I started early (7 AM) and was able to get through the Daytona Beach lift bridges before the rush hour restrictions. My ideal goal was to make St. Augustine, the oldest city in the nation. There are storms predicted for tomorrow so I will hole up in St. Augustine for a few days and let them pass.
The ICW has been through some very "swampy" land so far but this stretch is different. The Fox Channel (first photo) is man made and is rocky which is out of character for Florida. In the second photo you can see that not everyone living along the ICW lives in a mansion in fact there are many nice regular homes here. The ICW south of here looks like the Everglades with swampy land and alligators. In fact NASA at Cape Canaveral consider the 6 thousand alligators on the property their unpaid security guards. The ICW through Georgia and most of South Carolina is also very swampy.
I was fortunate to meet a very helpful trawler captain (Don) who had just arrived southbound on the ICW and gave me a wealth of local information regarding shoaling. He told me to "favor" the "reds" from Red "40" to Green "31" to avoid a bad shoal that nearly closes the ICW to drafts of 5 ft or more. I took notes on everything he said and am glad I did. At Red "40" a fellow sailor was anchored in the ICW and when I got close he hailed me and said that a 5 ft shoal would not allow him to proceed. I followed my friend Don's advice and REALLY favored the "reds". No problem and I had 6 ft or better all the way. I called back to the sailor and told him the secret passage so he followed me through.
The winds had built to a sustained 20+ knots so I found a slip at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina and made ready for a relaxed few days. The next photo is the pirate ship I followed into the marina. I also include photos of a few power boats for John although I don't think these would work for Fountain Lake ;>)
The cold front bringing the storms will pass through tomorrow (April 28th) so I will leave here on the 29th.
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