Five Hours of Smooth Sailing - Three Minutes of Hell!

Yesterday we left Palm Coast Marina and took a slow pace to Jacksonville. We knew that we needed to "play the tides," as the entry to the marina is very shallow at low tide. If we travelled at a slow speed we would arrive as the tide was rising and have a more relaxed entry. There really was no reason to travel fast.

We passed many nice areas that are now familiar to us. Matanzas Inlet, St. Augustine and the Tolomato River are very picturesque areas and are not highly developed. Once we started seeing the beautiful homes in the Ponte Vedre and Sawgrass areas, we knew we were getting close to Jacksonville.

We saw quite a few Border Patrol Boats around St. Augustine. Apparently they were involved in some training. They have very cool boats and look pretty ominous. They are also using some "unmarked" boats.

We also passed a nice power boat up on shore. We wondered how he got there, and of course will he get back in the water.

As we approached the Beach Blvd. bridge, traffic began to build. The marina is just north of the bridge on the west side. A large barge with a tug pushing it was on the other side of the bridge, but we had time to get through. We followed a small boat that decided to pass the barge on it's starboard side and at the same time, another boat was coming out of the marina on the east side of the ICW and he stopped directly in front of the barge. I had to follow the small boat that was traveling very close to the shoreline, not sure how shallow the water would get. I'm sure the tug captain was a little perturbed with the power boat that was stopped in front of him and blew his horn as a warning. I was too concerned about not going aground and have no idea what the other boat did. We passed very close to the  barge, but got through safely. Next was the entry to the marina. I hailed the marina to ask about getting fuel and docking. The fuel dock was already busy with a big power boat that we had been following all the way from Palm Coast and other boats were stacked up trying to get. We decided to delay the fuel up and go ahead to our slip. They put us in the same slip we were in before, making things more familiar and easier.

It was another lesson in boating, that seems to be a daily event, and how things can change in an instant. Situational awareness is critical and little mistakes could be disastrous. Due to many variables, i.e. wind, current, traffic, rude boaters, obstructions, and depth, the captain has to be constantly on guard.

We have another thousand miles of this to go before we are back on home turf in the Chesapeake. I wonder every day what the next adventure will be. Tomorrow we head for Georgia and leave Florida behind.