Palm Coast FL

Saturday morning the winds were picking up from the northeast.  The anchorage we were in is not well protected from the NE so we decided to move.  First we had to catch a bridge opening.  Just past the bridge and at the other end of the mooring field is what is called the south anchorage.  We moved down there, picked a spot and anchored.  Looking at the depth and the tides told us we made a questionable decision.  We had four-plus feet below the keel but the tide table said there was a five foot tide variation.  We would be real close to being aground at low tide.  Looking at our options we decided it was maybe time to move on.  We had about 25 miles to get to Palm Coast but the charts showed an anchorage down by the Matanzas Inlet.  Off we went.  It turned out that the boat in front of us had the same idea and all we had to do is follow them.  Once they set their anchor we chose our spot and dropped anchor also.  There is a fair amount of current being this close to the inlet but our trusty Rocna anchor bit in and held.

This is a change from St. Augustine where we were anchored in the middle of town.  We can see some high rise apartments in the distance but we are in the middle of a National Monument with nature all around us.  In 1742 the Spanish built a small fort here and in 1924 it became a National Monument along with 300 acres surrounding it.  It is managed by the National Park Services.  It has been reconstructed and is open to tours with a free shuttle ride provided by the Park Service.

We settled in for the rest of the day keeping an eye on the tide and current changes to be sure we did not drag.  After a quiet night and a lazy morning we took the dinghy to the visitors center to learn about the fort and take the ride over for a tour.  The tour isn't much, they offer a short video and then a short commentary when you get off the shuttle boat and then you are off on your own.  It is a small outpost, usually manned by one officer, four infantrymen and two gunners so it doesn't take long to see everything.  There are even two of the original guns that were left there when the Spanish abandoned the fort in 1819.

After that we went back to the boat and attempted to watch the Nascar race, which if you are into Nascar you know was delayed by rain and not broadcast on television.

After another quiet night we needed to move on.  We had reserved a slip at the Palm Coast Marina starting on Monday.  A couple of hours later we pulled into the marina, tied up, plugged in and connected the free cable television.  We now have hundreds of station with nothing to watch just like everyone else.  While here we are working on a couple of projects and then on Friday we will leave for South Dakota for Thanksgiving with Cori's family.

There are more photos in the photo gallery.