We set the alarm, but were awake before it went off at 7:00. We readied ourselves and the boat and left the dock at 8:15 to head for the fuel dock. We had to wait our turn until there was room for us, but we got fueled up and left St. Augustine by 9:00. This shrimping boat came through the bridge just before we were ready to leave.
We cruised south on the ICW at an easy pace. The water was like glass.
It was hot and muggy. If the boat wasn’t moving quickly, we weren’t getting any air movement. The wind was going with us, so there was no breeze to speak of. Randy and I shared the navigating duties while Bob did the driving.
Auggie didn’t want to stay below in the cabin where it was cool. He wanted to be near us where the action was.
We ran into some rain clouds near Daytona and prepped for rain, but it never came. There were more dark clouds that we passed under as we traveled south, but still no rain.
The radar said there was rain all around us, so we kept a eye out for it. In the slow, no-wake zones, it was hot, hot, hot. We passed the lighthouse again at Ponce de Leon Inlet.
We also passed a sandbar that the spoonbills used as an island.
It is Saturday, but there weren’t a lot of people on the water today. Maybe the chance of rain was keeping the people away. There were a few boaters who were enjoying some time on this sandbar.
We finally got to New Smyrna around 2:00. We got all tied up at the marina and heard thunder in the distance. From the back of the boat, we had a great view of the Tiki Bar restaurant across from the marina.
The dark clouds approached from the north and rain was imminent.
Around 3:00, the rain came with thunder, lightning, and lots of wind. Good thing we were all tied up and secure at the dock. It was cocktail time, so we all relaxed awhile. Randy worked on transcribing his notes while I worked on my blog. Once we showered, we all felt better. Bob cooked his bourbon-glazed salmon on the stove because of the rain and we enjoyed a nice dinner inside. It continued to rain off and on for quite awhile.
