mile 716.7-778
We made a quick morning run to the Amelia Island Coffee shop , famous for their nutella filled donut holes. As the current switched, we exited our dock and headed out.
We passed large florida homes on the waterway with screened in pools. There were several narrow cuts but the main feature of this run was the current. Initially it was with us and we were going 8-9 knots.
We knew it would be against us for part of the trip and as we crossed the St. John’s river and it was. This made the bridges a problem as the narrowing of the bridge area, combined with a the current made bridge crossing difficult. Both Eleanor and Grace, who were ahead of us texted that the currents were bad at the bridges. It was ebb tide which flows out toward the St. John’s Inlet. The full moon also caused some higher tide fluctuations.
As we approached the Atlantic twin bridges, we saw a sailboat approach the bridge and then float to the side. The boat in front of us turned around. We spoke to them on the radio and they reported 5-6 knots of current at the bridge opening. They were planning to turn around and anchor for 2 hours to wait out the current.
David thought we could do it. We approached the bridge at full speed and David used his river skills, keeping our bow straight into the current. For a moment it seemed like we were not moving, then we started to make progress and once we were through the middle of the bridge, the current was less and we made it through.
The BB McCormick bridge also had a strong current but after that the river widened a bit and the current was less.
We eased into the Tolomato river which is beautiful marsh and then the Matanzas that flows to St. Augustine. The sun set and we approached St. Augustine in the dark around 630. All of the party boats were out and it was a little chaotic but they were noisy, well lit and easy to see.
We hailed the Bridge of Lions for an opening. We had to wait a bit but then he let us through. We then hailed the marina for our mooring assignment which was number 2. We had to pull quickly into the mooring field but found it and picked it up easily. We settled, had dinner and went to bed early.
