New Smyrna Beach is a pretty little town with a history of a large settlement (like Jamestown), and foundations of 3 houses that were burnt in the 1800’s.
Our (former) patient, John, lives 20 miles west of New Smyrna, so he kindly drove us around & showed us the sights. He even brought us to a Subway and a grocery store!
The next day Ken wanted to rest & escape the heat- I wanted to explore & escape the dog! So I took a water taxi to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse- the second tallest in the US-climbed the 203 steps, and took lots of photos. While waiting for the water taxi to return, I ventured into a REAL “fish camp”- (I’m not in CT anymore!!!).It was funky, but once again the people were friendly to me- I was a “fish out of water” being there!
New Smyrna Beach is charming, but after 3 nights we were itching to get moving North! (Ken will tell you about the mechanical problems, and why we stayed so long in one place.)
FINALLY, Sat am we left & had a long but beautiful ride to St. Augustine. We passed under “the Bridge of Lions”, and with the wind picking up, found our marina. They have a courtesy car, so we went to town with Cory. He, as usual, was the center of attention! Everyone has to stop & pet the cute doggie! I’m so glad he’s good with kids- they are really drawn to him. St. Augustine is crowded with people & shops & traffic. It’s quaint- like an historical Key West. Cobblestone streets & off-beat people & tourists! Sat pm we hid in the boat thru the storm that passed the entire East coast. Today it’s VERY windy. We went to the Castillo De San Marcos- a fort from the 1600’s. Sorry to ramble on so-but there’s lots to catch you up on. (Great grammar, huh?) I’ve noticed that my allergies are MUCH less in all of Florida. The greenery & flowers are beautiful- but it’s not HOME! Love to all- Linda
Yes we are still alive and moving north. We were stuck for 3 nights at the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Marina with a minor mechanical problem. The serpentine belt was making a real rhythmic rattling sound that I thought might be bearings. Having learned in the past not to let mechanical problems go untreated, I finally got a Volvo mechanic to take a look. He could not determine what was making the noise so he decided to replace everything the serpentine belt runs - all under warranty. He ordered the parts and had them sent overnight. He arrived on Friday evening at 5:30 pm to begin work. His boss, and slightly better mechanic, came with him. After removing the serpentine belt it was found that a buildup of paint on a pulley was rubbing against the belt and wearing the belt, and causing the noise. The paint was trimmed, a new belt installed and, voila, we were on our way the next morning. My salesman at G&R Marine said he was going to contact Four Winns and have a 6 yr. engine warranty applied to this boat because of all the inconvenience. A nice gesture if it occurs. New Smryna Beach is old Florida feeling - the center of town looked like it almost went completely vacant and was rescued in the past couple of years by artists that moved in. Nothing was within walking distance so all our supplies ran low. There was no wi-fi, but in return we did have cable TV, a couple of decent restaurants, dolphins and good weather. The ride to New Smyrna Beach from Titusville was only 32 miles - most of it through the Mosquito Lagoon. Although on the charts the Lagoon appears to be a formidable navigation hazard, it turned out to be a beautiful ride. There were no mosquitoes- only hundreds of white butterflies! Dolphins were in view almost the entire ride. New Smyrna Beach is just south of Daytona which, thanks to John, we got to see a little bit of. The east coast of Florida, in this area at least, is less populated than the area around Ft. Myers. Saturday morning we gassed up and headed towards St. Augustine, 80 miles to the north. We had a backup stopping place called Palm Coast, only 40 miles north, if the traveling was slow. Well, traveling was anything but slow - we left port at 8:30am and arrived in St. Augustine at about 1:30 pm. We traveled most of the time with 4 other power boats of a similar size - oddly enough, all Chapparals. We cruised at between 26-29 mph a lot of the way - with only occasional slow zones. Down here there are different types of slow zones - there is the ’No Wake - Idle Speed zone;” the ‘Minimum Wake Zone;’ and the ’Congested Area Zone.” All are said to be highly enforced - to be truthful we haven’t seen any enforcement. But we also have not seen any major violations. We arrived in St. Augustine just ahead of a major storm - wind had picked up to 20-25mph SSE and literally was pushing us northward. The docking was not good but could have been worse. The wind continued to pick up all Saturday night with a major blow occurring overnight and Sunday morning. Right now the winds are gusting over 35 miles per hour and almost just ripped off the front hatch. The winds aren’t supposed to calm down until Tuesday. We will probably stay until Tuesday morning. Our next stop is planned to be north of Jacksonville, somewhere in the vicinity of Fernandina Beach, a trip of about 60 miles, and will be the last stop in FL! So far we have traveled a total of approx. 350 miles from Ft Myers. We have about 3X that to go. We have to get moving a little faster. Georgia only has 2 major stopping places - those are Brunswick and Savannah. We’ll probably stay a couple of days in both. Also the ICW is shallower and narrower there, so the speeds are consequently much slower. But the low country and the creeks and rivers of Georgia are supposed to be beautiful and we are looking forward to seeing them. We just hope Cory can go a little longer between shore stops. We have settled in our own routines and are getting used to being confined. Tonight - our first Margueritas of the trip!
