Wheels Up

Southern Style has left Palm Coast and is heading north.  We pulled out of Palm Coast Friday morning in nice sunny weather and cruised north into northern Florida. 

                                     This is our "Looper" flag on the front of Southern Style
                                        American Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA)

                                             Passing the St. Augustine Lighthouse

                                                       

                                   Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine.  We fit under without an                                                                                           opening by about 12 inches

                                                       
This fort is in St. Augustine facing out toward the St. Augustine inlet.  It was constructed by the Spanish in 1672 when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire.  It is the oldest masonry structure in the continental United States.

Castillo de San Marcos

                                                     Flag of the Spanish Empire over the fort.

Just north of the Jacksonville area we anchored for the night in a nice spot just off the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  There were three other boats also in the anchorage, but it was nice and quiet.

                                                                     Anchorage Friday

Saturday morning we left the anchorage at sun-up and cruised into Georgia.  The weather was to deteriorate during the late afternoon and so we got into our next anchorage around 2 PM.  This was great timing, as we got everything set and "hunkered down" and the rain moved in about an hour later around 3 PM.  Luckily the rain and wind were not too bad and it was over just before sunset so we got to sit on the back and watch the dolphin swim around the boat for the last hour of sunlight.

                                 Clouds breaking up Saturday evening in our anchorage

Sunday morning was relaxing as we did not leave our anchorage until 10 AM.  This allowed us to be traveling during the rising tide.  Much of the area in southern Georgia along the ICW can be quite shallow, therefore traveling with a rising tide can be very helpful.  The weather front that came through on Saturday brought cool temps.  Sunday temperatures were only in the 50s and it remained cloudy all day. 

We passed the Kings Bay Naval Station near St. Mary's Georgia. This submarine base is the US Atlantic Fleet's home base for the Navy's ballistic missile nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.  The base is about 16,000 acres.  The Trident Refit Facility (TRF) is the largest portion of the base.  It provides quality industrial-level support for the overhaul, modernization, and repair of Trident submarines.  It also furnishes global submarine supplies and spare parts support.   The TRF has the largest covered drydock in the world.  There is also the Trident Training Facility on site with 520,000 square feet of classroom and office space.  This facility trains sailors in the skills necessary to operate and maintain the Trident submarine and its systems.

            This contraption we have been told is involved in the demagnetizing (degaussing) of                                                            submarines and steel hulled surface warships.

                                                             
                                                               Two navy ships at Kings Bay

We docked in Brunswick, GA at Brunswick Landing Marina Sunday night. 

So we are underway/making way as they say.  The plan is to move fairly quickly to North Carolina.  We would like to spend some time in Ocracoke if at all possible before having to be in Virginia at Atlantic Yacht Basin to have some work done on Southern Style.  Stay tuned.