Foreign Affair Sailing

Enjoying Christmas with Family

We are spending the holidays with family and friends.  Postings to the blog will be few until we return to Foreign Affair and continue our journey.  Best wishes to all.

Waxing and Ortho Appointment

Dwayne continued to wax the boat (will it ever end?).  The afternoon was spent at the doctor and hospital. Surgery went well and the wound is looking good.  Doctor gave Carla instructions on what she needs to do before her next visit in a few weeks.  After the doctor's exam, we went to Flagler Hospital to get copies of her x-rays and medical record so these can be included in the records maintained by her primary care doctor.  Now, it is wait for the healing process to do its magic.

A Day at the Hospital

We drove the marina courtesy car to Flagler Hospital to have Carla's leg examined by an orthopedic surgeon.  It was decided she needed to have surgery to repair the damage done from her fall.  She was admitted to Flagler Hospital in the afternoon and surgery was scheduled for the evening.  All went well and she should be released the day after surgery.  Recovery is expected to be 8 to 12 weeks.

Waxing and Waiting

Dwayne finished waxing the port side of the boat.  Carla spent most of the day cleaning the cockpit and reading.  It was another warm day in the 70s but mostly cloudy with some brief periods of sunshine. Both of us were tired by the end of the day.  Work and warm weather just take it out of us.

Waxing the Hull

Dwayne spent most of the day waxing the hull.  It takes a lot longer than one would think when you have to do it from a dinghy.  Carla soaked up some sun while reading in the cockpit.  The weather continued to be super - sunny and mid 70s.  We watched the Packers beat Dallas in one of the better games of the season for the Packers.  Overall, a very productive and relaxing day.

Holiday Boat Parade

Like many cities on the Florida coast, St. Augustine has its holiday boat parade.  Several of the boats from Camachee Cove Marina participated. One went out as a Christmas tree with green light strings forming the tree  with blue and white lights illuminating the star at the tree's top.  Another boat went out with Santa, a snow man and some dolphins.  We thought the most attractive was the sailboat with the rail covered with beautiful blue lights representing the sea and dolphins leaping at the bow.  Pictures do not capture how beautiful these marvelous boats looked in the dark of night.

Removing the Moustache

We are on a facing dock at the main entrance to the marina.  Our neighbors are all hard at work cleaning and polishing.  Foreign Affair looks neglected and stands out with her ICW moustache.  Wanting to be a good neighbor and not appear to be the local derelict, we spent the day cleaning Foreign Affair.  Carla worked on the deck and cockpit.  Dwayne worked deck down cleaning the hull and removing the ICW moustache.  The moustache is the result of tannins in the waters of Virginia and the Carolinas. Fortunately, FSR (Fiberglass Stain Remover) does a pretty good job of removing the moustache.

Camachee Cove Marina

The pump-out boat showed up at 0900 and we emptied our holding tank prior to going into Camachee Cove Marina.  Next, we moved the outboard from the dinghy to the motor mount in the cockpit where it will be stored until after the holidays.

Cleaning and Boat Handling

We spent the day cleaning and polishing Foreign Affair.  She didn't get Carla's usual TLC on the way south.  As a result, we have a lot of work to do to bring her back to pre-rally condition.

We slipped our mooring in time to make the 1130 Bridge of Lions opening so we could head north to practice our boat handling skills in preparation for entering Camachee Cove Marina.  This marina lies perpendicular to the Tolomato River and just north of the ocean inlet to St. Augustine.  As a result, the current can get very strong at the marina entrance and makes getting into the marina very challenging at times.  We arrived at the entrance about a half hour before slack tide and made several practice approaches to the marina entrance.  This is the first marina I have heard of which has its own day markers and a range to help a skipper gauge the approach to the harbor entrance.  The current is significant even at "slack" and there is still water immediately inside the breakwater which complicates the situation further.  You have to keep your bow into the current, go fast and be ready to correct your over-steering to compensate for the current and cut your speed so you don't run aground at the shoaled area behind the breakwater.  We spent about an hour and a half practicing boat handling in the current.

St. Augustine Wanderings

We did laundry and spent the day wandering about the St. Augustine colonial historic district.  The Spanish settled in St. Augustine 450 years ago. Many of the buildings in the colonial historic district are hundreds of years old.  The streets have for the most part maintained their original orientation.  They are very narrow and many are cobble stoned.  Among the sites preserved is the oldest wooden school house in the United States and the Castillo.  It was a sunny, pleasant day.  We ate lunch at the Mill Top Tavern which is a roof-top restaurant on top of the old mill.  It was a good day of relaxation.

Farewell to Tom and Christina

We had a farewell lunch with Tom and Christina.  Tom did a marvelous job helping the Rally Fleet stay on the move by troubleshooting boat problems and taking care of repairs when he could or offering advice on how to get something fixed when he couldn't.  They will be leaving St. Augustine tomorrow and heading further south.  Hopefully, we will meet again at some anchorage or marina in the future.

SAIL Sailing South Seminar

SAIL Magazine sponsored the "Sailing South Seminar" and those of the SAIL ICW Rally remaining in St. Augustine attended to learn more about sailing to the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Bahamas, Cuba, and Caribbean.

Hard Blowing Nor'easter St. Augustine Moorings

We are in the grip of a strong Nor'easter with winds in the upper twenties and gusts into the thirties. All the boats on moorings are rocking and rolling. There are whitecaps in the harbor and rigging is singing. Waves outside the St. Augustine Inlet are 8 - 10 feet.

We decided not to dingy in for the final SAIL ICW Rally briefing because of the high winds and waves. We had a rough day on the boat and did not get much sleep.  The winds blew hard all night. We know what is meant by the phrase: "shiver me timbers".  Strong gusts shook the mast so hard it caused it to tremble and the rigging to groan.  The forecast is no change for at least two more days.

Pirates in St. Augustine

We dinghied in to do laundry and take showers early in the morning while the harbor was relatively calm. A nor'easter is beginning to make life more challenging.  Winds increased all day long and were blowing steadily in the high teens and low 20s by the time we had to leave for the St. Augustine Cruisers Net monthly happy hour get-together which was held at the Frida Taqueria & Tequilla Bar. Over 100 cruisers showed up and we had a great time learning about the pirates who periodically came to St. Augustine's to pillage and burn down the city. The food was fantastic and the pirates were boisterous and braggadocious.

St. Augustine Cruisers Net "Think and Drink"

We moved Foreign Affair to a mooring ball and spent the day cleaning her.  Carla worked deck up and Dwayne sat in the dinghy working on the hull.  It is going to take some time and effort to get all the ICW mustache off bow. The boat was not getting the same high level of care as usual while Carla was away. The maintenance project list is a long one.  We want to get as much done before we head home for the holidays.

St. Augustine Day 2

Dwayne spent the day walking to the marina where we will have our work done on the engine.  He confirmed our reservations and completed the work order.  On the way, he discovered a full size replica of Michelangelo's sculpture, David, located outside the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.  It was made from marble quarried at the same site as that of the original and sculpted in full scale.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Even the copy is marvelous.