Grand Bahama to St Augustine Florida
Karma Daze
Chris and Penny Manley
Mon 6 Jun 2016 17:50
“29:55N 081:17W”
We left Grand Bahama at 06.15 on Thursday 2nd June. We had decided to
go to St Augustine, Florida as there was very little wind so we would be motor
sailing most if not all the way, so we would be at sea for about 30 hours.
The motor/sail was as expected. We had routing information from Chris
Parker, the weatherman, about the gulf stream. When we were in the main
gulf stream we were doing 9-10 knots. Chris decided to change the route
slightly which had the unfortunate effect of taking us out of the gulf stream
and so we slowed up. Having anticipated we would arrive in St Augustine
around lunch time, we actually arrived at 16.30!
The St Augustine Municipal Marina, where we had booked a place, is situated
on the south side of the Bridge of Lions. The bridge is a bascule bridge
which opens every half hour on the hour and the half hour. We arrived on the
north side and knew that it doesn’t open at 17.00, so we would have an hour to
wait, so we picked up on of the buoys that belong to the marina. Took us
about 3 attempts as the current that runs through the waterway can get up to 4
knots. Eventually managed it. We then had to phone Customs and
Border Protection to tell them we had arrived, and we have to go the following
morning (Saturday) to physically check in and get our cruising permit.
After this we will move into the marina.
Checking in took us two and a half hours from leaving the boat to getting
back to the boat. It took us 20 minutes to find a taxi to take us out to
the airport where CBP is based. We were at the airport for one and a half
hours, and we were the only people checking in. We were warned that a
plane was due in and that would take priority, but we were done before he
arrived.
When we got back we got the boat ready for going into the marina. We
went through the bridge at 15.30, which should have been slack water, but it was
still running quite fast plus the wind had increased. But got into the
fuel dock and then our slip without mishap, so we were pleased with that.
St Augustine is the oldest city in the US. It is a very pretty town,
but things like supermarkets are a 10 minute taxi ride out of town. The
town was established by the Spanish in 1565. It was invaded by Sir Francis
Drake in 1586, and then by pirates about 80 years later. Florida has been
under British control, Spanish control, and in 1845 Florida became the 27th
state of the Union. In the 1960’s St Augustine played a major role in the
Civil Rights and Equality movement.
originally the Ponce de Lion Hotel, now a Liberal Arts College.
The wild life in the marina, an egret fishing. The water is
being churned up by fish
|