MacGregorSailors.com

Chapter 3: River scenery.
One of the beautiful aspects of St. Johns are the cypress trees lining most of the shoreline resplendent in their new bright, deep verdant spring foliage punctuated by a forest of cabbage palms. Occasionally, a stretch of shoreline offers a slither of sandy beach. On a weekend, ten boats will be pulled up on this little beach. I even pulled my Mac up here once years ago when out with one of my grandsons.

The river is a marked channel well into Sanford and a tad beyond. Often ospreys take advantage of the pole channel markers as prime real estate for nest building.

And speaking of wildlife, we were graced with some wild tom turkeys and a family of sandhill cranes leisurely canvassing the picnic area of the state park for scraps left the day before.

Hi Herschel!

What beautiful scenery and wildlife!
The Sandhill hatchlings are gorgeous!

We appreciate your travels and adventures!
Thank you!

Best Regards
Over Easy

Those are beautiful pictures. It makes me want to head over that way and spend a week or so on the river. It's been too long.

Where was that beach? I don't recognize it.

Be Free wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:26 am Those are beautiful pictures. It makes me want to head over that way and spend a week or so on the river. It's been too long.

Where was that beach? I don't recognize it.

That beach is about halfway between Swamphouse Grill and the Lake Monroe railroad bridge. Here was the scene on Saturday as we were heading back.

Chapter 4: More scenery.
The cypress trees.

Kayakers and paddle boarders near Blue Spring Run.

Opportunistic ospreys.

Chapter 5: Scenes from Sanford.
A New Orleans style wedding right at our marina, which was followed by a dinner cruise for invited guests (not us) on the Barbara Lee, a true paddle wheeler with dual paddles.




Our first sunset; just lazing at our own dock.



Underway down river from Sanford and smooth shot under the Lake Monroe railroad bridge. Sweet. Sometimes we have to wait 20-30 minutes for train traffic to pass. Not this week.

Chaper 6: The Rendezvous.
On Thursday of our week at Hontoon State Park Marina, after the storm front had moved out, our son, Ken, and his wife, Mai, and Rose, a friend of theirs, launched their 22-ft center console at Sanford and made the run to join us for a hot dogs grilled on my little Magma grill.









Since Ken uses his boat, Mai Time, mostly for offshore fishing, and I use mine on the river and Lake Monroe, it was a rare treat to see both boats moored side by side. This pic WILL make the family calendar!

Chapter 7: Our best pics of the river. For those that just want to feast your eyes on nature's beauty, here are our efforts to show just that.





















And with that, I'll wrap up this episode of "A Lazy Cruise on the St. Johns"; come down and give our river a try sometime.

Hi Herschel!

What a beautiful trip!
Thank you for sharing your warm pretty and inviting river with those of us who are still stuck looking at the ice on the lake!
(Although it is melting we’re not quite at ice out yet… below freezing tonight with a snow flurry or two expected…)

Really glad you had such a nice trip!

Best Regards
Over Easy

OverEasy wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 12:38 am Hi Herschel!

What a beautiful trip!
Thank you for sharing your warm pretty and inviting river with those of us who are still stuck looking at the ice on the lake!
(Although it is melting we’re not quite at ice out yet… below freezing tonight with a snow flurry or two expected…)

Really glad you had such a nice trip!

Best Regards
Over Easy

You are very welcome! We think we will make this a regular spring event, and we may even do a similar week in the fall, but stay at the resort across the river from the state park, Hontoon Landing, using our Mac, American Spirit, to travel to and from the resort. http://www.hontoon.com/ We took the state park ferry over two mornings for a nice eggs, bacon, grits and toast warm breakfast at their handy deli.!

Hi Herschel!

That warm breakfast sounds great!
There aren’t many places up here in NH that understand grits, something that my Dad loved to fix for us as kidsI still make it regularly mixed with eggs scrambled in. Still a favorite with our grown kids

We’ve been looking at the map and the St Johns River is incredibly long!!! Just how far south from Jacksonville can one navigate in a Mac26X? It’s hard to tell from the satellite/map but it must be an incredibly beautiful river to explore!

Best Regards
Over Easy

With your mast up the SR 415 bridge is about as far as you will get. Mast down I've been to Lake Jessup and Lake Harney. For all practical purposes, Lake Monroe is the end of the line for a sailboat.
Bill

OverEasy wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 6:35 am Hi Herschel!

That warm breakfast sounds great!
There aren’t many places up here in NH that understand grits, something that my Dad loved to fix for us as kidsI still make it regularly mixed with eggs scrambled in. Still a favorite with our grown kids

We’ve been looking at the map and the St Johns River is incredibly long!!! Just how far south from Jacksonville can one navigate in a Mac26X? It’s hard to tell from the satellite/map but it must be an incredibly beautiful river to explore!

Best Regards
Over Easy

My marina, Monroe Harbour Marina, in downtown Sanford is 160 miles from where the ICW and St. Johns meet. I can take my Mac with the mast stepped about four more miles east where you encounter a fixed 'bridge/highway" with only eleven feet clearance. Motor boats can go through into Lake Jesup and on to Lake Harney and even further south, but there is no marked channel. In the days of steam boats, the larger ones with deeper drafts would stop at Sanford. Cargo and passengers headed further south would board even smaller steamboats that would take them down to near Melbourne where they could go ashore and get a short overland ride to boats waiting in the Indian River to take them further south.

Be Free wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 6:56 am With your mast up the SR 415 bridge is about as far as you will get. Mast down I've been to Lake Jessup and Lake Harney. For all practical purposes, Lake Monroe is the end of the line for a sailboat.
Bill

Ditto!

How far do you guys think one could get if the mast was taken all the way down to be level withe the lifeline post tops?