11/25/2015 – 11/27/2015, Thanksgiving in St Augustine

Wednesday 11/25/15 – Finally a warm day! We left the Pine Island anchorage around 8 AM, on our way to St Augustine! 

Early morning in Pine Island Anchorage, FL

No hurry, we were very close. The wind picked up to 16 knots, we put on our fleeces, and by 10:30 AM, we were safely tied to mooring ball #5. By serendipity, we were next to s/v Rockhopper, the boat of our good friends Suzanne and Frank, who we met last year at Thanksgiving in St Marys, GA, then rafted with last winter in Vero Beach, FL, and then visited in Rock Hall, Maryland, on our way north in the spring. It was very windy, and our rigging was noisy. We were glad to be tied to good old #5. This would not be a good place to be anchored.

We went ashore to do laundry, for the first time in 6 weeks. And to take real (= endless) showers, for the first time in 6 weeks. That’s 4 loads of wash ($16 in quarters), and about a half hour of scrubbing and hair washing in the shower. We felt great, and very, very clean! We visited with Suzanne and Frank in the laundry/community room, and we also finally got to meet Sandra and Doug on s/v Lagniappe, the green sailboat from Canada. They are just as nice close up as they are in the anchorages. They told stories about having to check in with US Customs and Border Control every time they anchor in a different state. They missed one, when they didn’t have cell service, and were stopped, boarded and threatened with a $5000 fine if they did that again. They were wondering why boaters need to check in at every state, while Canadians who enter the US by car only need to check in once, at the border. They finally got to ask this question of some authority and were told it’s because they might be smuggling cocaine! Like so many others, they are a sweet retired couple who only come here to spend a little money on their way to the Bahamas, and would never dream of smuggling drugs. Ugh, bureaucracy!

We came back to the boat with our clean laundry, via the free marina launch. On the launch, we met our new friend John, from NY, a single hander, who is traveling with another single hander (in a separate boat) that he knows from his old marina. John is sweet, single and funny! Where are all of our single girlfriends when we meet great guys like this?

Our new friend John

Back to the boat for a quick dinner, and then it was time to make a dish for Thanksgiving. I had been scouring the internet for cookie recipes and finally decided on two old favorites, oatmeal raisin cookies and Benne Wafers (thin sesame cookies that we learned about in Savannah last year). I made the two batches of dough, arduously mixing everything by hand with only a big spoon (no mixer or hand mixer on this boat!), turned on the oven and started baking. I soon realized the oven wasn’t getting up to temperature. The first batch, instead of 10 minutes took about 30. Then the oven wouldn’t stay lit, so I gave up and put the rest of the dough in the freezer. What could I make that didn’t require an oven or stove? Appetizer, dessert, side dish…Coleslaw!

Making Coleslaw - no stove or oven needed

St. Augustine, with holiday lights

Thursday 11/26/15, Thanksgiving Day. I had "volunteered" us to work on “set up”, and Chuck wanted to make sure we got to shore in plenty of time, so we took an early launch (it runs on an hourly schedule). We got to shore way too early, so we wandered off in search of coffee. On a recommendation from another boater, we went to The Kookaburra, and yes, they did have very good coffee. And Aussie Pies, so we had to try those, too. Yummy! (We had chicken curry, with Sriracha)

Breakfast outside at The Kookuburra

The Kookaburra

Back at the marina, we helped assemble the tables and tape down the tablecloths. It was windy! 

Setting up and covering the tables

Mike, another volunteer

And then rainy! But the rain stopped quickly and we had a beautiful Thanksgiving Day. The people who live in St Augustine, including our friends Dawn and Paul, brought the turkeys and hams. Cruisers brought appetizers, side dishes and desserts. 

Giving Thanks

Most people brought their own drinks, but just in case, some industrious person set up a Bloody Mary table!

The Bloody Mary Table

There was a big swap table, and nearly everything was free. We dropped off the books that we had finished reading and picked up a couple of (home grown?) grapefruits and some cereal.

We met the youngest cruising couple, Alex and Kate, both 23, on the sailing trimaran Hafvalla, who just graduated from college and are heading to Key West. 

Chuck with Kate and Alex

We also met a cruising family, with one small child and a baby. 

Noa the fisherman, with his mom Lia (and dad and baby sister at the far left)

We talked to a lot of new people. When asked our plans, we said we are heading for the Florida Keys, the Dry Tortugas, and then planning to visit some friends on the west coast of FL. People were wildly enthusiastic about the Dry Tortugas. They said it’s really beautiful and we have to do it. OK! We will! If the weather allows.... It’s 70 miles west of Key West, which is a very long sailing day. There are NO services there. Nothing. No water, no fuel, no parts, no repairs. So we can stay as long as we have enough water, maybe a week or two. Then we need good weather to get back. So it’s very enticing but also makes us a little nervous – what if something broke and we don’t have the right spare part? What if we ran out of water before the weather was good enough for the passage back east? We have plenty of time to decide. We need to get to the Keys first. If the weather is terrible, we can skip it.

Thanksgiving was a great day, and a very windy night. We heard that one of the anchored boats was dragging in the anchorage, across the channel from us, but we were safe on our mooring.

Friday, 11/27/15. We stayed another day in St. Augustine. We wanted to get to the grocery store, and tried to go by bus, but couldn’t quite meet the schedule. The busses seem to run infrequently. By the time we walked to the stop, we would have had to wait another hour and a half! So we visited the famous “Sailors Exchange” instead, and had coffee next door at the “Present Moment” café. 

Sailor's Exchange

Sailor's Exchange

Present Moment Cafe

Present Moment Cafe

Then we walked around the city and visited various art galleries, and enjoyed the architecture and sights.

When we got back to the boat we tried to fix our stove. We downloaded the Force 10 manual, cleaned the burners and the “orifices” on the stove top burners and in the oven. Tested a burner. It seemed better…or maybe not.