Internet has been scarce & unreliable since we last wrote and we are not even out of the U.S. yet! Here is a bit about us as we make our way down the E. coast:
Much like the waterways we have been traveling these past few days, we find ourselves on a circuitous route to Bahamas. It is already the end of November and we have just “parallel parked” the boat along the seawall in downtown Jacksonville, FLA. There is a huge Christmas tree within view and folks wandering the city riverwalk stopping to talk about our boat and our plans. Once again we are reminded “que sera sera” and to enjoy what we find along the way.
With the weather on the “outside route” (ocean) rough for a few days we headed down the ICW with plans for a brief stop in St. Augustine. It’s always a bit of a gamble for us on the intercoastal since our mast may not fit under the bridges easily but in this case we were ready to get moving again and make some miles. Off we went, early enough to catch the outgoing current with hopes that we’d make it down to the first “fixed bridge” to find the tide board reading 64+ so we could slide under safely with our 64 foot mast. As we rounded the last bend with the bridge up ahead our approach was more of a slalom ride so we bailed well before we found trouble. A passing powerboat sent back word that the tide board at the base of the bridge read 62 feet; smart move on our part! Back at anchor waiting for the tide to come in we watched a parade of boats motor by, greeting a few friends as they left us behind. A few hours later we calmly motored under the bridge, the board reading a reassuring 65 feet. We caught up with about 6 of those boats in the late afternoon in the only recommended anchorage for 20 miles and started researching the logistics of our next leg. Our research consists of comparing descriptions of the bridges and anchorages in 3 intercoastal cruising guides, reviewing tide & current on our electronic charts, reading our Southern Waterway Guide and listening to the weather radio. After an hour of study and discussion we both agreed that it was impossible for Dragonfly to get to St. Augustine via the ICW this week. Low tide was at 3PM/3AM. Sunset was at 5:30PM. We had 4 bridges ahead, 2 of which were “just under 65 feet” at high tide and a third with a 5 knot crosscurrent. We needed to be at those low bridges around low tide but we needed to be at that third bridge at slack current, and the next documented anchorage down the river was 4 hours away – it just couldn’t be done safely. On to plan B: through the first swing bridge and west up the St. Johns River to Jacksonville where we’ll explore and wait for the “outside route” to improve. We had little info about where to stay in the city so we hailed a sailboat coming toward us and although they didn’t respond, the bridge master at the Main Street Lift bridge in town gave us the complete lowdown on where to tie up downtown – now that is going beyond your job description!
Last year we enjoyed Thanksgiving at a potluck in a marina in Key West. The prior year we were with a group of cruisers in Tortola. This year I had an impression that there was some kind of cruiser get together in St. Marys, GA and it was a logical stopover after Charleston. Well, this was some get together. Over 100 boats arrived by Thursday, each ready to catch up with old friends, make new acquaintances and cook up a storm. Welcome packages were distributed by dingy to each boat almost the minute their anchor was down. A vhf net went up at 9:00AM every morning to review plans, answer questions, and coordinate errands. Cars were volunteered; shared rides for propane, grocery, laundry, W. Marine, Circuit city were organized. Boat cards were collected, food contributions are arranged, donations made. There were folks from W. Canada, Quebec, Toronto, New England, the Chesapeake area, the Carolinas. Just about all these boaters seemed headed to the Bahamas, a small percentage hoping to venture on to the E. Caribbean; “it’s all jello” was a favorite phrase that I heard over and over.
At any other time of year you might find one sailboat visiting this sleepy little town but the people who live there have become fans of this gathering. We were approached by many residents on the dock asking about our home, our trip and our boat; residents cooked up 16 turkey and many hams, provided pounds of roasted oysters, the hotel volunteered its dining facilities and hosted the dinner. About 300 folks attended the dinner; some drove in from marinas in the area, folks who had attended a smaller version in the past returned, friends of cruisers drove in and townspeople joined in the fun. The wait in line for food was about 30 minutes and reminded me of the NYC “tkts” line, everyone jovial, anticipated a great afternoon, chatting with their friends and making acquaintances in line.
But the event wasn’t over after the turkey was eaten – Friday a cruiser swap took place (we scored a movie, a book and gps waypoints of dive sites in the Bahamas). Over these 4 days we met lots of new cruisers, connected with a few whom we would love to see down the road but were ready for some quieter times so we decided to head out to spend a few days just around the corner at Cumberland Island national park, a serene spot where our only interaction was with two armadillos having their post Thanksgiving insect dinner on the forest trail. That’s the beauty of cruising – 300 people one day and noone the next.
The only thing I have not mentioned up to this point is that through all this human fun, nature was busy with her own fun. The wind was honking almost every day and the river currents were rushing. Wind against these strong currents makes for quite an animated show, boats spinning around their anchors in different directions, boats rocking or bouncing, boats dragging their anchors and repositioning themselves. “que sera sera".
