A lazy cruise on the St. Johns River Florida

This is a place to document your trips with your boat. Tell us about your journeys. Share your experiences. Post your pictures.
User avatar
Be Free
Admiral
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:08 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Steinhatchee, FL

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

Post by Be Free »

I've look at the Salt Spring Run but never actually tried it. I doubt you could do it with the mast up. Let me know if you try it. :wink:
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
User avatar
ris
Captain
Posts: 676
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:27 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Frostproof Florida

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

Post by ris »

We went up Saltsprings run and spent two nights up there at the spring-head. Since we had no mast cannot remember if a mast would have been a problem. It was a bit shallow at the lake/run intersection but we made it with no problem. It can be a little busy middle of the day but quiet at night.
Richard
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

ris wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:19 pm We went up Saltsprings run and spent two nights up there at the spring-head. Since we had no mast cannot remember if a mast would have been a problem. It was a bit shallow at the lake/run intersection but we made it with no problem. It can be a little busy middle of the day but quiet at night.
Richard
Thanks. I was just curious. We took a load up to the boat on Monday last. Set up the admiral's bunk and then the galley with a microwave and coffee pot. I'll go up Friday to put together the cockpit enclosure and transport the new portable 12-volt electric refrigerator/freezer/cooler and see how the combination of shore power/dual battery charger (5 amp per battery)/house battery handles the load. The frig has the option to plug into 110 (which I have) if there is an issue. I thought I would run it on the starter battery while motoring, switching to house when tied up and plugged into shore power. On 110 from my RV experience, I know not to run a microwave and the air conditioner at the same time, or it will blow the circuit. I suspect a refrigerator and a microwave ought not be run at the same time either. It is a bit mind boggling to get all the "essentials" together. Food and clothing is simple. It's the phone chargers, tablet chargers, hearing aid gear, meds, etc. that seem to be a tad overwhelming at times. I did decide to take my "over night" anchor (bigger Danforth) in case I do need to be on the hook unexpectedly. But, all in all, we are excited. We plan to take it a day at a time, watching the weather, deciding each morning, based on the weather, whether to move or stay put. Nothing to prove out there. Might get to Georgetown marina or not. Its all about having an adventure and some fun. 8)
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

Well, another prep day. took more gear to boat, emptied holding tank, topped off gas, stowed heavy anchor, replaced one rudder rope, set up cockpit enclosure, made room for new electric refrigerator. All that is left is taking food clothing up day after tomorrow when we board for the week's trip. My Bimini and dodger are going on 19 years old, so the zippers are a bit rough, but the cockpit enclosure finally got zipped and snapped. I bought a tool that helps you stretch and snap. It was helpful! Way helpful as the canvas seems to have shrunk a tad. Hopefully, we won't be too bothered by mosquitos because there are some serious spaces in some corners and where I have mooring lines aft.
Image

Image

Image
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

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

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Herschel!

Looks like your pretty much all set for a great trip!
Have fun and take lots of pictures to share with those of us still land bound.

Warming weather here in NH has done a great job of melting the snow and the lake ice is thinning enough that the ‘bob houses’ have past their “use by date” by the ice fish crowd have been hauled ashore ( why anyone would fish for ice when the freezer makes cubes automatically is a wonder🙄 :D ). Still gonna be a while before we get back to Over Easy being afloat though…. :cry: :cry:

Enjoy and have a fantastic time!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
Last edited by OverEasy on Sun Mar 20, 2022 12:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

OverEasy wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 1:50 am Hi Herschel!

Looks like your pretty much all set for a great trip!
Have fun and take lots of pictures to share with those of us still land bound.

Warming weather here in NH has done a great job of melting the snow and the lake ice is thinning enough that the ‘bob houses’ used but the ice fish crowd have been hauled ashore ( why anyone would fish for ice when the freezer makes cubes automatically is a wonder🙄 :D ). Still gonna be a while before we get back to Over Easy being afloat though…. :cry: :cry:

Enjoy and have a fantastic time!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
Thanks, we have our bags packed, food paced in plastic storage boxes, new frig packed with everything but the frozen steak we plan to take and grill. Admiral will throw that in before we get in the car and head for the marina. We'll meet my brother and his family for dinner in Sanford tomorrow afternoon, stay overnight aboard the boat in Sanford. Monday morning we look at the weather and decide to head out or remain where we are. Watching YouTube videos of couples sailing around the oceans has persuaded me to watch and wait for good weather. Weather forecast does look good for Sunday through Tuesday, but then it starts to look "iffy". We will proceed carefully, but with a sense of adventure, as well. :wink:
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

P.S. Re: ice fishing. If you have seen the cover of that National Geographic back in the late 70' s or 80's that shows a black pickup truck being hauled out of the water/ice in New Hampshire after it had partially sunk...that was my brother-in-law's truck! He lives in Key West now! :D
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

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

Post by OverEasy »

Ouch! Or Brrrrrr! 🥶
Hope he has a copy of it framed!
That is too funny! :D :D
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7543
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

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

Post by Russ »

Herschel wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:21 pm P.S. Re: ice fishing. If you have seen the cover of that National Geographic back in the late 70' s or 80's that shows a black pickup truck being hauled out of the water/ice in New Hampshire after it had partially sunk...that was my brother-in-law's truck! He lives in Key West now! :D
They drive on our lake in the winter to ice fish. Every year or so a truck falls through. There must be dozens of trucks at the bottom. Sadly, a few years ago a guy's truck went down with his dog in the cab.
--Russ
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

OK, heading out soon. Not sure if I can post while on the river, but, if I can, I'll give it a go. :)
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2012
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

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

Post by OverEasy »

I found a sand truck in the middle of an Adirondack lake as a kid back in the early 70s.
It looked in surprisingly good shape from what I could see of it but was a 1000 yards from any shore.
I got to shore and called the local Sheriffs Office.
They came out and I took them to where I saw the truck.
The Deputy and I swam down to to (free dove) and cleared away the muck that had settled on the door panel.
I was too ‘freaked’ to clear the windows…. So I came back up while the Deputy did that part.

