Time to join the annual migration northwards

Every year at this time, thousands of cruisers head north out of Florida to the northeast to not only escape the heat but to get out of the hurricane belt. I will be leaving St Augustine tomorrow morning after a very nice stay here which included a trip down under to my sister's wedding in Sydney.

I wish that I could say that this photo shows a crowd seeing me off from Castillo de San Marcos but they are there to witness the daily firing of the cannons over the Matanzas River here in St Augustine.
I always get butterflies in my stomach, the day before I leave on a 4 day sail, but the boat is as ship shape as can be with my Epirb, VHS with DSC and a good forecast.
Fair winds and following seas.

Dick and Libby Mills - Blogger extrodinaire

Had the pleasure of meeting fellow Westsail 32 owners, Dick and Libby along with a tour of their boat. Dick has a blog for his boat Tarwathie at http://dickandlibby.blogspot.com on the Internet that has to be one of the best around.

They were passing through St Augustine on their way to Green Cove Springs,  where they will buy a car and become land lubbers for the summer.

St Augustine, Florida

Here am I moored at the St Augustine Municipal mooring field.

This is the nations's oldest city and has a real picturesque downtown tourist area opposite the Bridge of Lions.

The marina has a shuttle service so I don't have to row my dinghy against the fierce current here in the river.

And the best part of being back in the USA is the great selection of fruits and vegetables for dinner.

Fox Town, Bahamas to St Augustine, USA

Took me three days to get here with an overnight stop at Daytona  Beach.

I started out heading to Stuart in Florida but the winds were too far south, and with the gulf  stream pushing me north, I would never make the Lake Worth entrance so I headed towards Jacksonville. I started out on a beautiful downhill run and used my nylon honeybee option in a wing on wing configuration.

As I left the Bahamas I stuck my fishing line overboard and was rewarded by a nice sized skipjack tuna for dinner.

My luck ran out with the wind turning northerly opposite Cape Canaveral so I had to turn the motor on and duck into the Ponce de Leon inlet to get out of the swell. I immediately got stuck on a sand bar and had to wait for the tide to turn.

Here is a photo of my solar shower at the end of the day that I use nightly to bathe when not at a marina.

As you can see, it is plenty warm enough.

Here is a video of my trip.

Green Turtle Cay to Fox Town

Had a nice sail yesterday up from Green Turtle Cay with a 15 knot south westerly breeze pushing my Westsail with just the Genoa.

Marsh Harbor to Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, Bahamas

I continue having a great time here in the Bahamas. Here am I on the hook in White Sound in Green Turtle Cay.

Here are some video clips of my journey

Marsh Harbor

This is provisioning central for the Abacos, here in the Bahamas.  It has a supermarket that would rival any Walmart and a gigantic hardware store along with lots of marine services for quite reasonable prices.

Onapua is in the center of the photo.