Now that I had arrived in Florida, I needed to start planning where and how I would spend my time here. I was able to reserve a slip at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina for one week. This would give me a chance to relax and re-provision the boat before moving further South. St. Augustine is a fun City with numerous restaurants and things to do and the Marina is right in the center of it all. On Saturday morning we woke to the sound of a band playing so we walked up the street just in time to watch the St. Patricks Day Parade. St. Augustine boast that it is the first and oldest St. Patricks Day Parade in the World with their first being held in 1601.
Rick and Cody leave on Monday and my good friend Hank Sloan was flying in on the same day to spend three weeks on the boat with me. Back in November, Hank and I had hatch a plan to sail to the Bahamas together. I had intended to start my journey down to Florida in early January to have the boat pre-positioned in Southern Florida before Hank arrived. My late February departure set me behind almost two months, and after careful consideration of other factors, I concluded the Bahama trip would need to be postponed for another year. It was a disappointment for both of us but we were eager to make the best of it. After several days of exploring St. Augustine, Hank and I were ready to move on. After checking out of the marina, we headed South down the ICW. It was close to 5:00 pm before I started looking for an anchorage to spend the night. Finding nothing that would qualify as a safe anchorage, I called the near by Hammock Beach Marina and Resort and was able to get a slip for the night. This is a nice, large Resort bordering the ICW on their West side and the Atlantic Ocean on the East side. With two Golf courses, several fine restaurants, nine swimming pools, miles of biking and hiking trails and beautiful beaches, this Resort had a lot to offer. We enjoyed our stay so much we decided to stay two additional nights. This gave me a chance to study the ICW South of us and it became apparent that there were several bridges that could be a problem for us to clear under. I decided I should look for a Marina close by to spend the rest of the Winter so we headed back North 23 nm to St. Augustine, with nearly a dozen marinas to choose from. It was an easy trip back and gave Hank another experience of helping me move the boat. Back in St. Augustine, we found the Municipal Marina did not have any available slips but could offer us a mooring. The Marina put us on their waiting list for a slip and after four days on their mooring, they were able to accommodate us in the marina for up to a week but for no longer as they were fully booked. Checking with all the other area marinas, met us with similar responses, no one could accommodate us for the two months I needed. I called Neil, the Harbormaster at Hammock Beach Marina and asked if he could accommodate me for two months. Neil said all of their slips were leased out but he would make some calls to see if any slip holders were planning to be away during the times I needed. Over the next couple of days, Neil and I spoke often as he continued to work to find me a spot. Finally, Neil agreed to make a spot for me on the outer dock, along the ICW. This was the same spot we stayed in before and was actually my preference as it gave me great water views and was close to the Marina office and pool.
While Hank and I were back enjoying our time in busy St. Augustine, I received a text from Cody asking if he could fly back down for a weekend visit. I was elated, Cody has helped me move the boat multiple times and is always a joy to have on board.
