Log 123; Day 338; April 24, 2009; St. Augustine Marine

This is the ICW just north of Daytona...with some early morning fog

The skies cleared, and it was a beautiful day, on this busy waterway

I'm not sure if this pictue does it justice, but that pole up there is the green channel marker on the right side of the waterway. Right next to the marker the land is showing. Not a place to make a mistake and get outside the channel

This is a shot looking out of our boat (sitting in our slip) at the construction on the Bridge of Lions

Looking north at St. Augustine Marina

Looking east down the dock at St. Augustine Marina

Inside Harry's Bar...getting ready for dinner

We ate outside in a very nice courtyard at Harry's

Deb and Mary...could you find 2 prettier ladies?

Log 123
Day 338
Friday, April 24, 2009

7:00 AM EDT
Location: St. Augustine Municipal Marina
Weather: 66 clear, and calm winds. Forecasted to be mid 80’s and sunny.

If it is possible for it to be a nicer morning, than we had in Daytona 2 days ago...this is it. Crystal clear skies, calm winds, and perfect temperatures.

We had a great day yesterday. We left the dock at Daytona at 8 am. It was a little foggy...then the fog got a little thicker, but never enough to use my radar. We had taken all the front isinglass off, because it was so sunny and nice in the marina, but once we got out in the ICW, and the fog set in, it was a little cool, but we left it off, and waited for the sun to do it’s work...and it did. By 11 it was nice...and by the time we arrived at 2:30 it was hot.

The ICW between Daytona and St. Augustine is very straightforward, and easy to navigate. There is a fair amount of no wake and idle zones, but also a fair amount of places where you can run on top of the water if you want to. We were following Good News, and we both went slow, the entire 53 miles. Like most of the ICW in this area, the channel is narrow, so when there is a lot of traffic, or you are being overtaken by a large fast boat, it can be difficult. It’s always amazing to me how some captains have no concept of how damaging their wake can be.

When we got to St. Augustine, it looked like a construction area...which it was. They were working on the bridge right next to our marina. Originally, we pulled into our slip, but the noise from the bridge construction was so much, we turned the boat around to give us a little buffer as we sit on the back deck. It also gave us something better to look at; rather than a barge with a large crane on it. Once tied up, we washed down the boat, and then took a walk into town to check things out. We ended up finding a nice spot to have a beer...and the bartender (Kevin) convinced us it would be a great spot to have dinner. So...at about 6 Andy, Mary, Deb, and I walked back into town for a great dinner at Harry’s Oyster Bar.

Today...Deb and Mary have plans to walk into St. Augustine (by the way...this is an awesome town. Very clean...lots to do...very historic). They have told me that they will call with a location where Andy and I can join them for lunch. We’ll see. Tonight, we will be joined by Terry and Rhonda Brown. Terry is an industry (Logistics) friend that I have known for years. About a year ago I promised Terry I would call him when we came through this area...and I’m keeping that promise. We plan to have dinner on the boat, and we are looking forward to seeing them both again.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob