We left
Blount Island
before 9 for the cold journey to
Matanzas Inlet and the anchorage there. The engines, holding on to some residual
heat, groaned a little but they did start.
We nosed out of the anchorage and down the ICW on a falling tide which
meant we weren’t traveling very fast because of the stiff current.
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| Over to the right you can see our speed, 2.88 mph |
Went by Pine
Island and it’s a typical
river anchorage with but a little wider than I thought. Still, its wide open offering little wind protection. I much prefer Blount Island.
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| Pine Island Anchorage |
As we made out way in towards St. Augustine we passed right by the little beach where Jack enjoyed some beach time last year when we stayed here for a few days while he was board.
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| I call this Jack's Beach, right on the inlet into St. Augustine |
We passed through
St. Augustine
and under the
Bridge of Lions and made our way south another 15 miles until we came up on
Matanzas. It’s very shallow around here and the
directions for entering the inlet/anchorage are pretty precise. Run along the northeast shore off a 100 yards
until you find yourself opposite the Fort and then anchor.
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| The fort (from June 2015 when Jack and I took the dinghy here) |
Yes, there is a
fort there.
A small, almost tiny looking short tower.
It’s a Spanish fort, built back in the 1700's. Not much around there except for the beaches and supposedly a hiking
trail. It was late by the time we arrived so we didn't get off the boat. Actually it was too cold!
We shared the anchorage with 4 other boats, all
sailboats. It was a delightful, if not
chilly night again. We were the second boat to
leave the next morning as we made our way south heading for Rockhouse Creek near
New Smyrna Beach.
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| Sunset at Rockhouse Creek |
We were the only big boat in Rockhouse Creek. There were several smaller
power vessels which all left at dusk except for one who was anchored a fair ways off. It was still cold, 50’s at night. A large sailboat came in later and hugged the north shore which is pretty much the unofficial channel for
entering and leaving this place. There
is a large very shallow bar the extends from the south point of the
entrance.
The weather reports were looking ominous for the next few
days with high winds predicted. And Dave
and Kathy were planning on joining us. My
original idea, for them to meet us in Rockhouse Creek, was swiftly
wilting before my eyes. Given the
weather forecasts and noting how much easier it would be to unload their car at
a dock instead of using the dinghy, we decided to head north a few miles back to
Daytona and Halifax Marina. I figured we'd just hunker down there for a few days until the weather cleared up.
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| On the T-Head at Halifax Harbor Marina |
Halifax
marina is right across from where we usually anchor here in Daytona. In fact we’ve taken out dinghy into the Marina several times. We just never stayed here with the big boat.
They gave us a spot on a T-head way down on
the north end of the marina. We pulled
in and spun the boat around easily enough and the dock guy knew what he was
doing so it was only a few minutes and we were all secure. Our normal black power cord wasn't working with the power pedestal, so we used our shorter, yellow 50 amp cord. I'm sure it was the receptacle on the pedestal. In any event, the first thing we did was fire up all the heaters.
Dave and Kathy are meeting us here tomorrow. We haven't quite figured out a plan but it'll either be Bahamas or just a slow run down to Marathon. Given the weather though and comments from people we know over in the islands now, it's not all that inciting. Cold and windy here. Cold and windy there. But we'll see how it all plays out.
