November 5, 2011 Saturday Ft George River to St. Augustine FL

Delinquent Sailboat in St Augustine

I am skipping back to the original posting settings to see if your comments can be received without you logging in to a site!  The problem here is that now you can't see the location.  Dilemma!  I think it's most important to see the exact location of Fiu on any given day.  Therefore, I will once again return to the new format with location and comments if you are willing to sign in.  Personally, I don't like to sign in places in general so don't feel obligated.  I'm just glad you are reading about our trip!

Bridge north of St Augustine Harbor

Today will not be forgotten!  We started out with clouds and cool winds.  The winds eventually changed to gusts and then changed still again to steady high winds with gusts!  In English this means by early afternoon the wind was a constant 20 knots and the gusts reached 31 knots.  Keep in mind a gale is 36 knots of wind!  We tried two recommended anchorages and both were bogus!  The water was much shallower than reported and we were at near high tide!  We traveled down the Matanzas River five miles south of St Augustine, FL to reach the second anchorage.  It was so shallow I nearly became hung up.  That's it!  I turned around and headed back to a marina in St Augustine I like from previous trips.  While this seems like a waste of time and fuel we were safe and had peace of mind that we wouldn't be up all night worrying about the shallows or anchor dragging in the high winds.  I treated the cost of the marina and Bonnie treated me to a seafood dinner and draft beer at "Happy Hour" at Hurricane Patty's!





There are few pics from today because we were so concerned about the high winds and their effect on the water and the safe handling of Fiu.  While sailing requires wind sometimes the wind is at extremes.  We are not equipped to handle this kind of wind and enjoy it.

Ft in St Augustine Harbor

Captain Sid

November 4, 2011 Friday Jeykll Island, Ga to Ft George River

I am returning to the original format for the posts to see if you can make a comment without signing in.

The weather has been cold in the mornings and cool when the sun doesn't shine. The wind has been above average in knots and the cold front seems to be hanging on!

Leaving Jekyll Island was a little frustrating since the St Andrews Sound was very rough with the wind opposing the tide which created waves to be concerned about coming in from the ocean! I turned at Red 2 instead of traveling a little further and turning at Red 32. I went about a mile and quickly came to my senses. When the channel has large numbers on the buoys like 32 and you see a number 1 or 2 then the 1 or 2 means a channel leading off the ICW. I thought to myself that I really need to check the Coast Guard's Notice to Mariners for buoy number changes. Then as I thought about it and returned to my large Map Tech chart it was very clear the mistake I made. Feeling a little embarased I quickly turned Fiu around and of course first Mate Bonnie (resting down below) shouted up to me, "Are we lost?" "No," I said, "It's just that I haven't turned to the left yet today!"

Some of the bodies of water and places we were at today included: Cumberland River, Little Cumberland Island, Amelia River, Amelia Island, Massau Sound, Black Hammock Island and eventually Ft George River anchorage between G3and G5. We had great anchor holding despite the constant 15- 25 knot winds that blew all night!

Once again for the third time passing this area we saw many dolphins at Gunnison Cut.

Captain Sid