Observer

Wednesday 3/28   We were off the dock @ 8:30.   It's overcast and 58 degrees; winds are light out of SE but build to 14 mph by afternoon.   We traveled the ICW north and then the St. John's River South to Ortega landing Marina on the Ortega River in Jacksonville.   We did not arrive til 4:50 and then we moved to another slip that had better access for Millie.   We were pretty spent at that point.   Got the boat settled and pulled some left overs out of the refrigerator for dinner. Passed this large shipping terminal Downtown Jacksonville Jacksonville Landing Thursday 3/29    This is a beautiful marina in a wonderful location.   They have a really nice boaters lounge, pool & hot tub, FREE ICE AND FREE LAUNDRY.   Tim saw divers headed down the dock to clean the bottom of another boat on our dock and asked if they could squeeze us in and an hour later they were cleaning the bottom of OBSERVER and replacing a couple of zincs for us.   Did a tour of

Sunday 3/25    We moved Observer over to the fuel dock and topped off the tanks.  To give you an idea of our consumption we took 180 gallons since our last fill up in Marathon, Fl on February 17. We pulled out into the ICW; it's a gorgeous day @ 70 degrees and hardly any wind.  Prior to leaving the dock I will familiarize myself with the route on my iPad using Garmin Blue Chart with Active Captain overlay.  I want to make sure I understand the channel marked by navigational buoys and what bridges, if any, require opening for our air draft.  In this stretch of our trip we need to be concerned with tides, current and shoaling (caused by hurricane damage or current).  Active Captain shows other boaters experiences with areas we will be traveling.  There may be a navigational aides missing or shoaling within the channel.  We will get instructions like stay 50' east of this red maker.  On our way to St. Augustine today we approached one of these areas - I noticed a sailboat anchore

Saturday 3/24     First thing this morning, we grabbed Millie and walked over to the local Farmer's market and picked up fruit, veggies, cheese and eggs.   Off the dock @ 9:30 this morning and arrived at Palm Coast Marina @ 1:30.   Along the way, we passed a sunken sailboat right in the middle of the channel after coming under a bridge.  Tim  had seen what looked like a bike / walking trail along the ICW on the way here and we are docked a short distance away so he got to check that out on the bike.   Cool sculpture on the water's edge Later in the day, we  started to go off exploring in the dinghy but the bulb on the fuel line has a hole in it; we had to scrap that plan.   New Loopers Island Girl docked ahead of us at the marina so we caught up on our respective adventures the past few days.   We grilled a pork tenderloin on the boat and enjoyed our home (boat) cooking.  

Friday 3/23   I needed to find my long pants (It's been a while).   When it was time to take Millie out for her morning walk it was 44 degrees - whoa.   Did a run down the inter coastal and took some cools pics of houses.   We left the dock @ 11 and made our way to the Halifax River Yacht Club.   Dockmaster Pete met us, secured our lines and then gave us a tour of this beautiful club with great history.  It's the oldest Yacht Club on the East Coast still on it's original sight.  Essentially, we are members for a day. The informal club dining area / bar We sat at the bar for dinner and met some great members The club burgee inlaid in the front entryway Very cool hallway lined with rope wrapped columns between display cases full of club memorabilia We took Millie for a walk into town and then had dinner at the club bar where we were welcomed and engaged by so many members including the Commodore - really love this place!