...this is definitely my favorite stop on the East coast.  The Spanish architectural influence, the fall Florida weather, the virtual plethora of wonderful restaurants, the small town atmosphere and most importantly, the nice people!  

After getting in the evening before and anchoring out on the flats, I went into the St. Augustine Municipal Marina to dock up for my stay in this wonderful town.  I found that they had a 7 day (pay for 5) special so I took that, docked with the assistance of the always exceedingly helpful dock hands, and then did my initial tour of the town.  My first stop was the marine warehouse on Iberia St.  Gotta love this place if you’re a boater.  It’s aimed more towards the commercial boater/fisherman; but they have just about anything you can think of for boats, and the prices are great.  I then hit Sailors Exchange (?) used marine gear store to see if there were any "must have items" in stock and then went next door to “Sails etc.” with a cushion cover and grill cover that needed some attention.  I have to comment about "Sails etc."  What great service!  As Ed explained, he gives transient cruisers priority over local work due to their time constraints.  In that light, he had my work finished less than an hour after I gave it to him.  Then he was at my boat to check the fit and install the snaps, and the total bill came to an even $50!  Thanks Ed!

That first evening I wanted Pub style food so I went to Scarlett O’Hara’s.  I was sitting at my table enjoying a cold IPA and watching the singer do a good rendition of Jimmy Buffet, when the conversation at the table behind me caught my attention.  No, I was not eaves dropping!  The woman behind me was speaking so adamantly about her views that her voice just carried my way.  She was taking to another woman about how to make a relationship work after the initial “shine” had worn off.  I had to agree with most everything that she said, as her main emphasis was on communication.  Later, when she was preparing to leave, I had the chance to tell her that I thought that she had done a good job of counseling.  This time, a nearby couple was listening to our conversation and broke in with relationship tips of their own.  We were all then introduced to Jennie’s friend from the 4^th grade and her lover, the focus of Jennie's counseling.  After entirely too much laughter, we all left Scarlett’s together and went to the Trade Winds Lounge for some more live music and chuckles.  Fun, nice people which made for a great first evening in St. Aug.

Over the next few days; I got boat chores done, did laundry, met other cruisers heading south and compared notes with them on most every topic imaginable.  I also had lunch at Colombia Restaurant where I could have made a meal out of the fresh, crackly crusted, hot, Cuban bread and butter that they serve; but I figured that I’d make a pig out of myself and also go for the Gazpacho soup and Cesar salad.  Truly yummy!  Did the Sashimi appetizer at A1A Brewery as well as the Shrimp and Wings special at the Mill Top (bringing back wonderful memories of 1985, a special woman, Erin, and long ago love lost...).  I attended the mandatory Bloody Mary/ Reggae Sunday at the Conch House, and I caught Halloween in full swing with almost a week of people parading around in costumes.  All in all, I had a really great week.

After too few days, it was time to head south again.  I left on a falling tide and headed out of the inlet.  There was only a 5kt breeze going against the outbound current but, with the current ripping out at about 4kts, this was enough to make for ~4 foot rollers in the Inlet.  Out in the ocean but, still in the current, a relatively big roller pushed up under the bow and...  "Hey!  Where’s my front deck?"  I stopped the boat and headed forward to see what happened...

Now, before I continue with this story, I have to make a disclaimer for Bond Yachts who built my MC30.  A couple of weeks ago in my conversations with Kris representing Bond Yachts; he told me that the boats made prior to 2003, mine being one of those, had used off of the shelf marine hardware.  Later, they found that while this hardware was more than adequate for calm protected waters, it would not stand up to the rigors of rougher seas.  Bond Yachts then redesigned the hardware to meet requirements of coastal cruising and installed them on their new boats ever since.  I had Bond Yachts send me the upgraded hinges which I was going to install when I got to Ft. Lauderdale.  I wasn’t worried about the catches because if they accidentally came undone the control rope, used to lower the deck (which was new), would hold the deck in place without the latches.  Or so it should have been...  Now back to the story.

When I got to the foredeck, I saw that the deck latch on the starboard side had let go and there was no rope holding the deck in place...what???...  The hinged end of the deck had been twisted to the point of ripping the fiberglass.  As the boat was now turned beam to the 4 foot seas, I had to work very carefully to secure the foredeck in such a manner as to get it out of the water and sufficiently support it.  I was finally able to get one of my anchor snubber lines, which are hooked to both bow eyes, under the platform and raise it to within about 6” of it’s full up position.  This job only took about half an hour, pretty good, considering that my first and foremost concern was me staying attached to the rolling boat.  I then waited and came back into the inlet in the calm of slack tide.

I beached the boat in a protected anchorage and inspected the damage to determine what had happened.  What I found was that the welded U shaped padeye had somehow separated from the still attached base plate.  The U padeye was what the control line, that should have kept the deck in place in case the catch failed, was secured too.  So what must have happened was that the large wave pushed up on the underside of the deck hard enough to release the starboard side catch.  With the deck no longer held by the catch; the strain on the control line pulled loose the very obviously flawed, hardly welded U off of the padeye base.  I say that the padeye was defective because the front deck is relatively light.  It probably doesn't take even 30 pounds worth of upward force to lift the front deck into place.  That means that less than that much force (part of the force being absorbed by the block on the port hull) tore a welded padeye apart.  The starboard side of the deck then dropped and most likely caught the next wave which twisted it violently enough to tear the fiberglass back at the starboard hinge.  Fortunately, there wasn't a scratch on either hull.

I took a couple of pictures so I could email Kris and Bond Yachts to see about replacing the deck.  I sent the email and then spent the next hour unbolting the deck and placing it on some fenders on top of the cabin.  I then returned to the St Augustine Municipal Marina and asked the dock master if it would be possible to store my foredeck at the marina until my friend Joe could come down the following Sunday to pick it up.  Amazingly, he smiled at me and said “absolutely, we are here to be helpful and make your stay as pleasant as possible.  I’ll send two of my guys down to take it up to our events room where we’ll store it for the few days until your friend gets here.”  When I told him that I’d be more than happy to pay for this, all he said was, “just promise that you’ll come back and stay here again, that’ll be payment enough.”  Folks... treatment like this from a marina, let alone a municipal marina, is extraordinary!  What a fabulous marina!  This is a town that you don’t want to pass by.  Stop, and by all means, do stay at the Municipal Marina.  Be sure to tell the dock master and crew that you’ve heard great things about them!

My deck problems happened just before the weekend which, unfortunately, starts 6 hours earlier in Poland than on the East Coast of the U.S. due to the time difference.   Because of this, I wasn't able to get a time and cost estimate until Monday.  The good news is that even with air freight shipping, the cost is very reasonable.  The bad news is that I have made prior commitments in the Bahamas and the new deck and hardware would arrive about a day before I need to be in Nassau.  If the weather were guaranteed I could take that chance but, as we all know, it's not.  As much as I hate it, I'll just have to go without the new foredeck and install it it the spring when I get back.  Thank you very much Kris and Bond Yachts for the great effort on your part to get the boat back whole in a record time.   It truly shows what a high level of commitment you have to your customers, and that's very much appreciated!

The solar panels have been mounted and I'll get some pictures on the "Beaufort" link (because that's seems to be the systems dialog) as soon as possible.

The next link should be up by the about Nov. 18