25-31 Mar, Matanzas Inlet

    We've heard people talk about anchoring at Matanzas Inlet but we have always been passing through here quickly on our way between St Augustine and New Smyrna so we have never stopped. 

   This trip we have 10 days until Rivah's next appointment so we decided to come down here and anchor. 

   It turned out to be a great anchorage spot. Entering the anchorage is a bit tricky because of the extensive shoaling and no nav markers but if you have the route info from Bob423 (a fellow sailor) it is an easy entrance.

   We anchored just before reaching the fort so as not to block the ferry traffic between the park office and the fort. Next time I will anchor just past the fort because where we stopped to anchor was right beside the no-wake sign, which meant all the boaters were slowing down or speeding up right next to us, which is when they put out their maximum wakes. I am still amazed that power boaters don't understand this aspect of their wake generation.

 The beach areas were busy on the weekend, but there still was plenty of spots to pitch a Shibumi because you have the option of heading to the ocean beach or either side of the Inlet beach.

  We found the western shore of the Inlet was the easiest to approach (the eastern shore has extensive shallow water) and fewer people because you can't reach it by car.

   We spent a very relaxing week at Matanzas with good protection from all wind angles. Even when the winds were up the river against the current it wasn't bad.

   Down the inlet there was an area of dead trees similar to the popular dead forest on Jekyll Island in Georgia. 

   The word from the vet is that Rivah has to absolutely not lick her bottom or her anal gland will never heal. 

  We next tried a suit we have from her previous stomach surgery added to some boxer shorts. That didnt work, she still could get through it at night.

   Now she is back to her double donuts. 

   At least she's still happy when she can escape the donuts. 

19-25 Mar, St Augustine

 

   On a mooring ball in St Augustine. Rivah has her appointment tomorrow. She still has an infection and drainage so we have to see what's the next treatment. 

   We found this great breakfast/lunch restaurant with its outdoor fireplace in St Augustine. Now our favorite spot. And, yes it is cold enough to want to sit by the fire in northern Florida in March. 

Rivah is back on antibiotics for another couple weeks so we will be hanging around St Augustine area for awhile. We plan to leave the mooring field tomorrow and head down to Matanzas to anchor in a new location we haven't been to before. 

15-19 Mar, Daytona Beach

 

   The kids left on Friday to get home and Rivah has another vet appointment in St Augustine next Thursday so we decided to stay at the marina in Daytona for a few more days.

   With our rental car for one more day, we decided to drive down to the Ponce Inlet lighthouse. We never miss an opportunity to tour a lighthouse when they are nearby. 

   266 steps to the top. 

   A bit windy at the top.

A good view of the inlet. Coming in here from the left and heading south (top of the photo) is fairly straight forward, just follow the nav buoys properly. 

If you want to head north, however, there are multiple sand shoals with no markers. These boats at the small marina below all know how to get in and out avoiding the shoals. Local knowledge required.

   In Daytona again for St Patrick's Day. That's a green beer Sue has there. 

   Time to head north for St Augustine. Daytona has some of the prettiest bridges on the ICW. 

8-15 Mar, Daytona Beach Spring Break - with Jackson, Ella and Reed

 

  Heading north past the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse to Daytona Beach where we will be hosting the grandkids for their Spring Break. 

   We'll be staying at Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona and pickup a rental car to travel around with the kids. That will be useful also as Rivah has another vet appointment for her anal gland issue. Not getting worse but, not getting better either.

   Well, the kids didn't make it on Monday as their flight was cancelled but, now scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

   That gave us a free day with the rental car to drive to New Smyrna and spend another day with Tara and Carol for more beer and tacos.

   Success! They're here finally, just a half day later. Now off for Daytona activities.

   First stop is the beach. Its not hot Florida weather but at least it's short sleeves, especially in the sun. 

   Its a tight fit for 5 on the boat but there's room for everybody. 

   Game time.  Looks like the boys are sleeping through the instruction phase. 

  If you're in Daytona, you might as well tour the most famous site in town, the Daytona 500 Speedway. 

   The tour was fairly interesting with views of the stands, the track, the pits and winners lane.

  Here's the whole team in Victory Lane. 

   After the track tour, our plan was to head to Cape Canaveral to tour the space center and watch a launch that evening. However, we learned its $85 per person to get on the facility which only makes sense if you allocate an entire day to see all the sights, so we opted to head for the beach.

