It's a Love/Hate Thing

We are rocking gently on our mooring in St. Augustine.  The fort is softly lit to one side, the Bridge of Lions's lights are shimmering in the water on the other.  The quaint town of Saint Augustine beckons with the gaslights of the shops casting a glow . . . . AAAAHHH, we've arrived!   Yes, this is what is so magical about this lifestyle.  Visiting ports from a different perspective than the "everyday" tourist.  Having a sundown cocktail aboard while the breezes blow - yup, it's good stuff!

I just wish, I SO wish . . . I like to SAIL!!!  HA, you laugh.  No . . . really . . . sailing and I just don't agree!  It takes a hearty soul out there, and I do my very best at being a good hearty girl.  But get me offshore where the winds nor waves are doing what the forecasters promised and I lose my "heartiness".

We left our cozy anchorage after waking up with the sun on Sunday, the sunrise was beautiful, the pelicans were making their way, skimming in a long line along the water.  We headed out the inlet and began our journey.  The winds did not present themselves in a way that allowed for good sail configuration so we kept the motor running and set the plotter on the Saint Augustine Inlet.

We were making good progress without a lot of conflict from the waves and had dolphins "dancing" on our bow wake before we knew it.  That's always one of my favorite treats, the dolphins.  You can always tell they're coming because they announce their arrival with leaps and jumps coming from every direction.   They race in and take turns jockeying for position on the bow.  Neither we nor them seem to tire of the fun and we spend an hour up front enjoying the show.

With the mainsail up and the nature's entertainment, we were making our way nicely and then the weather began to change.  The winds shifted as did the waves and things just weren't as pretty anymore.  We couldn't find a sail configuration that wasn't compromising with the winds and wave throwing us to and fro.  Being that I had spent three days of the week fighting off some sort of food poisoning, this situation wasn't exactly helpful.  It wasn't my stomach so much, we have pills for that, but just an overall YUCK sort of thing.

The sun went under the clouds - and so did I!  We had the usual challenges of the year's first offshore voyage finding the details of our new systems that would need to be amended or changed which presented their own set of situations to deal with.  We had rain storms and squall lines and passing ships and the toll of hour after hour of offshore conditions on the boat.  Picture taking every cabinet in your house - no, make that your WHOLE HOUSE - and throwing the contents in your dryer and you can begin to imagine how things were progressing.

After countless issues and 30 hours, we made the turn into the Saint Augustine Inlet and rode the wave of incoming tide through the channel.  Within the next hour, we were rocking gently on our mooring and the breeze began it's work of melting the memories of the just passed voyage away, one minute at a time.

And here I sit, the morning after, having slept a blissful 12 hours and Rob and a hot cup of tea by my side.  With a dolphin swimming by and the sights and sounds of Saint Augustine luring me into their trance, I just can't help but think that there just isn't anything quite like this crazy life of cruising!