Day 11 and my captors continue to hold me hostage. Here they humiliate me on the main street of New Smyrna Beach. I am sooo embarassed!
A chart view of the Mosquito Lagoon passage - it looked intimidating...
The entry way into the Mosquito Lagoon - this passage is called the "Haulover Canal" - notice the ever-present dolphin in the foreground.
The reality of the Mosquito Lagoon - wide, deep, and full of dolphins, butterflies, and fishermen.
Calling Volvo for service - I purposely whitened my beard for this shot.
John photographed us at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse- the second tallest in the U.S. I came back the next day for a tour while Ken & Cory rested on the boat. I really love the color of the lighthouse against the blue sky.
Entry into the St. Augustine Harbor is through this bridge - The Bridge of Lions. The bridge of steel is in the background and nowhere near as beautiful as the old bridge. Here the wind is picking up and we are looking for our marina for the night.
Guess which boat is ours!
Shopping with Cory in downtown St. Augustine. The streets are narrow, the shops small and very ecclectic. We didn't buy anything but penny candy.
Sunday we visited the Castillo De San Marco- built in the 1600's. They even shot off one of the cannons to celebrate our arrival! It was interesting and educational. Very windy day!!! In the extreme background is the inlet to St. Augustine from the Atlantic.
Psst... anybody looking to take me to a real home? I need space, space, and more space than I am currently allotted on the stupid boat! Of course, I expect full medical, dental, retirement, unlimited foot rubs and massages and room and board. In return I will make sure that total strangers will come up and talk to you just to see me! Signed - The Ambassador, aka Cory.
4 comments:
Got a little worried when we didn't here from you in a couple of days. Glad you are taking time to enjoy! Tim and Diane
Wonderful!!..wonderful!!!wonderful!! Everything....the writing, the pictures and commentary from Cory!! Thank you..............Miss you, Love, Solveig
Cool!!! Keep the reports coming!!
You missed a Noreaster up here in Guilford. Just got back from moving the cars to high ground on Island Bay Circle. There was almost a foot of water in the road when we walked back. It's a litte past high tide and we don't expect it to get worse. All the neighbors are flooding, but with the raised seawall in front of Tom and our house-no problem. The cement wings going down the sides of our property are working great too! JP's property next door is very flooded, but it's staying in his yard and flowing out to the road. Tell Tom his house is fine and I left my boat in his driveway and all is well here.
Pete and Sandy's place, three doors down is taking a beating though, most of his property is under water. It's blowing 25 to 35mph right now, but there are no waves-the wind is coming in from over the marsh.
Went down to check on the Guilford Shellfish Commission's boat at the Town Dock an hour ago. I launched it in on Saturday, figuring it would be safer at the marina than by the seawall at our place. Almost couldn't get down there because of all the flooding on Rt 146. Managed to get close to the Moorings restaurant but couldn't go the last 100 yards by car because of the height of the water. Parked the car and waded over to the bridge. Both restaurants are flooded. The water was about two feet over the bulkhead and raging over the road and down the sides of the restaurant, then across the street to the Stone House restaurant. The guys who own one of the big 40+ foot lobster boats were there and we talked to them for a bit. They used heavy duty, extra long lines to tie off all the way across the harbor so their boat wouldn't float over the bulkhead. They were looking concerned.
While we were there the water raised by almost a foot. We rushed back home so we could move the cars.
It's a fun night! Wish we were enjoying Florida with you two instead. Garth says hi!
Alison
I'm glad you're safe. There was some concern that Cory had teamed up with some rogue manatees for a mutiny.
Post a Comment