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Date:Thu, 30 Nov 2023 23:37:00 GMT
St. Augustine to Daytona
Make sure you're filled up!
We woke up at 06:15am and got ready to go south. We decided to use the
time to get on the way to Ft. Pierce rather than wait till Monday or Tuesday
for good wind for off shore. Our friends wanted us to come with them and so
we did. We left St. Augustine with 90Gal of water and 75Gal of fuel which
is very unusual for us. We typically top off before we head on a journey.
But once again we have violated our rules. Still this time it worked out ok
and we got fuel and water in Daytona at 3 in the afternnoon.
We got the 7:30 bridge opening and were about an hour behind our
friends. The tide and current were in our favor and so we zoomed along at 8
knots most of the day. It was a beautiful day with light winds and there
were lots of birds and dolphins along the way. There was a line of boats
heading south from St. Augustine and at one point the lead boat headed a
little too close to shore and almost ran aground. The entire chain turned
around and fell in behind us. I only saw 8 feet minimum of water but I was
closer to the center of the channel. However that put us in the lead and an
hour or so later we caught up with our friends.
We encountered a dredging operation and passed on their port as they
were heading north and it made the channel very narrow for that passage. We
also encountered a Coast guard tug/cutter called (Iron fist?) heading north
pushing a large barge.
As we approached Daytona there are a couple of really beautiful
bridges. We went under them and then turned inland to Halifax Harbor marina
for fuel and water. They were very nice. We topped off on everything
and all was well and we are fully stocked. It's a very sheltered and well
run marina with very reasonable prices. There are three different anchorages
in the area with 10 foot depths and good holding. We chose the one to the
south which is the largest of the three and easiest to get into. It is
however next to the channel so there are wakes from passing boats.
As a note about St. Augustine in particular that also applies to most
of Florida: They want their waters clean and will bring a pump out boat to
your boat for free on a mooring ball or just $5 if you're at anchor. When
it's so convenient I don't know why anyone would not use the service. They
pumped us out before we left, in St. Augustine you just need to call them
before 9am and they'll add you to the list.