Moving On

December 29th.  We left this morning with the tide and traveled through the shallowest portion of the ICW.  With TowBoatUS advice, we made it through Devil's Elbow and Matanzes Inlet.  This is where we had to be towed last year.  Since we weren't able to get an early start, we decided to pull into Palm Coast Marina for the night.  Walked into the resort market place and had fabulous pizza for lunch/dinner - the second meal and last meal of the day! 

The Denoel, a French pastry shop, was our favorite lunch stop in St. Augustine.
Bistro de Leon was our selection Christmas Dinner, and may I add it was excellent!
We thought Snow Goose deserved a little reminder of home for the holidays.

Christmas weather

Thursday, December 23rd.


We are aboard today riding out some strong winds. Too rough to even try to take the Gosling into shore.

We walked to the malls yesterday and did some shopping. I think it is probably 5 to 6 miles round trip. We treated ourselves to lunch at the Cafe Denoel after our walk (our favorite French bakery here in St. Augustine).

We have made Christmas dinner reservations at the Bistro de Leon - recommended by our foody friends here in St. Augustine.

We had hoped to check our a couple of the beautiful Spanish revival architecture churches today, but that may have to wait for another day. At least it is not really cold and there is sunshine. However, the propane heater is going.

It is too windy today to get a picture of Snow Goose dressed for Christmas, but I'll try again tomorrow.
December 25th - Merry Christmas!

Bill squeezed two more water containers into the cockpit lockers by doing a throw out of all that stuff that we will never use or haven't ever used. That gives us two 5 gallon and one 6 gallon water containers for the Bahamas. We are carrying four diesel fuel jerry cans on the boat. That all represents a lot of lugging! The sun was shining today and I opened up Snow Goose to the outside world, airing her from the propane heater and general boat fumes of the past cold days. Because it was in the upper 60's, we actually were able to dress for our wonderful Christmas dinner at the Bistro de Leon. We chose the Christmas menu -- Bill's entree' was lamb comfit au jus and mine was salmon with a zucchini souffle - both excellent!

We walked the town afterwards, greeting all others doing the same. I am amazed at how many boats are moving around today. The weather report for the next 3 days is not good - rain, high winds and cold. Wednesday looks like our first day to take off. We seem to have grown roots here!

December 26th - Yes, we are again aboard for the day, the weather being cold and very windy.

Dec 27th - I felt like a mole this morning sticking my head out of the cabin.  Sun is shining, but 31 degrees and again windy.  We took the plunge and took the dinghy into the boaters lounge.

Touring

Friday December 17th - Happy Birthday Geoff - started with the 2 plus mile walk to Target and Winn Dixie and West Marine. Then the taxi ride back to the marina, loading up the Gosling and reprovising the boat. Then we took the Red Train tour of the city. It was a beautiful day. We had dinner out in St. Augustine at Harry's.


Saturday we walked to Anesthasia Island and St. Augustine Lighthouse - more than a couple of miles. The lighthouse and keeper's house is next to St. Augustine's Recreation Area. There was a skateboard competition going on in the park with some very talented kids. We toured the lighthouse museum and keeper's house and then climbed the 163 foot lighthouse. Obviously, the view was fabulous. We walked (with some stumbling) back to the city, bought a Christmas flag for Snow Goose, and called it quits for the day.

Sunday, December 19th. A cold front came through last night and it is cold and cloudy, foggy today. We are hanging here on the boat this morning, hoping for some improvement. We have been invited to the Coles' for dinner this evening. I hope there is improvement for that dinghy ride to shore.

Tuesday, December 21st.  Dinner with Mike and Oula was very nice - food from the oven and ice cream! 
Monday we toured Flagner College and the San Sebastian Winery.  A fun day!  We decided to hang here in St. Augustine for Christmas.  The weather south is no better than right here and there is so much to do right here.
 
Snow Goose is flying her Christmas pennant - let it snow!
 

Ongoing St. Augustine Visit

Friday, December 10th


Wednesday we took the Snow Goose to Comachee Boat Yard here in St. Augustine and had it hauled. We had a new dripless bearing put in and the stern plug sealed. While we were there, First Mate repair looked at our malfunctioning wind gauge. They ordered some parts, and we left the boat yard. On our way back to the mooring we lost our whole navigation system.

Thursday we did laundry and then visited a French cafe for lunch. The food is wonderful! After lunch we sought out a marine supply & salvage store. We came away with a pocket full and some line. We'll go back I'm sure. St. Augustine is now feeling very festive. They have used 2.5 million lights to adorn the downtown. It truly is breathtaking.

