Tourists in St Augustine, Flying dolphins and transformers

29:53.732N 81:18.389W

25th April 2015

7836 Miles from Ramsgate by log.

            So here we are still in St Augustine and having a very enjoyable time thank you very much. The weather has been kind to us but unfortunately Mike and Kate were caught in a 50 Knot plus squall on their way up here from Fort Lauderdale and so it was a very tired couple that we met at the fuel pontoon on Tuesday morning. After a quick catch up we left them to find their mooring buoy, which as it turned out is the one in front of ours, (or behind, depends on which way the tide is running really) and grab some much needed sleep while we got on with the mundane things in life like washing clothes and ordering new bits for the boat on line. I realised that I still hadn’t bought charts of the Azores and Bermuda, unlike Columbus who didn’t bother with that sort of thing and made his own as he went along I do like a paper chart to back up the plotter. So they are now on order courtesy of book harbour and will be delivered to the RTYC next week, where hopefully our support team, Tommy and Sue, will pick them up and bring them out with them to Wilmington next month. I have also had a bit of a brainwave (well Norma did really) re the new generator which only gives out 120 volts or my lashed up 200ish volts from the 30 amp plug and is not providing enough power to the batteries for my liking. I have brought a 120v to 240v step up transformer which is now installed and provides not only power for the battery charger but also the fridge and water heater, happy days indeed.

            St Augustine is one of the oldest settlements in America and definitely has a bit of history about it. The locals as always are very friendly and just can’t do enough for you. As it has been a while since we stocked up on groceries we jumped in a cab and headed out to Walmarts, the big shops are always a car ride away. The taxi driver who was very chatty decided to take a short cut down a narrow side road and promptly bumped into the one way sign knocking it over at a crazy angle. His first reaction was, “wow and its not like I have even been smoking any weed today” and his second was, “hey you guys do you want a souvenir sign for back in the UK”, thus filled with confidence we declined the souvenir and carried on to Walmarts where he dropped us off with a cheery wave. Our plans for the next few days include a ghost tour of old colonial St Augustine and a trolley bus trip around the town taking in the freedom marches of Dr Martin Luther King fame which came through here in the 60’s.

Just a little house really but I liked it and there are lots like this one in the back streets.

As it was St Georges day Norma and myself decided to visit The Prince of Wales an English theme pub for lunch. I had fish and chips washed down with an ice cold Magners while Norma had a steak and ale pie, what can I say it was delicious and St George would have been proud of us, even though the very nice lady in the Prince of Wales had no idea that it was St Georges day.

You can take the man out of Britain but not Britain out of the man etc etc etc

            Last night we had Mike and Kate over for a meal aboard Spectra, Ocean pie made with my own fair hand and not too shabby if I say so myself. Today was a pre planned shopping trip ashore for the girls, which turned into a marathon as these things tend to do when Norma and shops are involved.  Having seen the way the shopping trip was panning out Mike and myself bailed out of the girls shopathon and walked to the edge of town where there was a warehouse full of boat bits to peruse at our leisure, while walking we of course put the world to rights.

The inaugural meeting of the shopping trip escape committee

We then managed to meet up with the girls again through the powers of our dirt cheap American mobile phones which have been amazingly useful and then had a very nice meal in a court yard restaurant in town. After that is was the marina courtesy water taxi back to our respective boats and an early evening punctuated by the healthy hum of my new generator, I know I go on about it but It is my new toy and I do like it.

            Finally the flying dolphins: As we settled down to relax a large splash was heard next to the cockpit, I looked over the edge and a really big bottle nosed dolphin was leisurely swimming by slapping his tail on the water each time he dived. We watched for a while and then he was joined by another adult and a youngster. The young dolphin which was about half the size of the adults was in a serious play time mood as he swam along between the two adults on his back slapping his tail on the surface and then dived out of sight. While we scrambled for the camera as always he dived down for a minute or two and we thought we had lost him. Suddenly he erupted out of the water between us and the boat behind in a whole series of jumps and acrobatics which carried on for a good five to ten minutes (flying dolphin, get it). Finally one of the adults slapped the water with his tail three times and the party was over, young flipper re-joined the group and they were last seen heading towards the inlet under the bridge, now that’s the way to end a day. Lots of pictures of flying dolphins below (it is just kids showing off in my opinion).

            We are here until Monday morning and then we are heading North again so I will write soon.

Weeee

Herupsee look I can fly!!!

And over we go

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch belly flop

And finally the grown ups say, “stop yer messing about and leave the humans alone, it’s time to go fishing”.