This is Piper on the boat behind us on the dock. He is a cute Westie.
Our visit to Brunswick was short and sweet. This is where we take on our fuel for the winter at Ocean Petroleum. This fuel depot handles the fueling of large fishing boats, so there fuel is clean and less expensive than at marinas. As it was, the price of fuel has gone up in recent days, so we ended up paying $2.89.9 a gallon this time.
After taking on our fuel and arriving at Brunswick Landing Marina, we went to dinner at a favorite restaurant, Cargo's Portside. We love the food here. Bob had shrimp and grits (to see what they put in their recipe to compare to his own) and I had scallops. Both were really delicious.
We were again underway toward our destination of Jacksonville Beach at 7:30. We passed the Kings Bay Submarine Base and Fernandina Beach, FL. Passing by the marina at Fernandina Beach, we spotted some friends on Dream Catcher we'd been in touch with and waved. They will be stopping through the holidays in St. Augustine, so we probably won't see them again till the Bahamas. On this day we crossed from Georgia to Florida. Slow, but steady progress.
"The birdcage in the ICW" is used for degaussing submarines at the Kings Bay Sub Base. Makes for a very strange sight on the Intracoastal Waterway.
This marks our passing into Florida. There are very few signs along the ICW welcoming you to a new state as you pass. You never really quite know when you are in a new state like you would if you were driving. Makes you wonder if states don't really want you to come by boat!
Sunday,the Captain did his engine check and then went to start the engines. The port engine did not start. So we put on our headsets and he went to the engine room while I awaited the signal to attempt to start the engine. Bob did his magic and troubleshooted the problem and it was found to be a corroded battery connection, that once fixed got us underway. Conclusions for the day: there is no guarantee on a boat that things that worked the day before will work the next and don't leave the dock without at least one mechanically inclined person aboard.
A lot of the stretch from Jacksonville Beach to St. Augustine has gorgeous homes on the left side of the ICW and the a natural area on the right. We also pass Guana River State Park on the East side on the ICW.
Buildings and homes along the ICW in St. Augustine, FL
Old wooden schooner used for tours at the municipal dock in St. Augustine.
The re-build of the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine is now totally complete and the ugly temporary bridge is now all removed. Unfortunately, we could get under the temp bridge, we have to wait for this one to open.
When we arrived at Palm Coast Marina, luckily there were 6 guys available to help pull us in to the dock. We were fighting wind and current pretty fierce. Thanks to all on the dock for their help!
Gigi and Vic off Gigi's Island (last year on Oconnee), cruising friends in the Bahamas, were here at the marina to greet us also. It is great to catch up with old friends. We will be at this marina for a week or so while our mechanic, Al, does everything on Bob's list of maintenance. Niko, Al's son, will do some boat waxing and hull cleaning for us to spiff us back up from the trip south.
Niko, one of three enterprising sons of Al, our mechanic, doing a beautiful job cleaning and polishing up our boat.
Palm Coast Marina is one of those marinas that becomes a community during this time of year. For many, this is their winter destination, for others, this is a couple of month stop over the holidays where they leave their boat, for some, it is just an overnight stop along the ICW, or like for us, it is a stop where we have maintenance work to be done.
Monday night is the community cocktail hour and we met several couples in each of these categories. A french couple left this morning that had been here for some time. They tooted their horn and waved to their friends on the dock, and many tooted their boat horn in response. While I was on the back of the boat waving goodbye, several porpoises were feeding in the canal right by the boat. One surfaced about two feet from the boat and scared me it was so close. Fish were jumping out of the water to get away from the hungry porpoises. There were at least 5 porpoises. I tried to take photos, but mostly, I just got water splashes as they dove back for their meal.
The white dot is a little fish trying to get away from the porpoise - which is the splash in this photo. Taken in the canal by the marina right beside the boat.
My friend Linda came to visit Palm Coast and take care of her mother for a few days and came to the marina. It was great getting to see her and we figured it had been two years since we had seen each other. Originally, they had planned to purchase a boat and do what we are doing, but ended up buying a condo in Florida and traveling the world by plane. It was great to catch up with her.
Beautiful bow spirit on a trawler named Georgia Girl docked near us.
Interesting red hulled schooner that came in for the night at the marina.
Our plan was to leave around noon on Thursday and that would get us to Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday, in time to grocery shop for Thanksgiving dinner with our friends on Carleigh and Cat's Paw. Well, a diver checked our props and found a bent one, so it was pulled and was sent off to be repaired. It will not come back till Monday. That means that our plans have gone awry. We would likely make it to Vero Beach by Thursday next week now. Of course, we may still do a big dinner when we get to Ft. Lauderdale and call it Thanksgiving.
So we will be tied to land for a few days awaiting the return of our prop, but should be back underway next week. Have a great Thanksgiving.
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