Friday we returned to the boat yard to have them install the navigation parts. We left with everything working, however by the time we reached our mooring ball we had lost our wind instruments again. I think a mast climb is next, but the weather has to cooperate. We have been having North winds 15-20 plus every day; cold and today with rain.. It was tricky going to the boat yard this morning.

We have the weekend to look forward to, and we intend to enjoy the Christmas festivities here. Monday we'll think about the boat problems again.

Tuesday, December 14th

The boat parade was Saturday. We took Gosling in and watched from Ft. George. We met our friends the Coles on the dock. They have Kismet on a mooring North of the Bridge of Lions here. We cruised with them last year for awhile.

Sunday we toured the Lightner Museum and had lunch out in our favorite French cafe. By the time we were ready to go back to the boat, the rain had stopped and the sun dried the seats on Gosling. It is the little things!

We had hoped to have a mastclimber go up Monday to retrieve our wind instrument, but the wind was howling 20 to 35 knots. Same story today. The weather has not improved and will be very cold one more day. We have been busy keeping our heat source stock of propane tanks. They are a hot item around here.

Today we are going to walk to West Marine to pick up the propane tanks they set aside for us. That walk takes us right by the marine supply store Bill has discovered, so I am sure we will stop by there too. We are working on updating our lines, and they have a lot of it very reasonable.

Thursday, December 16th

We made the trip into Comachee marina again yesterday.  First Mate went up the mast and cleaned up some connections in the wind instrument.  The day was beautiful on the water.

This morning Bill is repairing what we hope is our last needed fix for awhile - the waste pump.  The rubber in the pump cracked over the summer in the heat - like everything else onboard.  The weather has definitely improved, sunny and 68 degrees.  It was warmer last night too:  one down comforter and three fleece blankets night and no ice on the hatches!

Boat Parade 2010 St Augustine

Hanging out in St. Augustine

Sunday, December 5th. We arrived in St. Augustine on a wing and a prayer on Thursday evening and called the mechanic we were familiar with from last year. They showed up Friday morning and within a short time identified our fuel problem. The fuel line had been hooked up backwards, confirming Bill's thoughts. The discharge side of the pump was hooked up to the intake in the fuel tank. The suction side was hooked up to the discharge side. So therefore, it only had three or four gallons to pick up - enough to run us 3 or 4 hours and then the engine would quit. We left the marina in St. Augustine yesterday and did a sea trial. The engine ran so well!!! I think we are going to love it. There were also some other adjustments and part replacements made, so we should be all set now. We have picked up a mooring in St. Augustine and intend to stay here for a few days of rest and relaxation. Our nerves are shot!

Yesterday they had a Christmas parade in the morning. In the afternoon we attended a reenactment. I can hear the fife and drums onshore now and a canon was just shot. They do have fun! St. Augustine at Christmas time is beautiful. We did some shopping in the old town section yesterday afternoon.

Yes, it was cold coming into St. Augustine. It is still not warm, but it is sunny. The tall ship Lynx is docked here doing some training. It is registered in Portsmouth NH.
Bill is busy now doing some electrical work - putting up some more of those wonderful LED lights. There is always something going on - never boredom.

Tuesday, December 8th.  Still very COLD but at least it is sunny with no ice or snow.  Still hanging on a mooring and enjoying St. Augustine.

Limping into Florida

Tuesday, November 30th. Yesterday the mechanic came aboard in the morning at Jekyll Harbor Marina and repaired the electrical problem with the fuel pump. We left the dock after showers and lunch and motored around the waterway. There was still some air in the fuel line and we needed to bleed it out. We dropped anchor outside the marina and took the Gosling into Jekyll Island and walked around. I'm still looking for an allegator, but nothing yet.

This morning we left Jekyll Island, running just fine. We pulled over for lunch off Cumberland River. The wind really picked up and we decided to stay. Bill replaced the bilge pump, and I got out the chrome polish. The wind isn't letting up, so we have decided to sit tight. I was hoping for Florida today, but guess not yet.

Wind is calmer this morning so we started out again, continuing to be hampered by fuel problems.  We found a little river off the ICW to anchor.  It is getting colder, but the wind is still calm.

Dec 3, we are in Florida!!  Boy, is it COLD!  We continued to have fuel problems and limped our way into St. Augustine.  Again today a mechanic will be aboard.  I am doing laundry and will get my hair done later.  Then we will provision.  We walked around St. Augustine last night.  The Christmas lights are up again and it is so pretty.  We'll stay another night at least.  Happy Birthday Greg!!