Trefoil left Jacksonville Beach this AM (after sitting out a day of heavy rain with temps in the low 40's yesterday) with temps in the high 30s and the wind at about 15 knots. Not a comfortable outing. However, as time went by, conditions improved, incrementally. A west wind with a southern route of travel: roll out some jib to supplement the iron main. 7mph, 8mph, 9mph (briefly). Hey...a good ride and only 22 hundred on the tach. Something (not quite) like sailing the boat. We put up the plastic enclosure (ha,ha,ha!; a shower curtain held in place with plastic (LOWES) clamps and kept the 38 degree breeze in the sail and off ourselves: HEAVEN! (It looks a little weird but we got some insight about enclosures.) Then, before we could say "itsforeveritsforeveritsforever" a thousand times, we were in St. Augustine!!!
St. Aug is a BEAUTIFUL city with an attractive waterfront, museums, art galleries, ancient stone buildings, an ancient stone fort as well as parks, eateries, and boutiques. We had planned to stay for two days; we will stay again and longer on the return trip (the what????). The St. Augustine Municipal Marina is an excellent facility and well managed. The scenes from our cockpit are lovely and interesting. We truly feel like we are CRUISING for the first time in a long while. WOW! A nice walk through the old city with the dog, a good meal on the boat and an adult beverage. Life is Good!
Gear: Karen bought me a Wool sweater (Cabelas) for Christmas and I am very pleased with it. "K" and I have used polypro and fleece as our mainstays for many years but I was finding something missing. I believe the difference may be the strength of the weave in a good sweater that physically separates the clothing layers. As good as fleece is, two or more layers seem to bond together. The strong wool knit seems to keep the layers separated for better insulation. (Some hypothesis!)
On another note: We haven't mentioned our fleece sheets before. Many people on boats use sleeping bags. We use sheets and blankets. Sleeping warm and comfortably is important. Karen made sheets from lightweight (polyester) fleece, and we use two fleece blankets as well. We always sleep warmly, even in the cold temps we have experienced. Cotton is not good in a marine environment. Who wants to climb into a cold, damp bed at night? Climbing in between fleece sheets is almost as good as using an electric blanket!
We will soon be "in range" to visit some of our friends from the north country and we look forward seeing so many good people that we have spent time with in the past.
"That's all for now" - Dick and Karen
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