Day 350: Closing Out 2022

Palm Coast to St. Augustine Municipal Marina, FL (mooring ball)

December 31, 2022

There’s a well-known stretch of the Matanzas River that’s notorious for shoaling that was on our way to St. Augustine. We’ve transversed this area together three times already while John single-handed the area another time when he brought Lailia to Charleston in 2019.

As we crossed this section today we encountered some traffic (in both directions) and a low tide. Folks were also communicating on VHF really well about the conditions they encountered, including a boat that ran aground just off the track. They were enjoying french toast as they were waiting for the tide to rise and float them off. They also had a dolphin show, so they had some entertainment during their brunch. We’ve had to wait to float off twice over the past year, but never during daylight hours and never with dolphins, just saying…

Once we passed the shoaled stretch we’d hear from boaters heading south asking about the conditions and for any advice we could provide. There’s such a sense of community with boaters.

Although this is the fourth time we have stayed in the St. Augustine Municipal Marina it’s the first time we’ve grabbed a mooring ball here. We’re on the north side of the Bridge of Lions but still really close to the marina itself.

We usually see dolphins near the marina – there’s some current there and I guess there’s a lot of feeder fish there. Dolphins were feeding right in the basin this afternoon with lots of splashing and blowing.

John and I decided to grab an early diinner/late lunch and ate at our favorite pizza place, grabbed some Ben and Jerry’s and then walked to Dog Rose, one the local breweries. Dog Rose is a little off the tourist path and closer to some old residences. We got to peek in a few courtyards along the way…

We’ve seen this mooring field when it’s been really choppy and windblown but we have gotten really lucky. The water is calm and there’s not too much wind hitting us, so our dinghy rides are fun.

There are so many people here for New Years Eve. The weather is mild and there’s a lot to do here even when it’s not a holiday. Tonight, there seem to be many tourist-type watercraft cruising around the mooring field and then waiting to go through the bridge. While I was watching a “pirate ship” and a schooner line up to go through, I was a little surprised by the appearance of yet another boat jumping in line. We are close to the river walk and Castillo de San Marcos, so maybe that’s why we have so much traffic?

The lights in St. Augustine do make this a beautiful place to spend a few nights.

We will be here until January 2 so today we can grab lunch with Robert, a friend who is traveling nearby.

Here’s looking back on 2022 with happiness and looking towards 2023 with anticipation…