Leaving Florida
March 29, 2024
Yesterday we crossed into our fifth state! Coastal Georgia greeted us with a spiderweb of rivers, marshes, and wide inlets to the Atlantic. With a relatively short coastline, it won’t take long to reach state number six.
This section of the Intracoastal Waterway has some notoriously tricky areas for cruisers, such as the intimidatingly named “Hell Gate” which we will cross in the morning. Many of these aren’t much concern to us thanks to our shallow draft, but we are experiencing a wide range of conditions from turn to turn. While following the tide out of an inlet yesterday we encountered a “rage”, or an ebb tide current pushed by an opposing wind to create steep or standing waves. Counter to intuition, the best path was forward and the waves smoothed as we exited to the calmer swells of the Atlantic and then back again.
The tidal range here is more than 6’, creating powerful currents in places. It also makes it important that we anchor in deep enough water that we don’t wake up surrounded by land.
Last week we wrapped up our time in Florida at St. Augustine. Founded by the Spanish in 1565, it is the oldest continuously occupied city in the continental United States. We enjoyed getting our steps in each day walking the back streets flanked by buildings centuries old.
Daily Travel Log | The Great Loop
Day 107 • took the inflatables to the beach, chatted with a couple of Canadians, had the best view of hunting dolphins
Titusville, Florida
Day 108 • dodged a few thunderstorms, got our steps in and found a group of sea turtles having a snack
Titusville anchorage to New Smyrna Beach anchorage, Florida
Day 109 • dug out the hats, gloves and jackets
New Smyrna anchorage to an anchorage in Palm Coast, Florida
Day 110 • our first mooring ball and the oldest city
Palm Coast anchorage to a mooring ball in Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 111 • a little bit of exploring, mostly work
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 112 • rough waters, a large group of loopers, breweries and shuffleboard
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 113 • walked all day, lots of history, breweries and even some laundry
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 114 • high winds made for an uncomfortable day, went to shore for trip planning and dinner out with friends
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 115 • early morning at the fort, walked a new part of town, filled up the gas tanks
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 116 • a grocery trek, water, laundry, showers - we’re ready to go
Saint Augustine, Florida
Day 117 • spent our last full day in Florida anchoring and dodging storms
St. Augustine to an anchorage near Black Hammock Island, Florida
Day 118 • a very wet and very rough day
Black Hammock Island anchorage, Florida to Wally’s Leg anchorage, Georgia
Day 119 • a chilly day winding through the marshes, so glad the weekend is here
Wally’s Leg anchorage to Redbird Creek anchorage, Georgia