Day One and Two - Through St. Augustine and down to Marineland

We left Palm Cove Marina a  little before 9:00am. Fortunately it was almost high tide. The entrance is narrow and I'm now sure we would get through at low tide. It was a cool day, but sunny and warming up. After passing the Jacksonville Beach area, we hit Ponte Vedre with mile after mile of beautiful homes along the ICW. I was prepared to go slow as there were many nice docks and water toys out on the water. 

There were a few areas that allowed us to go a little faster, but the waterway winds around and before long you come upon another developed area. We hit St. Augustine a little bit after noon, and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the harbor. The Bridge of Lions is 23 feet high and we only need about 16 feet, so no need to wait for the openings that only happen on the hour and half-hour. There was very little traffic, but the harbor was filled with boats at anchor and on the mooring balls. We may try to stop there on the way back. We like St. Augustine and have been there many times, just not by boat. We were treated to numerous pods of dolphin and enjoyed watching them play in the water. Still waiting to see our first manatee on this trip.
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We passed many anchored boats along the way that looked a bit questionable. There didn't appear to be anyone on them and I'm not sure they are not being cared for as they should. I know that this is a persistent problem in Florida. I wonder how they survive through some of these strong wind storms. 

​There were very few boats out on the water, but as luck would have it, the most challenging part of the day came near the end. We entered the winding Matanzas Inlet area, recently dredged but known for shoaling, and came upon a couple of fisherman in there boat right in the middle of the narrow channel with a trawler coming from the other direction. We got through ok, but it's a little frustrating dodging determined fishermen. My boat is about ten times larger than his. I don't want to run over him or swamp him, and I don't want to get his fishing line tangled in my props. All part of the adventure.
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We arrived at the Marineland Marina around 2:45pm and the dockmaster assisted us with tying up on a bulkhead dock. Fortunately, we are tied up well, as a cold front came through during the night with heavy winds and rain. This is a nice little marina right off the ICW and directly across the street from Marineland, one of Florida's original tourist attractions that opened in the 1930s. The weather forecast called for strong winds today, so it was good that we decided to stay in the marina an extra day.

I remember visiting Marineland as a kid and in the early nineties with our boys. We spent some time there today and enjoyed the shark feeding and dolphin shows. Marineland is engaged in a lot of research these days, but the historic nature of the place is intriguing to me. It was originally built for filming underwater movie and television scenes. The show Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges was filmed there. ​The day was windy and chilly, not quite what we are looking for on this trip south.
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Tomorrow we are heading further south past Daytona to New Smyrna Beach. Thankfully the winds are dying down as the sun sets in the west, and I think we will start to see some warmer temperatures.