Saturday June 11, 2011

We got away from New Smyrna Beach Marina by 08:30 and had an great trip past the Daytona Beach area.

After passing the Ponce Inlet and lighthouse, we encountered a fairly strong current all the way to Port Orange.

Ponce Inlet and Lighthouse

Port Orange Bridge and Daytona Beach

You could tell it was a Saturday with a large amount of small boat traffic requiring constant attention to our wake. It appears that the only place to net shrimp is in the middle of the main channel.

We passed by the resort hotel at Daytona Shores where we stayed two months ago.

The waterway is made up of mainly the Halifax River in this area. The homes around Ormand Beach were very nice and all have long docks out to the deeper water.

At around 13:00 we passed Flagler Beach and entered the Fox Cut. Here the waterway narrows and everyone has a covered dock.

Approaching the Matanzas Inlet we encountered a dredging operation in the main channel and we had to "thread the needle" between a moored boat and the dredge barge.

We arrived at St. Augustine at 16:50 and got refuelled and a dock at the Municipal Marina. Very nice docks but they have a reversing 2 - 3 knot tidal current running through them making docking a bit of a challenge.

Chris and I did a quick tour of the City on foot for an hour while the Captain and Mate washed down the boat. The salt is taking its toll if you don't rinse it off on a regular basis.

 

 

 

 

 There was a big fishing tournament at the marina and some real serious fishing boats. I bet there is no fish that can outrun this one.

 

We relaxed for the evening and had some burgers on the BBQ.

Cumulative Totals:

Total Distance 592.3 nm
Total Travel Time 83 h 19 min
Total Fuel Burn 556.6 USgal