October 28, 2021
Early in the morning of October 26, we left the security of the dock in Jacksonville bound for St. Augustine, Florida’s oldest city and also home to Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth! We passed by Mayport Naval Base just outside of Jacksonville. What a busy place! Huge ships and many, many helicopters!
We passed under the fixed bridges and waited in the queue for our turn through the bascule bridges. We did enjoy looking at the ever increasing sizes of the water front homes.
The wind picked up and we found ourselves swept into the busy harbor at St. Augustine. There were many fishing boats, tour boats, tugs, barges and pleasure craft, all vying for space! We called the marina (which was on both sides of the Bridge of Lions) to request a mooring ball. Most of these are first come, so no way to reserve. Not knowing if we should get into position to wait for an opening of the bridge was a little tense, and we were relieved that our mooring ball was on the side BEFORE the bridge. Dale motored Slow Dancer into position and Ken, with boat hook in hand, snagged the mooring pennant. Whew! We were secure and excited to explore St. Augustine!
