St Johns Inlet and Pine Island Anchorage
We arrived at St. Johns Inlet shortly after dawn; however, there
was very dense fog so we had to reduce our speed to about 3 knots hoping the
fog would lift before we reached the harbor entrance.
We began to
encounter commercial shipping when we were about 3 miles from the harbor sea
buoy. A tug towing a huge barge picked us up on radar and called us as we were
close to being on a collision course. The Signet
Thunder suggested we alter course 90 degrees to provide sufficient
room to pass. Of course, we complied. We began to monitor VHF radio
channels 13, 14 as well as 16 so we could hear the ships and harbor pilots
discussing their locations and intentions. At times, we could barely see 50
yards ahead of us the fog was so thick in places which is not enough time to
really get out of the way of an on-coming vessel.
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| Fog at St. Johns Inlet |
We moved to a
location which was about 2 miles west of the harbor channel and close enough
inshore and out of the anchorages to avoid the large ships and barges. We kept
moving in a close circle at about 2 knots speed so vessels approaching had a
good chance of picking us up on radar. Signet Thunder also
gave us periodic updates on the locations of ships near us. The fog lifted at
about 1100 and we began to head to the harbor entrance along with over a dozen
commercial vessels heading to Jacksonville to off-load their cargo.
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| Signet Thunder towing a barge |
We kept well to
the red side of the channel and let the shipping pass us by until we got to the
Tolomato River and turned south down the ICW. We eventually anchored along the
southern shore of Pine Island just 10 miles north of St. Augustine. Had it not
been for the fog delay, we would have been spending the night on a mooring ball
there.
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| Pine Island |
We were not too
disappointed as the Pine Island anchorage is remote and peaceful as it is part
of the Guana River Wildlife Management Area which provides a home for many
birds such as the peregrine falcons, American bald eagle, ospreys, ibis, heron,
pelicans, ducks, and many others. Roseate spoonbills winter here; however, we
did not see any today. Carla really likes this anchorage because of its beauty
and wildlife. We stayed here once before. Only one other boat shared the
anchorage with us.
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