And Off We Go

We left Jacksonville yesterday after waiting a couple of hours for the tide to rise a little. Low tide at Palm Cove had us a little to close to the mud while in the slip and the channel out of the marina has a few sketchy spots. We got out ok and headed to St. Augustine where we had a reservation for a mooring ball and Martha had made arrangements to meet up with one of her high school friends.

We had a very nice cruise, taking it fairly slow most of the way. We stopped at a marina to top off the fuel tanks as we knew that we would need every bit on Friday. Passed a few dolphin as we neared St. Augustine. We were able to get a mooring ball right in front of the fort and had a great view of both the town and the inlet to the Atlantic. We used the dinghy to get to shore, which allowed us to walk around and then have dinner with Martha's friend.

We have been to St. Augustine many times, having vacationed at the beach there with my parents when the boys were young. My parents honeymooned at the old Flagler Hotel before it became Flagler College.

We left St. Augustine at 7:30am following a number of sailboats heading south. The inlet had some good size rollers as we entered the Atlantic, but things calmed down quickly and we had a great cruise to Cape Canaveral. There were some good size swells, perhaps 5 feet or more, but they were far apart and quite gentle. Cruising in the ocean doesn't provide much scenery, but it does allow us to travel in a straight line and maintain speed. The water became even more calm as we neared Cape Canaveral. We could easily see the Vehicle Assembly Building and rocket gantries from miles out. Cruising through Port Canaveral we saw a variety of government and commercial vessels. At least four huge cruise ships were docked and taking on passengers. We docked on the fuel dock at Cape Marina, right across from the pier that services the SpaceX reusable rockets.  We watched one being removed from the landing barge.

Before a beautiful sunset, all of the cruise ships departed after blowing their horns. The Disney ship played music as they left the port. 

Tomorrow we will travel to Vero Beach and try to find a safe spot for some lousy weather coming on Sunday.