02/21
WILD NIGHT, WIND & RAIN AS PREDICTED. AND COLD! AFT DECK BIMINI CAME LOOSE, HAD TO WRESTLE WITH THAT THIS MORNING AND TEMPORARILY TIE IT DOWN. STILL N 20+, BUT HEADING SOUTH, SO HOPEFULLY NOT TOO BAD TODAY. ANCHOR UP 9:40. ANCHOR DOWN 5:20 @ FORT MATANZAS, SM (statute mile) 792= 61 M (miles) TODAY. 260 +15 THU = 336 TOTAL
STILL STRONG N 20+. ST AUGUSTINE WAS WILD! BIG CHOP IN CHANNEL APPROACHING BRIDGE OF LIONS, VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER DOWNWIND.
EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO TURN AROUND WHEN WE GOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO READ 18’ ACTUAL BRIDGE CLEARANCE! WE NEED 21’, AND EVEN THO NEAR LOW TIDE, WATER WAS AT MHW ( mean high water) LEVEL BECAUSE OF WIND.
HAD TO TURN, GO BACK NORTH @ 1000 RPM TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF BOAT & WAIT 15 MIN TIL SCHEDULED BRIDGE OPENING. DID IT! TIMED IT PERFECTLY TO ARRIVE @ BRIDGE AGAIN WITH >22kt (forecast said 20-30) TAILWIND & FOLLOWING SEAS JUST AS BRIDGE OPENED. WHEW! STIFF WILD TURKEY PLEASE!
southerntrawl 
You’re made of the right stuff! Steady as she goes, old tar. Don
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Thanks Don for hanging in there with us. Yes he did get his Stiff Wild 🦃 Turkey as ordered 🦃 😉
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Fascinating! What an adventure!
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So glad all of that worked out! I’m sure it was a bit scary at times but good old captain Tom is at the helm!!! Keep posting!! ♥️
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Yes it was a stiff and wild turkey day here too! Heavy heavy sustained winds. We stayed indoors all day except to take Bella out to potty. We were happy to be tied up to a dock. Staying out today and will leave in the morning to spend a few days in Stuart. My sister lives on the St Lucie river so we will anchor off her house. Looking at the next front coming next weekend. Where to go? We were/are planning to head south to the keys. R
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Sounds good. It’s still a bit blustery, but beautiful sunshine here at Matanzas. We’ll have a tailwind today, so we may see those blistering high speeds of 9.5-10 knots ! 😂 Our plan is to keep pushing for 3 days and then “marina up” in Vero Beach Monday evening. I may even curl my hair and put on the black dress, and get taken out to a white tablecloth kind of dinner! Robert Earl heard rumor of a D.O.G. park, and is really looking forward to that !
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