Hello everyone,

When I wrote last, we were anchored at Titusville. In company with Flextime, we headed north from there on Monday the 30th. And, as I had promised Jane, we saw lots of roseate spoonbills on the islands near Haulover Canal. They were in the sky, the trees and wading in the water. Due to the shallow waters around the islands, we could not get very close but made good use of our binoculars. The day went well with no groundings by either vessels, even during our transit of the ICW near Ponce Inlet. Both boats anchored in Daytona that night and we invited Bob & Jane to join us for a fish dinner.

With another early start the next day, we again made good time. Until we arrived in St Augustine. The bridge tender told us that, due to construction, the bridge would be closed until 8 pm that night. It would then be open until 7 am the next day. Both times would require us to travel in the dark. Not our favourite option in the waterway. We dropped anchor to await 8 pm. After a couple of hours, I called the bridge tender again to check on another opening the next day for cruisers further south of us. He announced that the bridge would be going up at 4 pm, in about 15 minutes. I quickly called Flextime and both boats hauled anchor and headed towards the bridge. The sun was setting before we found a spot to anchor for the night but we were glad of the chance to move on.

During the night a cold front came through with high winds and lots of rain. It continued to rain in the morning and we got a late start, waiting for a break in the weather. The two boats anchored at Blount Island and we rowed over to Flextime for the last evening of cocktails and card games. In the morning, Windswept IV headed off upriver, fighting the current all the way. Flextime was headed to St Mary’s, GA to haul there.

The weather stations reported expected high winds for Friday, so we continued on to the dock at Reynolds Park Yacht Centre on Thursday. Now the work was to start. But first Murray had challenges with the Volvo. It turned out finally to require a new battery and friends on the dock here drove us to the store.

George & Barb dropped in for a brief visit on Saturday and it was wonderful to see them! They had a long drive ahead of them so could only stop for a couple of hours. But, it was great that they took the time for a visit.

The work continues and we will be hauled out on Friday. Once we get the cover on and the final jobs done, we will hit the road north. Friends in Ohio have offered us a bed for Sat night and it will be nice to see them again. By Sunday we will be back home in Tillsonburg.

There the phone and internet should be back on and we will be able to talk to you all at the drop of a hat. Until then, take care and hugs from

Murray & Heather