place. It is a shame we are only staying 1 day. But, tomorrow we are heading to St. Augustine for another 2 day stay.
Leg 38 - St. Augustine
Hammock Beach Marina was just super. As I said yesterday, they have solid concrete floating docks, wide slips and full length finger piers. Also, they have a large meeting area in the condo building, a good sized laundry room and very nice showers where you don’t even need to bring your own towel. So maybe we should plan to stay longer the next time we go through so we could enjoy the swimming pool and hot tub. We had a leisurely breakfast of toast and eggs before we easily exited the slip back onto the ICW. I wanted to arrive in St. Augustine at slack tide to avoid the very strong current so we were taking out time. Around 10 am the winds picked up so I raised the jib and slowed the engine. We motor sailed all the way north with winds ENE 12-15 under overcast skies and temperatures of 68-72. It was a very pleasant day to be out on the water. We arrived, as planned, at slack tide and easily backed into our slip with no effort at all – so much less drama than the last time we were here. We had the holding tanks pumped out and the fuel tank filled and then took off to walk around down town and look at all the shops again. We had a wonderful dinner at Catch 27 – a restaurant recommended to us by our friend Stephanie. So, back to our cockpit to relax and watch the world go buy before we turn in. We are staying here tomorrow as well to relax and explore more of the town. Of course, we will visit the fort again! Oh, and maybe even the distillery.