St. Augustine is notable as the oldest continually inhabited European-established settlement in the continental US. Spanish explored the area in 1513 and founded the town in 1564, beating the Pilgrims by several years. The best of St. Augustine today I believe is the Castillo de San Marcos which changed hands from the Spanish, British, French and Americans several times over the years.

Castillo de San Marcos from the boat on a now typical storm threatening day

Today a National Monument, San Marcos is the only 17th century fortification in the US and is unique for its construction using a semi-rare form of limestone called coquina. While broken limestone shells sound like a fragile thing to use for a fort, this material (quoting from the internet here) contains millions of microscopic air pockets making it compressible. When cannonballs were fired they burrowed into the wall and stuck there and a ranger said that the soldiers would dig out the balls and fire them back at the enemy. How demoralizing would that be!  

Entering by crossing the moat, we did a self-guided tour and then enjoyed a short but very informative the Ranger talk. 

The cannon there were quite unique and decorative, not your run of the mill cannon. Signage indicated some were made in Seville. 

We strolled the streets of St. Augustine and then went through Flagler College, a private college that used to be the Ponce de Leon Hotel built between 1885 and 1887 by Henry Flagler. Flagler was the railroad and hotel magnate of Florida and this was his flagship hotel. During World War II it was used as a Coast Guard Training Center and became a college in 1968. It is a beautiful facility with marble, carved oak and a tiffany window inside. 

Later in the afternoon Peter, the agent who sold Tom the catamaran, picked us up and took us to his boatyard where we looked at many lovely other "cats" but came out happy to have Double Life! Pete returned us to the marina via back streets through the "Lincoln District" which was a treat to be able to see a non-touristy and also historic part of town. 

The next stop for short sight-seeing was Titusville, better known as the home of the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral.  This would be a great place to anchor if a launch was going, but that was not to be. We did walk through a small park near the docks called Space View Park which is very well done with many markers commemorating all the astronauts and missions. Several notables have hand prints here too as this one of Neil Armstrong.

The afternoon of the 18th we reached Fort Pierce and the end of the journey so far. The boat will be taken out of the water here and Tom will be doing work that needs to be done in the next few months. It will also be safer during hurricane season out of the water. I headed back to Flagstaff and less heat and humidity than Florida has to offer in mid-summer!  In late November Double Life will make its way to the Keys and from there....ah, there are so many possibilities! 

Highlights of the past week:

Cumberland Island, GA

This island is a National Seashore, part of the NPS. It has been inhabited for hundreds of years from Native Timucuans to Spanish soldiers and missionaries, the British, enslaved African-Americans and finally the Carnegies. We stopped first at a place called Plum Orchard, a Georgian Revival mansion built by Lucy Carnegie for her son's wedding present in 1898.

Unfortunately the house was not open for tours but we did peak through the windows to see an entry hall with a gorgeous wood stairway and a couple rooms with very neat looking wallpaper. We asked some maintenance men working on the grounds about the house and they said that someone had actually hand painted over some of the original wallpaper pattern. The most surprising room we could see though was the swimming pool!

From here we went about  7 miles down river to Sea Camp on the southern part of the island where there is a Ranger Station. Near here was the first Carnegie house, Dungeness, which was built in 1884 by Thomas Carnegie and burned in 1959, so only ruins remain today. There is also a very nice museum in the old ice house that includes the entire history of the island. On the northern end of the island which we could not visit is the tiny First African Baptist Church established in 1883 (and rebuilt in 1930) for free African American workers who lived in The Settlement. Interestingly, John Kennedy, Jr. and Caroline Bessette were married in this church. 

About a half mile from Sea Camp, through a tunnel of live oak and Spanish moss and past campsites, is the Atlantic. We finally got to get our feet in the sand and bodies in the ocean. It was a really hot afternoon and the water actually felt a bit too warm, but the waves were good and the wind hitting us getting out was very refreshing! 

Wildlife and the ICW

Many dolphin, some right next to the boat, several flipping their tails and one that jumped totally out of the water.
   
About a dozen white pelicans on the beach near the bridge at Brunswick, GA. We did stop in Brunswick long enough to see a bit of town and purchase four pounds of shrimp right off the dock. Delicious!

Roseate Spoonbills, my first siting of them. They are unmistakable with pink showing up from some distance.

Then one hot afternoon after anchoring I decided to at least dangle my feet in the water and when I looked down at the step I saw a blue crab hanging on! Good sized but no, it was not our dinner!

We pass by shrimp boats often and they are a magnate for sea gulls of course. Sometimes out on the open water, the birds appear like a black cloud around the boats. On this one, if you can enlarge the photo, you'll see an egret was enjoying the ride too.

Jacksonville and friends

We rolled into Jacksonville on Friday and were met at the marina by friends Marilyn and Steve. Although the weather did not cooperate, raining all day Saturday and canceling thoughts of biking the beach and enjoying the ocean, we had a wonderful time visiting. A family dinner last night capped off the weekend and the rain finally did quit allowing us to walk the block from their house to the beach and see the full moon.  On this morning to St. Augustine and happy to say the sun is shining!

