We left Charleston early in the morning on December 12 with a planned 30 plus hour trip outside to St. Augustine, FL. We had reviewed the conditions (wind, wave heights) and were hoping for a broad reach or downwind sail for much of the way. We’ve found pretty consistently that our models overestimate the amount of wind we experience. That may in part be due to land effect, although once we get many miles offshore, this seems less likely. In any event, we were able to sail a bit and motor sail quite a bit. It was an uneventful overnight passage to the St. Augustine Inlet.
We enjoyed St. Augustine — we stayed at the Municipal Marina in the center of town. After a good nap (there is little better than a deep sleep in the afternoon after standing watch at night), we had a great dinner with sailing friends who’d arrived a couple of days ahead of us.
We did a bit of exploring around St. Augustine, which prides itself on being the oldest city in the United States, and the colonial Spanish architecture is noticeable. We got to see the Spanish fort dating back to the 1700s. The walls are formed from coquina, a soft porous limestone, which is made mostly from fragments of shells and coral. By report, the stone could absorb cannonballs fired from enemy ships offshore.
St. Augustine also provided us a chance to do some shopping for the Bahamas: we filled multiple carts at Walmart and Costco. It’s possible to buy many things in the Bahamas, but it can be expensive and inconvenient, so the best advice is to bring as much as possible.
We also got to spend a few days relaxing and reconnecting with our sailing friends, Kim and Scott. Anne met them during her offshore sailing trip from Lagos to the Azores, and they are in the midst of their big adventure from their coastal home in Massachusetts down to winter in the Bahamas.
Once the weather lined up well enough, we set off again, and after two days arrived in Titusville, FL. Jim found a marina where we can leave Tilia for a few days’ trip back to Minneapolis for Christmas — it’s an easy trip to the Orlando Airport. We’ll be back in late December to continue south!