Bridges, bumps and breeze!

We really enjoyed St. Augustine. it is a beautiful historic town that has a strong Spanish influence. We could have spent a lot more time there exploring but the south is calling!
After we left the Cruisers Happy Hour it felt like someone had turned off the heater!! It was frigid! And most of us were not prepared so it was a chilly trip back to the boat. That night was cold and rainy, but we were warm and cozy down below decks.
The next morning we met Bob and Sheila for breakfast at a little diner around the corner from the marina and over eggs, bacon and biscuits (!) we decided to do some more exploring of St. Augustine. As we walked toward town in the drizzle we passed the San Sebastián Winery, offering free tours and wine tasting. Why not? So in we went and managed to join the tour that had just started. After a tour of the facility we did tasting of eight different wines and fortified wines. It was noon somewhere!!

Wine Tasting

Our next stop was Flagler College, which occupies the old Ponce de Leon Hotel built in 1887,  in just 18 months by Henry Flagler. It has been kept as close to the original as possible, including original Tiffany stained glass windows and a Thomas Edison wall clock encased in marble. It really is a stunning place ... those lucky students!!

Flagler College- The old Ponce de Leon Hotel

 Across the street Mr. Flagler also built a less opulent hotel which boasted an indoor swimming pool , which the guests at the Ponce De Leon Hotel could use. That swimming pool is now a cafe, with high tea bring served in the deep end!

The cafe in the former swimming pool!

We later met up with Vicky and Mac, a couple we met in Delaware City and reconnected with at the Cruisers Happy Hour, for happy hour. We are now at the point where we are again meeting cruisers that we have met, gone our separate ways, and are now meeting again. It's so exciting when you see a familiar boat and are able to catch up on each other's adventures.
Friday's weather was predicted to be horrible ... cold and rainy, so we decided to have a boat day, laundry and chores after walking to West Marine to pick up a couple of things. We hardy sailors don't mind walking in the drizzle!!
Saturday was move day. Our next main stop was Daytona Beach but it was just a little too far to make in one day down the ICW, so we did a short hop to Marineland Marina. This is the original Marineland that was created in 1938 that did dolphin shows. In the 1950's they also filmed TV shows there such as SeaHunt. It is now a research facility associated with the University of Florida and it still has dolphins shows. Hugh and I bundled up (so glad I had my down coat) and walked over to the beach and Marineland, which was closed.
We were up early the next day to head down the ICW for another leg. Trekker left first so we could get under the first bridge at low tide. This was going to be a challenging day as we had six bridges to go under, five fixed and one bascule. The tides are not very big in this area, plus the water is higher than normal ... so we weren't sure if we were going to get under all of them. But, we were prepared, and had the water bag at the ready! The first bridge was fine, second one was a bascule, with only one side working, but again no issues. And then we got to the third one, which read 64 feet. Well, as all you readers know by now, we are 64'4", so we turned around, got the bag out and filled it, healed over and slowly made it under the bridge. Made it!! But, knowing there was another questionable one up ahead we didn't celebrate quite yet. The next bridge was also showing about 64ft, so out went the bag, over and under we went!! Three down, three to go. As we got closer to Daytona we could see the bridges in the distance ... all close together and looking very daunting. But they all had significant arches towards the centre meaning that the height at the centre was higher than the bridge boards showed, so holding our breath we went under them standing tall ... and made each one!! Now it was time to celebrate and have a big drink!! So of course we all gathered in the bar in the restaurant at the marina and enjoyed Happy Hour.

The last bridge we had to go under to get  into Daytona Beach

A visit to Daytona Beach would not be complete without a tour of the Daytona International Speedway. As no one else from the tribe was interested in going, Hugh and I took an Uber over to the racetrack and joined the 12:30 tour. With a guide and in a tram, we were able to go all around the grounds and into the winners circle and media rooms. Seeing the banking of the track makes you realize how steep it really is (31 degrees slope) and  that it does not look that steep when you watch it on TV. Unfortunately we were unable to go on the track to experience the slope as there were cars on it being tested for the upcoming Daytona Rolex 24 hour sports car race, but fortunately we got to watch them from the stands and see how fast they truly go. We both enjoyed it very much (much to my surprise!)

Press Room

Kurt Busch 's car Winner of 2017 Daytona 500

After the tour we Ubered back into town and met the gang, walked around and then found a pub for happy hour! It's becoming quite a tradition!!

Today we were moving again, unfortunately without Bob and Sheila,  as they needed to get some more work done on their engine. Another leg down the ICW to Titusville, with only two fixed and two bascule bridges to go under. When we got close to the first one we asked a boat in front of us to tell us what the bridge board was reading. They radios back 64 ft. Oh, really?? So ... Hugh started to get the water bag ready for deployment. But a voice came over the radio and told us the bridge was two feet higher than what was showing. So with great trust in a stranger we approached slowly, determined that the bridge board was actually reading 65' and made it under ... with inches to spare!! The next challenge was a section of the ICW that tends to be shallow. We heard over the radio that a sailboat had run aground. Oh no ... not good news as we were almost at low tide. So with held breaths and going slowly we crept by the offending mark ... and ran aground. With much persuasion Hugh was able to get us off and backed into deeper water. After talking to the tow boat who got the other boat off the bottom, he advised us to wait a little while as the tide was turning and would start to rise shortly. So we anchored at the side of the channel, made coffee, and waited. About a half hour later we upped anchor, and slowly crept over the bump and made it over this time! Phew! Enough excitement for the day!!
Except it wasn't. A large part  of the leg today was a channel dredged in open water , and it was blowing hard today. I can't tell you how hard because we don't have any instruments on top of our tall mast, but I would call it "honking". So for awhile we had the jib out, which helped with our speed, and then we turned, jib came down, and we were just going straight into the honking wind. The waves weren't big, but choppy and every once in  awhile a wave would break and blow over, drenching the boat. Sigh.
But we made it. We are in Titusville, which is very close to the Kennedy Space Centre. There is possibly a launch tomorrow of a SpaceX Supply mission to the Space Station, which apparently we can see from here. We may even take a tour of the Space Centre, since we are so close!!
We are almost to West Palm Beach, which is from where we are going to jump over to the Bahamas.
We are getting there....slowly but surely....one day at a time!