 

We have made it through Arthur, the first tropical storm of the season, which moved up the coast from Florida and hit the North Carolina coast Thursday night. Fortunately, we were far enough south by that time that we got winds of 20-25mph, 3-foot seas and only about ½ inch of rain. But that didn’t come without some excitement.

We anchored in a protected inlet Wednesday evening with the current running strong. About 3am Thursday we were awoken by “Drag Queen” our anchor alarm but after investigation things looked fine.  Up early, we took the dinghy to the shoreline and were happy to find 10 feet of water just 10 foot from the shore. Covering all bets, we put out a second anchor and then settled in for the day to wait out the storm.

here's what it looked like much of the day

There are always things to clean in down time, but this day also included reading, Scrabble and paint sticks. Several of the windows get much better ventilation with a paint stick propping them up, so I decided to start decorating some of those sticks.

By 4pm the main storm had passed us and by 5:00 the sun came out and it was a beautiful evening.

The days before Arthur’s arrival provided some good scenery.  For a brief stretch the ICW was close enough to the Atlantic to have great looking blue-green water instead of brown.

We often pass through areas with homes on one side and natural vegetation on the other. 

But while most homes are beautiful, there's just no accounting for some folks color preference.

We passed by many picturesque little towns, most all decked out for the 4^th of July.  Bridges have been plentiful and sometimes come two at a time.

I wish I had good pictures of the wildlife. The first alligator of the trip was sighted in South Carolina. We are seeing pelicans now and love watching them dive into the water for fish. Dolphin are also getting more common, several within 6-10 feet of the boat on occasion. 

And then there are two incredible people stories.

1) One morning after leaving Beaufort, N. C. a passing sailboat hailed us on the radio asking us if we were headed north or south on the ICW.   What?   He said his GPS wasn’t working and he didn’t know what direction he was going! He’d left the same city we had going south, but somehow did a 180 and was heading back north.

2) The evening of the storm, after it had cleared off and we were sitting on the back deck a jet skier pulled up. He had been out on his jet ski in the Atlantic that day during the storm and was trying to head back home but was almost out of gas. He was miles from his harbor and couldn’t call anyone for help because his phone was out of battery power. We called Tow Boat USA who came with 5 gallons of gas for him. 

And that brings us to July 4th in Charleston, South Carolina. We just finished watching fireworks all around the city while sitting on the boom. Must have been at least a dozen towns shooting them off, a couple fairly close. All these pictures are with my iPhone so they are not the best, but here's one of our Fourth celebration.

Yes, we are finally sailing!

We bid Annapolis adieu Sunday morning. Decent wind finally came on Monday and increased Tuesday allowing us to be powered only by sails for about half the day.  It’s hard to take a picture of your own boat under sail, but by far the most fun location to try to do that is lying on my back on the trampoline rocking and rolling with the waves at 7 to 8 knots.

Under engine power we were averaging 5 to 6 knots, so 8K, with about an 18mph wind pushing, felt fast. Having only the sound of the water and wind is wonderful!

Tuesday afternoon brought us to Norfolk where we anchored in Willoughby Bay right next to the Naval Base. The afternoon entertainment was the Navy Seals training about a quarter mile off our anchorage. A helicopter hovered over the water and eight Seals bailed out. A line was sent down to pick up one and then that person was lowered and “rescued” another. When all were collected they flew off and then returned and did it all over again…six or seven times!

Leaving Norfolk was quite exciting with all the Navy and Coast Guard craft including aircraft carriers, warships and tugs.

 Hope you can see the gun mounted on the front of this boat!

Little tug pushing this disabled ship

We passed by shipyards for an hour or so before entering the Intercoastal Watersay (ICW) which goes all the way down to Florida. The lCW comes with the warning that if you say you never went aground in the ICW then you are either lying or you didn’t do the ICW. So far so good on that!  

entrance to the Dismal Swamp

Five miles down the ICW we take a detour down the Dismal Swamp which, despite the name, is the scenic route.  And it is indeed lovely. Much more narrow than we’ve seen for awhile, tree lined banks, a few homes but also very rural and fairly shallow water.  

Not far down the Dismal Swamp we came to our first lock, Deep Creek. We were the only boat going through the lock this afternoon and we had a nice chat with lock keeper Robert who was also very helpful in instructing us on how to maneuver the lock. Robert has been here for 20 years and is the newest keeper on the canal.

 the lock doors close

 almost full of water now

open gates and on our way

A little history is worthwhile at this point. Dismal Swamp Canal was first proposed in 1728 by Colonel William Byrd after he surveyed the Virginia-North Carolina border for the English. He and his party had to go through the dense undergrowth of the swamp and he made some comment on how repulsive and dismal it was giving it its name. The canal was completed in 1805 making it the oldest operating canal in America today. 

