A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

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Herschel
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A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

Well, my wife and I are about to set out on our first outing since COVID shrank our comfort zones to our home, boat, and curbside pickup parking spaces. OK, doctors offices, too. We are headed down river from our marina in Sanford to a motel on the river near Deland. We will be taking it slow and just enjoying the river and surrounding countryside. Once there, we will have a slip for the boat, access to kayaks, hiking trails, and lounge chairs riverside where we can just watch the river flow and the traffic go by. There is a lake nearby for sailing and several small tributaries to explore. We have been promised a sanitized and private little suite for a week. I plan to just enjoy my boat and the surrounding nature...and just being out of our house for a while. pictures to follow. 8)
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NiceAft
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by NiceAft »

Appears to be as close to ideal as one can get. Post those photos so we can vicariously enjoy the trip.

Meanwhile, here, Fall has finally started to show its colors. My Maple tree is shedding its leaves.
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Ray ~~_/)~~
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Todd
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Todd »

Can't wait to see the photos. I dream of dragging my better half down some of those rivers and canals doing similar lounging.
Todd
'07 26M

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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

So far so good. The Admiral and I packed up all the gear, food, and beverages, we think we need for a week into our two vehicles and drove up to the resort on the St. Johns. Checked in, unpacked, and went for a walk to reconnoiter. Water is high, almost up to the fixed piers, but still beautiful and peaceful. Tomorrow we take the truck and drive back to the marina in Sanford and board American Spirit and take the 25 mile cruise down river to the resort. After eight months in a COVID haze protecting the Admiral with her respiratory challenges, we are really enjoying being back out there. The resort is really cooperative, leaving us alone unless we ask for something, and then they drop it at the door. As we lugged stuff to and from the vehicles today, we were reminded about how tired you can get just getting ready to relax! :P I'll attach a couple of pics of the view out our room.
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

And a couple of yours truly and the Admiral. :)
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Jimmyt
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Jimmyt »

Nice! Thanks for sharing!
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Tomfoolery
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Tomfoolery »

Herschel wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 6:25 pmImage
Looks like a Mainship trawler. Maybe a 390 or 400, though I don’t see the curved stair. We were going to buy one, but decided that it would be too difficult to take to Houston from Lake Ontario so elected to keep the Mac and get a van. :D
Tom
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

Had a great day on the river. Drove back to Sanford and parked the truck at the marina. Boarded American Spirit shortly after noon and arrived at our resort about 5 PM. A lot of "traffic" on the river since it was Saturday. We generally "steamed" at about 6 knots, but there are several no wake or slow speed areas for either marinas or gathering places for manatees. I use a Garmin Ecomap Plus 6.3cv with all the lakes and river charts. It holds an Active Captain SD card but is not compatible with Navionics. So, I ran Navionics on my Samsung phone to take advantage of its automatic point to point navigation capability for very winding transits. The Garmin does not do point to point. You have to input all the way points, which for a winding river is too laborious for me. I did put in some "as the crow flies' way points on the Garmin for ball park ETA calculations, but relied on the Navionics for precision. I am pretty familiar with this section of the river; I was mainly practicing with the two systems for future trips into less familiar waters. All in all a good day. Oh, what is better than a Krispy Kreme do nut? A Krispy Kreme donut on a MacGregor underway! Did that today. 8) OBTW, the trawler on the other side of the slip is a 35 footer.
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

We enjoy having our boat in a marina in Sanford. It is a quaint little town with a rich history and a revitalized downtown area. Our marina is fairly large, catering to a wide variety of boats, sail and motor. The first challenge to the uninitiated is that our river is colored by the tannins from decomposing plant matter. Put succinctly, the river is the color of tea. You see that when the bow wave or wake stirs up the water. My previous experience on rivers (Mekong and Mississippi) have helped me feel at home on a river that is like that. The feel of the river is natural; no theme park influence here so for an old Floridian, it is refreshing. :)
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

And we do have a railroad bridge with which to contend. Here we found it already up. Nice. 8)
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

Here is one of our favorite spots down river. We often go to this cove and anchor for lunch.
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

Here is the Navionics automatic point to point navigation.
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Jimmyt
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Jimmyt »

Great pics! That cove looks delightful!
Jimmyt
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Herschel
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by Herschel »

Today was a rest day. Big project for the boat was just putting the Magma grill back onto the stanchion and getting it ready for burgers tomorrow night. Still getting use to just sitting on my porch or looking out the window and seeing my boat. Tomorrow we hope to head up a nearby tributary and just anchor and soak in the sights, sounds, and milieu.
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NiceAft
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Re: A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

Post by NiceAft »

Herschel,

Is a thesaurus part of your essential travel equipment :?: :D Milieu, really :?: :o I had to pull out the dictionary. 8)
Ray ~~_/)~~
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