Leaving Cumberland Island and the Wild Horses
Our cruise was highlighted by some very playful Dolphins. It seems that the Florida Dolphins are just more playful than their northern cousins. This time an entire pod of, as near as I could count 8, not only rushed to play in the bow wave but also in the side waves. We kept hearing this slapping sound out the side doors of the boat. Sure enough, the Dolphins were jumping out of the side waves onto their sides making a loud slapping noise. Three of them seemed to be making a contest of who could jump the farthest and make the most noise!
As we waited for the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine to open we had time to view the fort and the mooring field. It seems that boaters are just not moving at the present time. The mooring field was only partially filled and the downtown marina appeared almost empty. It started to rain and we heard the first rumblings of thunder.
" Pirate Ship" passing by
Turning up the San Sebastian river, the rain and thunder increased with flashes of cloud to ground lightning several miles behind us. Beth got drenched just putting out the bumpers and by the time we got settled in at Rivers Edge Marina with the electric hookup, all of us (the dock master Paul included!) looked like drowned rats! Once again the severe lightning circled around us. I'm beginning to believe that Beth's suggestion of seeing the double rainbow has indicated we will have a good trip. My Brother-in-law, Danny Kennedy told me that when we were trying to leave Eastport, Maine but couldn't because of the fog, he had a drink to the "Rum Gods" and the next day we were able to leave! (I'm not superstitious but any boater will take all the luck they can get!)
It must be fate. When we stopped here in 2012 (see St. Augustine blog), I wrote about the fun time we had going to karaoke night at the on site restaurant, Hurricane Patties. Paul smiled and informed me it was karaoke night tonight and gave me a card for a 15% discount. We enjoyed a couple of cocktails prior to going, had a great meal, and enjoyed the entertainment. The stripper rope didn't appear this time, but the singers ranged from the acoustically caustic to some who could be professionals. Fun was had by all.
Up early I started at first daylight to wash the boat. The beginnings of "the ICW smile" had started to appear again on the bow of the boat. For those of you who do not know what this is, I will explain. There is a lot of tannin in the water in the ICW and with constant running the bow wave continuously pushes this tannin onto the front of the boat. After a while an ugly yellow stain appears giving the bow a "moustache" which is difficult to remove not only because it stains, but it is a difficult area to reach because of the angle of the bow to the rest of the boat. Repositioning Doc's Holiday so that the stern was out and the bow in close to the dock, I began to scrub. By 8:00 am I was drenched in sweat. By 10 am I had the port side and the aft of the boat done and I was exhausted.
A trip to the grocery store, West Marine and Auto Zone about a half a mile away got us stocked up with the essentials ie: half n half coffee creamer, a new boat hook, diesel klean additive for the fuel and fuses for the dingy bilge pump.
It just happened that a diver was about to clean the bottom of a trawler directly across the dock from us, so for a mere $30.00 tip he checked out my props and stabilizers and reassured me that other then the props being somewhat polished on the tips from going through sand they were not bent and shouldn't be a problem.
The salon aft air conditioner gave up the ghost. This one Danny Kennedy and I worked on in Eastport, noticed some burned wire connectors, replaced them and it has worked fine until today. Because of the oppressive heat and humidity all of the air conditioners have been getting a work out once we are stopped. There is absolutely no way one could sleep inside the boat without air. A fan just won't cut it for us Canadians. When southerners remark that they just can't stand the cold, I remind them that I can always put on more clothes to keep warm but I can only take off so many clothes to try and keep cool.
The marina quickly arranged to have the air conditioning people check it out. The problem ---age! The coils had exceptionally high resistance which apparently causes the amperage to increase and can result in some wiring connections getting burned. The unit would have to be replaced for an approximate estimate of $3,000.00. Worse though was that they wouldn't be able to get one from the distributor until next week. The decision was easy after talking to my buddy in Port St. Joe. When I asked Huin if there was anyone in Port St. Joe who could replace an air conditioner his reply was direct, as usual. "I just replaced two in my boat. Just get the boat home and don't worry about it . We can handle it!" On top of that tropical storm Danny just became a category 1 hurricane and although quite far away (in the windward islands), was headed this way. I would prefer to be in Port St. Joe where I can look after the boat and not on the east coast of Florida where these storms often travel.
A fuel truck arrived around noon, so we moved the boat to the fuel dock and took on 240 gallons of diesel, spilling only a few drops. At $2.35/gal this might be the cheapest fuel we would see for a while.
Returning to our slip, Beth and I discussed our options. We would keep moving tomorrow, but tonight we would enjoy St. Augustine. Beth called a taxi to take us downtown to the French Bistro we had visited in 2012 and declared it to have the "best french onion soup" we had ever tasted. It was no longer in existence, replaced by a crass place called "Omnivores"
Disappointed, we strolled the brick and cobblestone streets of old St. Augustine admiring the Spanish and British architecture of the old homes, some turned into beautiful Bed and Breakfast retreats, others turned into fine dining restaurants.
I glanced at the sky and remarked to Beth, "Something wicked this way comes!" Menacing black clouds rolled toward us and we began to hear more frequent and louder thunder.
We quickly entered a dining lounge and got seated as the intermittent rain drops increased and turned into a deluge. Cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightning became almost incessant as the streets outside began to flood and the thunder rolled. Safely ensconced in a booth inside this concrete and stone building we worried about Spencer and Sophie being scared in the boat. Resolving that at the present there wasn't much we could do about it, we enjoyed a delicious meal and shared the best Key Lime Pie we have ever tasted. Maybe this place would remain and become our "go to place" when we visit in the future.
Returning to the boat we found the dogs were fine, but very happy to see us. Sophie went with Beth to bed while Spencer remained within inches of me while I plotted tomorrow's course.
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