Marineland, Fl to Ponte Vedra, Fl

Miles Traveled 32.9

Total Miles Traveled 2785

Day 211

A blustery day today with sustained winds of 20-25 mph and a small craft advisory in effect until 10 a.m. tomorrow.  The wind was only half of the problem; we had to make a 90 degree turn at the St. Augustine inlet with strong tidal currents.  We normally cruise at 16 to 18 hundred rpm at 8 mph, but we averaged about 5 mph at the inlet. 

This was a good practice day because tomorrow we enter the St. Johns River which empties into the Fort George Inlet near Jacksonville, Fl.  We can expect wind, strong tidal currents, and commercial and military ship traffic.  Oh I almost forgot, a 5 ½ foot tide, let’s see, what was that Rule of Twelfth’s Keith?

As we entered St. Augustine we noticed a tall ship at a dock.  It was El Galeon, a replica of a Spanish galleon from the colonial period.  Ships such as this one sailed Florida’s coastal waters during the 16^th and 17^th centuries, crossing the ocean from the Old World to the New for trade and exploration purposes.  The 170 foot ship weighs 495 tons and has a crew of 28 to operate seven sails on three masts.

After passing under the bridge we passed Fort Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S. celebrating its 450^th birthday in 2015.  Construction began on the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672 and lasted 23 years, until 1695. Many Spanish forts preceded the Castillo, however, this one made of coquina was impenetrable to enemy attack and was fire resistant. The fort came under fire for the first time in 1702. British forces, led by General Moore, burned the city but could not penetrate the Castillo's walls. Subsequent attacks in 1728 and 1740 yielded similar results, and the British were never able to take the city of St. Augustine by force. In 1763 however, Florida became a British colony with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, thus beginning a 20-year period of English rule. The Castillo was used as a military prison during the Revolutionary War, and at one time it held three signers of the Declaration of Independence within its walls.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Florida was returned to Spain in 1784 until Florida became a United States Territory in 1821. The Americans called the Castillo Fort Marion, honoring the revolutionary patriot from the Carolinas, General Frances Marion. The U.S. Government used Fort Marion as a prison for Native Americans in the late 1800s. Natives from both Florida and the Great Plains were held at the fort during this time.

The fort was officially taken off the active list of fortifications in 1900 and it was preserved and recognized as a National Monument in 1924. Congress renamed the fort in 1942, reverting to the Spanish name, the Castillo de San Marcos. 

As we travel north, we are starting to see rocks, and trees taller than 15 feet! 

When we dropped our anchor here at Spanish Landing we had plenty of distance to shore, but as low tide approached at 6 p.m. we were wondering if we would see our exposed anchor.  Not to worry, we still had 9 ft and room to swing at low tide.