On Sunday May 21st we dropped lines and headed to St Augustine 54 miles north on the ICW, or so we thought. It was yet another beautiful day as we worked our way up the Halifax River and into the Mantanzas River where we saw a bunch of boats beached over by the inlet. Well it was warm, sunny and only half past one. We decided last minute to pull off the ICW and anchor right in the bend before the Matanzas Inlet.
It was a bee hive of activity and also a National Park site of Fort Mantanzas. Once settled we dinghyed over to the park and took the Ferry over to the Fort. We were given an excellent presentation on the Forts History by a very enthusiastic young park ranger. Fort Mantanzas was key fort for the Spanish to maintain a strong hold on St Augustine as it guards the back water entrance where they could get supplies in for fort Castillo de San Marcos.
Prior to the building the fort the Spanish had to overtake the French that had a small encampment there but were poorly outfitted. When the Spanish came in they killed all of the Frenchmen thus the name of the fort, Mantanzas which means Massacre. An interesting fact about the fort is that it is the only Spanish piece of architecture built by the Spanish in the United States.
After the tour we walked the nature trail and then took the dinghy over to the beach where all the action was. Our Canadian friends we met in Daytona also decided to follow our lead and met us in the anchorage. When we got back to the boat I had a few minutes so I decided to do my engine room check early. Well good thing. When I went in I saw dried salt crystals on the rubber mats. “Well that’s not good,” I thought to my self. As I looked around for the source I discovered the oil cooler that has sea water passing thru it sprung a leak.
S#%t! So I went to work and pulled the cooler off. I was fortunate to have a propane torch, some solder and flux. Now could I get it hot enough but not too hot to flow some solder over the hole? Too hot and the existing solder would let go and we would be down an engine. Well luck was on our side and I was able to seal up the hole and get the cooler re installed. Disaster averted once again. God so loves to challenge me.
On Monday we had a short 14 mile cruise to get to the city marina at St Augustine. Staying at the marina is a real treat as it is literally at the foot of the main part of St Augustine. Besides we were flat out of clean clothes and in need of water. So the first day was about getting chores done. Sue had a mountain of clothes , towels and bed linens to scrub up. I had to give the boat a good bath. We actually had rain move in so it was a pretty low key day.
It had been a very long time since we saw an measurable precipitation during the day. It was actually nice. We spent the next two days exploring the city. I don’t know what it is about the place but it has such a good energy about it. We went to a unique museum on King Street called Villa Zorayada which is done in the grand gilded style with a moorish style blended in from Spain.
Incredibly detailed furnishings and finishes. We highly recommend a visit if ever in the area. Our last night we went to a close by restaurant that someone recommended. We planned on only having an appetizer and drink as Sue had already prepared dinner. Well after the delicious appetizer we had to have dinner. We sat at the bar where there was another couple. Before it was over we were sharing samples from each others entrees. It was really fun. We have been to St Augustine a couple of time before but somehow it never grows old even though it is the oldest city in America.
All the following pictures are Moorish Revival Museum
It may not be pretty but it sealed up and kept us moving up the ICW.
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