                                      

office of the lock keeper

Lock keeper Robert blowing his conch shell

Robert is a historian as well as lock keeper, bridge keeper and general maintenance man in the area. He invited us to dock immediately after the lock passage and told us to come by the next morning when he arrived before 8am and he'd have the coffee on! There is a small park behind the lock also, so we had a nice evening walk in the park and then had the biggest calzone I've even seen delivered to the boat for dinner.

yes, we have a basil plant now and it is surviving nicely

Thursday, June 26

After OJ, coffee and more stories of the Dismal Swamp from Robert we shoved off, went through Dismal Canal Pontoon Bridge (which Robert runs down to in his pickup to open for us) and proceeded down the canal. The passage is narrow and occasionally you have to watch out for tree tops hanging over that might hit the top of the mast. 

It was hot and humid and it seems we are in the middle of a 4-6 week invasion of deer flies. Sure glad we bought that package of 3 fly swatters back in Annapolis!

the bridge at South Mills

welcome to North Carolina

Forty miles, one more lock and a couple bridges later we came into Elizabeth City, NC. We anchored out and then had the treat of meeting friends Joan and Howard who live nearby. 

Joan brought a fantastic taco casserole, salad and blueberry cobbler with blueberries from their farm. We really enjoyed the visit with them and may even get to hook up again further south. 

Today we'll enter the Abermarle Sound with more open waters and possibly a chance to sail again.

    Anchoring: A process during which the anchor is lowered, and rancor is heightened.  from the Dictionary for Landlubbers, Old Salts, & Armchair Drifters”

    Truer words were never ……  no, really, anchoring is going fine now!

Friday, June 6

We have finally left Annapolis. We’ll be returning in 10 days to have the standing rigging replaced, but in the meantime we’re cruising nearby. Before pulling out though we watched twenty or so sailboats circle around twice in preparation for a race to Bermuda. The parade was led by this boat which, if you look closely or magnify to see, included a bagpiper complete with kilt.

Two hours later we cruised into the Rhode River and anchored.

our first view of Double Life out in the open

Within easy reach of the dinghy is a Smithsonian Environmental Research Center that studies all facets of the ecosystem.  The 2600 acres includes the historic Java Plantation and the Contee Watershed Trail.

 Contee house ruins

John Contee was an officer on the USS Constitution when it captured the British frigate HMS Java in the War of 1812. Legend has it he used prize money from the battle to purchase the plantation he renamed it “Java,” a tobacco plantation. By 1869, after several absentee owners, Contee’s children sold the property and in 1890 the house burned and was rebuilt with less stability. Sold again in 1915 to Robert Lee Forrest, it was a dairy farm until he died in 1962. He bequeathed the farm and two million dollars to the Smithsonian Institution who now use it as a multi-disciplined environmental research center with 17 senior scientists.

view from the old house; SERC has a corn field in front 

                             Contee Watershed Trail with white blazes reminiscent of the AT.

Saturday, June 7

Next morning after more exploration of SERC, I had my first solo experience raising the anchor. It went fine and we had barely begun to move when we came to a sudden halt. Where did that shallow water come from? OK, this is our first (last?) running aground – in about 6 inches of mud! Half an hour later we broke lose with nothing damaged but our pride.

Three-hour cruise to the Wye River; another nice anchorage; a still and lovely afternoon. 

                                                                lunch time 

Sunday, June 8

A short hop took us over to St. Michael’s and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. This is a premiere museum and easily spent three hours seeing the boatyard, displays of oystering history, a historic crab picking plant; the cabin Frederick Douglass’s sister and family lived in with an heirloom garden; and, perhaps the best of all, the 1875 Hooper Strait Lighthouse. This lighthouse is set in period display and you can access every bit from the living quarters to the Frasnell Lens and walkway on the top. The interpretation in the entire museum is some of the best I’ve ever seen.

                                                unique road entrance to the museum

                                             antique replicas are commissioned here

                                              have you ever seen a bigger bandsaw?

                                                            Hooper Strait Lighthouse

                          the figure is writing a letter home and audio tells you what he writes

                                                                    Fresnell Lens

After poking around town we moved on to Leeds Creek in anticipation of possible wind gusts which, happily, never developed.  At every anchorage so far there are enormous mansions visible. 

 Our view is just as good as theirs and from the lack of people in yards, I’d say we are enjoying the views much more than they are!

What do we do for entertainment while anchored and not in a place we choose to go into with the dinghy?

Yoga on the hardtop has become a favorite in the morning and some afternoons. This can be tricky, but balance is getting better and we are very watchful of wakes from passing vessels.

Some evenings we also enjoy a game of Scrabble and we’ve learned a useful new word for those pesky letters “x” and “z.” 

Xebec (also zebec): A small, three-masted Mediterranean sailing vessel, used primarily in commerce in the Middle East, and in Scrabble in North American waters.”   (thanks to the dictionary for landlubbers again.)

Wednesday, June 11

We are anchored in Solomons, MD. Arrived last night and had a brief thunderstorm this morning with quite a bit of rain, then came into town enjoying a zero day. Stopped by a Leopard 42 on the way in to chat with the folks on it and, if the weather holds, we'll be headed back this afternoon to their boat for cocktails.