Sail the Keys

We left Lake Worth at 6am to catch the ebb tide at the inlet. Seas calm, winds low, but built to 12-15, aft the beam. This angle is really good for a catamaran, and we could deploy the screecher and make 9 knots.

We were joined by a buddy boat, Pacific High, a 63 foot custom ketch, whom we had met in Lake Sylvia and spent some very pleasant time. We headed offshore about 30nm because the wind was forecast to die in mid-afternoon, then fill in from the SW. Being off shre would allow us to sail in to St. Augustine on the new wind angle.

We lost the internet around 1 or 2pm, so Alexis was forced to quit working and I was reading and doing small boat tasks when I was not adjusting sails, or clearing more sargassum from the fishing lures. That was all I caught!

After squalls in the afternoon, we sailed through the night under a full moon. Surprisingly, the wind not only maintained, but increased to 19 kn as we approached St Augustine Inlet. We did stop sailing briefly to put a camera over the side - the day before, near dusk, the stb prop was vibrating furiously, so we had not used that engine at all. But we found the prop clear of any issues, and upon restart, there was no vibration at all. Oh well, that's better!

The next day (Saturday) we toured St. Augustine, always a pleasure as it is so walkable and has some great historical sites. We started with The First House (well, the oldest surviving house, considering that the British burnt everything to the ground in 1705). The town changed hands between the British and the Spanish several times, so both influences are strong. The wooden structures did not survive such changes, as well as hurricanes. Only the structures of coquina (a natural sedimentary 'rock' of seashells) survived. The first house started as a 2 room rectangle, and was built upon to become twice as large and 2 story. The resale price rose as well from a few hundred pesos, to thousands of pesos/pounds. Now it has been somewhat deconstructed to show various periods.

After that historical moment, we recovered with a Cuban coffee and empanadas (guava/cheese, spinach/cheese), both excellent. Then for a brief view inside the beautiful Flagler College (ex-hotel), and a long tour of the Lightner Musuem. Mr. Lightner was of the gilded age and a huge proponent of hobbies, to occupy the idle minds now that living had become much easier (for some). He published a hobby magazine and led by example, collecting Americana and internationally. The museum houses a weird, wide variety of items (Winston Churchill's stuffed lion, a petrified dino egg, a mummy, a huge collection of cut glass, Tiffany art glassware, escritoires, etc.) all housed inside another old hotel. This one had a 100m x 50m natural spring swimming pool, and they had swimming and diving shows to entertain the rich and famous.

When your mind is over-filled by such wonders, you have to stop, get another coffee and retire to the boat. That evening we spent at dinner with brother Van and his wife Susan, along with Jamie & Cheryl from Pacific High at Gas-Full Service, an eclectic restaurant across the Bridge of Lions that we had walked past a few times.Leggi altro