April 18, 2014 St. Augustine, Rivers Edge Marina

Marineland Marina on the short T dock

There was a stiff east wind blowing off the ocean this morning but that was good since it would blow us off the dock here at Marineland.  Bad though because if I didn't move fast enough the boat would blow away from the dock without me.  Well, not really.  We could have put out  abreast line (line tied to the center of the boat) which would have helped keep it close enough to the dock.  But the complicating factor was a darling elderly couple that arrived a few minutes earlier and tied up almost perpendicular to our bow.  So I decided to just have someone, well the elderly couple actually, stand out in the rain and untie our three lines so I could be sure to be on the boat.  As it turned out the wind did push us off the short dock but also forward towards the elderly couples boat so I had to back down slowly before turning and heading out of the marina.  No problems but as we reached the main ICW channel it began to pour heavily again diminishing our visibility to a few yards beyond the boat.  But it served as a great boat wash!

Running up the San Sebastian River 

It was about 20 miles to the Rivers Edge Marina up the San Sebastian river but we had to make water.  The membranes in the water maker have been somewhat reluctant water producers lately, especially when first starting up.  This had been happening only after we attempted to make water in Boot Key Harbor.  The general diagnosis points to some clogging of the membranes.  But now, they seem to be back to normal, making water immediately and routing it to the water tanks.  However the river here isn't as salty as the ocean and it was raining so I think that may have something to do with the membranes current behavior.

We ran the water maker for about an hour or so and of course as we approached a  25 foot bridges the tanks signaled full.  So we had to scramble around and get the water maker shut down to prevent overfilling the tanks.  And then quickly cruise under the bridge.  We can  normally clear a 23 foot bridge with room to spare but in this case, the water was high, and we were riding higher than normal because our fuel tanks were well below half full.  Less weight makes us float higher.

We ran under the bridge with no problem and as it began to rain again I shutdown the water maker, and Mary back flushed the system.  We went under the highway 312 bridge and turned up the San Sebastian river towards Rivers Edge Marina.

Slip at Rivers Edge Marina

We were originally going to be placed on a T dock but there was a sailboat there with mechanical trouble so we had to go into C dock, and slip number 3.  It was very, very tight.  And worse was the presence of some side currents and wind which made backing in almost impossible.  We were carried past the slip but I was able to turn and back the boat enough to catch one of the poles and  used that to pivot the boat around into the slip.  Whew!  Close call.  Cant wait to drive it out tomorrow in the wind and current too!

Snuggled in a tight slip (3rd on the right)

After settling up with Paul the dock master, Mike from Coomes oil company arrived with his truck and we took on 266 gallons of diesel at the astoundingly cheap price of $3.75/gal.  Most marina's are between 4.15 and 4.50 per gallon.  So I think it was worth the sweating good time we had backing in to this slip to save a goodly sum of money on fuel!




I took my bike down between downpours and made a quick run to the nearby Winn-Dixie for some necessary food items.  After I returned, we went to Hurricane-Patty's which is the restaurant and bar right near us, for some dinner.  Pretty good band playing.  Well, the band was really two guitar players who both sang.  In the old days there wasn't any rhythm section playing MP3 file tracks out of a sound system.  But now ... well, these two guys with the electronic wizardry sounded like a full 5 member band.  And it was really very good!

We returned to the boat and being antsy  I walked into St. Augustine and took a look at the docks and marina approach where we will be heading tomorrow morning.  It's was only a mile or so from Rivers Edge.  It looks as though the Marina is pretty empty.  And it sure doesn't appear to be as difficult to maneuver as this place!

I was up at 7am and luckily the winds were dead calm and the tide had just turned so it was near slack water .  So I rousted Mary out of bed and we took in lines and left a few minute after 8am.  The current was just starting to run but the winds were still calm so maneuvering out of the slip wasn't a breeze, but was sure easier than having to contend with current and wind.  We got out fine and headed down the river to the main ICW channel.   Hung a left at the marker and ran past the mooring field to the Marina which is right next to the Bridge of Lions.

In our slip at St. Augustine Marina

We hailed St. Augustine Municipal Marina on VHF channel 16 and they directed us to slip number 34.  It was ideal. We were able to bow in to a starboard tie up which left the port side free to lower the dinghy.  The boat next to us was smaller so there was plenty of space to do this.  And as it turns out, we knew them.   We first met After Taxes up at Grand River Marina up on the Tennessee River.  Small world.


So here we are, dinghy in the water and all settled in for a good nights rest before The Hagens arrive tomorrow!  And the boat is even pretty clean!

And Kathy, thanks for the inquiry as to our status.  We're fine although I've slunk into a lazy spell and haven't updated this blog for a while.   We're just so busy its hard to find time to write.  Honest! ;-)