Skipping Shipping Hazards

Twins.  Let's Sea & WJ3 buddy up

Mike alerted us to a satellite launch from Cape Canaveral

Cap’n & crew arrived at Vero Beach Marina, thankfully in one piece, and settled in to marina life tucked away on a well-sheltered mooring ball.  Luckily for us, we shared with fellow Hunter 460 owners, Mike & Cala, on “Let’s Sea”.  So, much information was swapped and shared – and worse, new ideas generated!  The good times had to end, and after spending our time doing chores, shopping to replenish our sadly depleted larder, buying boat bits and doing repairs aplenty, it was time to move on.  We did wonder why we were the only ones heading north.  Still, those nasty, snow-laden fronts were at last, tracking well to the north, so there was some joy in that.  And our new Walmart tracksuits were proving just the ticket!  Given that we’d not had much “down time”, and a few more electrical issues had just cropped up (sigh!), we promised ourselves a few days respite in either Daytona or St Augustine.  

Flagship Towing to the rescue

Sadly, not everyone makes it though. Possibly hurricane damage?

However, ahead and lurking at New Smyrna Beach, was an infamous shoaled area of the ICW.  Even though we set forth in foggy conditions that morning, we managed to avoid it, so were feeling somewhat smug.  Its twin, half a mile further on, lay in wait though.  This time we became well and truly stuck on an unmarked sand bar in the middle of a supposedly dredged channel.  WJ3’s stern was in 8 feet of water, the bow stuck on 3.  Despite trying all the tricks of the trade to wriggle her off, nothing worked.  Worse, the tide was going out, quickly.  We’d become a shipping hazard in the blink of an eye!!

Then of course, out of the fog, along came the cavalry!  Flagship Towing must have been alerted to our plight and after some negotiations we settled on a fee for his assistance to release WJ3.  Our guy certainly earned his money, that’s for sure…  Finally, we were floating again, then carefully led through the danger zone without further mishap.  What a star!

In case you are wondering…  Yes, we had taken out towing insurance.  But had not yet been able to negotiate a sim card for use in the US, which = NO local phone.  (In Aus, we just about give sim cards away to anyone at Arrivals.)  Apparently, tow companies do not respond to VHF calls and who wants to disturb the Coast Guard?  So here we are in St Augustine, having successfully negotiated the equally hazardous Matanzas Inlet, shopping for a sim card.  Wish us luck!

Bridge of Lions at St Augustine

The Matanzas Inlet is a site famous in America’s pre-history.  In 1565, Spanish forces, led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, defeated French forces, securing Spanish control of Florida for some 235 years.  Matanzas means “massacre” and we are pleased to say that, expertly negotiated by our Cap’n and charted by AquaMaps & Bob423 (our new charting system now in place), it was NOT another Tow Boat call out for us, this time. 

Ponce de León, the first Governor of Puerto Rico (1508), led in 1513 the first known European expedition of Florida.   Here in St Augustine, along with its remarkable Spanish Fort (1672), is a Fountain of Youth said to be discovered by de León.  GS sipped the waters in good faith in 2009.  After 17 years, she notes, it appears not to be working!  

St Augustine's character Lighthouse

That's the Bridge of Lions through today's fog...