After he climbed in the skiff he just laughed.
Apparently it was a ‘beach’ sand truck that had fallen in a couple dozen years before when crossing the ice.
Back in those days anyone with money could have a sand beach made on their shoreline or island property.
The truck had belonged to a relative of one of the other Deputies and was a long standing story of what happens when you’re running late in the ice season and over fill your truck with sand!
They had always wondered exactly where it had disappeared to. :D :) The driver had gotten out but couldn’t explain to his brother just where he had left the truck as he had been driving at night and by the time they got out there the next day a late season blizzard was blowing. “So, Jack, just where did you park our truck?”
No wreck, no insurance claim. Must been a had one to explain….

They firm was long gone but the State apparently had it removed later that year after tourist season.

In NH if you drop your truck through the ice, not only do you lose your truck, you get a bill 💵 for the removal and remediation. :D :D
Same with snowmobiles.

😎😎🐩🐈
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

The "Sailing Septegenarians" have returned from their St. Johns sojourn. We are awash in virtual souvenirs! :D I will sort through all of our pics and arrange them in some order this week. I'll throw in a couple of teasers for the time being. A couple of non-profit organizational meetings and observance of Vietnam Veterans Day (3/29) may slow the production a tad, but I will post pics as I get them organized.

Image

Image
User avatar
Jimmyt
Admiral
Posts: 3166
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:52 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec

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

Post by Jimmyt »

The teasers look great! Looking forward to the follow-up!
Jimmyt
P-Cub-Boo
2013 26M, Etec 60, roller Genoa, roller main
Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

Chapter 1: What we did and why.
The Admiral and I spent six nights aboard and seven days. Interesting as we had just rewatched the Harrison Ford movie "Six Days---Seven Nights". We spent two nights in our own marina in Sanford seeing the sights of our own home port through which we often just commute on our way to our boat and, then go home. Then, we traveled 19 miles downriver to Hontoon State Park Marina at a truly leisurely pace of about 5 knots. We stayed at state park marina for four nights. On our day of departure, we took a nice slow cruise up Dead River, a "tributary" of sorts off the St. Johns, that joins the St. Johns near the state park marina. We returned to Sanford at the same slow pace just taking in the spring sights and sounds of the river. We decided to forgo the run down river to Georgetown north of Lake George because of a terrible piece of rain and windy weather that came through central Florida last week right in the middle of the week. We decided that the milieu of the State Park offered a much better place to handle the weather limitations than the marina in Georgetown would. We did not feel so badly about holding back due to the weather as we were joined by three trawlers who, also, held back for the same reasons, and two of those were experienced "loopers" enjoying a side trip on the St. Johns. It tells you something about our river when "loopers" take time off their "loop" to come 125 miles up the St. Johns. Here are a couple of the trawlers. The couple on the largest trawler hosted us and the "loopers" for drinks and sandwiches the first night in. Three decks of sheer luxury. Next time some discussion about how we organized our little sloop for the trip.
Image

Image
User avatar
Herschel
Admiral
Posts: 1349
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Orlando, Florida
Contact:

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

Post by Herschel »

Chapter 2: Our onboard set up.
We made two major improvements or upgrades for this trip. We had not really cruised on our Mac in several years, so we tried to add some insights from several years of travel trailer camping on cross-country trips. We bought a portable, 12-volt, top opening, electric refrigerator/freezer that is the same shape as a 50-quart cooler. This unit fit nicely in the quarter berth port side and plugged into either my cigarette lighter outlet while underway or my 110 outlet (with adapter), when on shore power. Not having to hunt down a source of ice every other day was really nice. As well as not having to drain melted water from the bottom. I am having a mod made to my travel trailer so I can plug it into the 12-volt system while on the highway and my tow vehicle is running.
Image
The small microwave was brought along, but it decided half way through the week that it had given us 30 years of service at our old office and at home, and that was enough. It ended up in the dumpster when we got back to our home marina. We discovered that it had quit after we had opened two cans of ravioli. Which was eaten cold! Low point of the week. :P The second improvement was my port side v-berth extension that allowed me to sleep with my feet aft. No summer saults after night time trips to the head to get back into my sleeping bag bed. The Admiral had the nice air mattress above the dinette berth, of course. :wink:
Image
Lastly, I will just mention that our 23 year-old Bimini, which has served us well for shade in the Florida sun, just was no longer able to stop all the water when the downpours came by. I had sprayed it with Scotchgarde the day we got under way, but we had to augment our cockpit enclosure with a tarp to stay dry. I'll be seeing about a new one this summer.
Image
Next time: some real scenery from the cruise. :)
Post Reply