Thunderstorms and Groundings

NASA Causeway – St. Augustine

Days 153 – 154

Saturday
We weighed anchor at 10:30AM to reach the Ponce De Leon Inlet at high tide. It is a notoriously shallow and shoaling area.

We traveled through the NASA Merritt Island National Refuge for a number of hours. There is a lot of shallow water just outside the ICW channel. It’s really strange to see people standing in water just off our bow! There were many fishermen seemingly enjoying the weekend.

About 3:00 PM our radar showed a huge cell of heavy rain moving toward us. We were soon in the middle of a heavy downpour that lasted almost an hour. We reached New Smyrna Beach shortly after 4:30PM, just south of the skinny water at Ponce De Leon Inlet. Radar showed another cell, larger and darker than the first, heading our way. This one we could hear! It was accompanied by loud rolls of thunder. We opted to go into New Smyrna Beach City Marina and the security of a dock. The rain started as we arrived. By the time we reached the dock, I was getting drenched as I threw lines to the dock hand. Just as Bob and I finished securing the boat, lightening bolts flashed behind us. That was the first of three heavy thunderstorms that came through in the next few hours.

After enjoying a hot shower and drying out, we joined our cruising friends Rich and Carol Wellman and Bob and Paula Hofgren for dinner. We found a great little restaurant, recommended by the marina, several blocks down Canal Street – The Deli. Bob had sesame tuna and I had filet mignon with fresh crab. Hardly what I would call deli fare! Prices were refreshingly low, and the food was very tasty.

Sunday
We stayed busy with “boat chores” all morning. Life aboard isn’t all fun and games. I defrosted the freezer while Bob emptied and refilled water tanks and cleaned the bilge filter. After doing the wash, changing the bed, and vacuuming (sound like home?) - we took a walk along the docks for exercise. There were lots of people fishing – but no fish were biting.

We joined our cruising friends for pizza and an early evening. It’s anchors aweigh at 7AM to pass through the skinny waters at Ponce Inlet on a rising tide! Rich in “The Great Catsby” will be leading the way in his catamaran as our depth sounder.

Monday
Off as planned at 6:55AM. We passed the last of the dredging equipment near Ponce de Leon Inlet -- just before going aground. “Fourth Watch,” who draws 5’5,” went aground in front of us at 8:10AM. We moved slightly to her port and found a 5’1” shoal of skinny water just south of Red 2. Bob was able to back off. The current pushed us aground again. Rich turned around and came back with the catamaran and found 6’ of water on the right side of the channel. We backed off the shoal, proceeded to deeper water, and waited while Rich pulled “Fourth Watch” off.

We’ve been enjoying watching the pelicans fly this morning. It’s amazing how close they fly to the water. Their wing tips are only inches from it. They don’t make altitude mistakes – if they erred at all they’d splash!
We are headed for St. Augustine City Marina where we will meet our friends Mark and Pauline Wells this afternoon. They’re on a road trip from Greenwich, NY to Tampa, Fla. They’re bringing our mail, some packages, my guitar, and a few items we forgot to put on board when we left last fall. They’ll spend the night with us on the boat before continuing their trip.