St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach | 8.5 Hours | 70 Miles
Gorgeous sunrises never get old. The white beacon of the St. Augustine Lighthouse was a nice contrast to the orange sky and reflected nicely in the Matanzas River. Our bridle was positioned perfectly on the mooring ball pendant. I released the end of one line at a time, slipping it through the eye. We backed away with the current and were off as the sun rose before us. The air temperature was an oh-so-nice 62 degrees and the humidity was 67% -- both high marks for this trip. Crossroads was covered in a heavy dew and I welcomed the opportunity to wipe away almost 300 miles of salt and dirt. The wind was calm and the bridge just south of the anchorage cast a nice reflection. I couldn't resist capturing the shot as a pelican sunned itself on the bridge fenders.
A particularly playful bottlenosed dolphin jumped in front of us and twisted and jumped in the bow wave. Soon we were at the Crescent Beach Bascule Bridge where we received on-request passage. We settled in for a familiar ride. Fort Matanzas National Monument, a Spanish stone fort from the 18th Century, rose from the vegetation to port. Exposed sandbars to starboard were perfect spots for large gatherings of white pelicans.
Brown pelicans were also active and skimmed the water's surface. I went out on the upper deck and began cleaning the dinghy tubes as we moved down the ICW. As usual, there were more than a few derelict boats along the way. Some gave new meaning to the term "land yacht." Barry called up to me as we passed the 10,000 mile mark on Crossroads' odometer (accumulated since we left on the Great Loop in May 2018). As we approached Daytona Beach, the sky turned a deeper blue and nature gave way to development. The LB Knox Bascule Bridge opened its vibrant blue span upon request. We were watching the clock and streaming the countdown for the 1:13 launch of the SpaceX Falcon-9 Rocket carrying 49 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch happened right in front of us and was the second such event in the last three days ... an added bonus for this voyage. We didn't pay much attention to the upcoming twin spans of a high rise bridge. A Hunter 466 sailboat was in front of us on the approach and all seemed normal ... until it made a sharp turn right in front of us. The required 65-foot clearance was only showing 62-feet. The sailboat was fortunate they had good binoculars which allowed them to avoid a trip-ruining collision. We are fortunate that our air draft is only 25-feet and breathed a sigh of relief as we asked the Main Street Bascule Bridge for an opening.
The aforementioned Knox Bridge takes my award for prettiest span, but Daytona's final bridge gets the vote for best overall artwork. Mosaics of dolphins and manatees encircled all of the bridge supports. The houses along the shore became larger, closer together, and more colorful the further south we moved. We began looking for a suitable anchorage for the night. The Ponce de Leon Lighthouse rose from behind the treeline. Our fourth and final bridge opening of the day at the Musson Memorial/Coronado Beach bridge opened on the half hour and we again timed our approach perfectly. A bit further south, we dropped the hook at New Smyrna Beach with a few hours of daylight to spare. We took the opportunity to clean up and catch up on the news of the day before dinner. A crescent moon dominated the westward sky at dusk.
No comments:
Post a Comment