   Meanwhile, the launch was scrubbed, the second time the kids have missed a launch, so we had a nice seafood dinner and then headed back to the boat.

   Next on the agenda was kayaking at Blue Springs park where the manatees come to lounge in the warmer spring fed waters off the St Johns River. There are several hundred manatees here and several big alligators that we saw. 

   In the afternoon it was off to the go-kart track for some racing.

   The karts actually go pretty fast, up to 30mph which is fast when you are sitting a few inches off the asphalt and running through the hairpin turns. 

  It takes a while to figure out how fast you can power through the turns sliding slightly but not spinning out. I see how young racers learn how to drive starting with these little go-karts.

   After racing, it was off to Putt-Putt golf, then on to Tara and Carols for dinner. A pretty busy day.

   All too soon it was time to head back to the airport. We packed a week of activities into basically a 3-day visit but everyone had a great time.

   Fortunately there return flight went as scheduled with no delays.

   Back to just the two of us. Coffee and bagels for breakfast in Daytona.

21 Feb - 07 Mar New Smyrna, FL

 

   Poor Rivah. She has an infected anal gland and has to be kept from licking it. We are trying two inflatable collar donuts rather than a hard plastic collar that would be a problem on the boat. We tried one donut but she can still get around it, so its double guards.

   She is on 10 days of medicine then we have to return to St Augustine for a recheck. 

   Meanwhile, we will spend some time at New Smyrna visiting our friends Tara and Carol.

   First on the list to do is a visit to the New Smyrna Beach Brewery. We know our favorite beers now, hazy IPA for Mark and dark Stout for Sue. 

   The weather has been sunny but still cold. Long sleeve weather but at least not winter coats any more. Still have a thick blanket and comforter on the boat but no need for the electric blanket. 

   Not a good view of rocket launches at Cape Canaveral from our marina berth looking over bright lights from a restaurant and condos, but you can see the rockets go up at night from here. A bright red streak in the sky. A bit of rumbling several minutes later.

   Always work to be done on the boat and going aloft is best done in the marina on a calm day. We had to install a new flag halyard as the old one degraded in the sun and broke. Sue gets hoisted up the mast to feed the new halyard through the block at the spreaders. 

   Staying at the marina is very convenient for taking walks and stopping for bites to eat. Rivah is very hopeful of getting a treat but, she doesn't get treats from the table. In addition to her anal gland medicine she is on special dog food for her digestive issues. The downside of getting older we are all familiar with.

   Spending a couple weeks in New Smyrna we had several opportunities to visit with Tara and Carol including a Mexican dinner with them and their friends from Columbia (who have US citizenship they reminded us and not facing deporting).

  Weather is warming up, but it is still winter in northern Florida. At least its very sunny. Very little rain this trip so far, just cold northern winds. 

      We're here again for the Mardi Gras parade in New Smyrna. Not as many floats as last year but still lots of decorated golf carts and Jeeps and lots of beads. 

   The New Smyrna beach with cones denoting where the vehicle access area is. Another sunny but cool day.

   Tomorrow we will be heading north to Daytona Beach to host the grandchildren coming for Spring Break.

20 Feb - 21 Feb, New Smyrna, FL

    Transiting to New Smyrna with the staysail out to try to take advantage of the north winds behind us. 

   We are trying to get to New Smyrna before 5pm when the marina closes but it doesn't look like we will make it because the tidal current is against us for most of the 10hr transit. 

   Here we are passing through the Matanzas Inlet area which is a notorious shallow area with lots of shoaling. But it was dredged last year so no problems as long as you stay on the proper track.

   There are 3 opening bridges to pass through along this transit and fortunately all 3 are opening on request with no time restrictions. We got through all 3 with no delays.

   Several bridges to pass under in Daytona Beach. Daytona has done a nice job designing and decorating their bridges. Very pretty compared to the normal "functional" concrete bridges along the ICW. 

   Approaching New Smyrna with the iconic red lighthouse at the Ponce de Leon Inlet. 

   Didn't quite make it to the marina by 5pm but we did make it to the bridge and make the 5pm opening. The winds never came up to the forecasted level which is good now as it is time to enter the marina and always easier with light winds. 

   Made it to the marina just after closing but it was a straight in shot to the slip and light winds so we docked with no problems. 

   We decided to stay at the city marina for a week as there are some strong winds and thunderstorms forecasted plus, Rivah has to go to the vet with some anal gland problems so this will be more convenient.