Saint Augustine, by Elsie

After our epic dash from The Bahamas we found ourselves encased in a marina in St Augustine – a very nice, but expensive marina. St Augustine is a pretty old Southern city in the state of Florida. It is situated on the Intracoastal waterway or The Ditch which runs from Norfolk, Virginia to Southern Florida. This waterway is an alternative way of exploring the east coast of America without having to endure the Atlantic Ocean. It’s mostly motorboats that use it, 717 miles of narrow waterway doesn’t appeal to most sailors who have alternative means of propulsion.

Arriving St Augustine

Lionel was flying to Scotland from Orlando, the home of all things Disney. Ruby and I were to be left on a mooring buoy. However, after seeing the current which runs through this part of the waterway, Lionel decided we would be safer tucked up all snug and warm in the marina for the duration of his enforced trip. I was not going to argue. Who would? Imagine, walking from Ruby to dry land without a dingy trip, luxury. We arrived on the Saturday morning but had to wait till 11am, booking in time, for our slip so we hove to for a couple of hours beyond the channel into the city. The marina has floating pontoons, no wooden poles so the tie up was European style which we were quite glad of as we still haven’t mastered the lassoing and tying up American style. There are a lot of marinas and mooring fields around St Augustine and the island. City marina is in the heart of the old district and great for walking around the city. It is more expensive than some of the others but worth it for the setting and convenience.

City Marina

Now came the entertainment that everyone wants and loves. How would you like to spend your first Saturday afternoon in America? After a few phone calls and trying to speak to a human being and not an automated message, Lionel got a hold of Customs and Border Protection. We both had to report to his office at St Augustine’s airport, but it wasn’t at the airport it was beside the airport and directions were shared. Along came our knight on her white horse, Lauren, who is married to one of Lionel’s old work colleagues and lives in St Augustine. Cheerfully Lauren took us over to the airport and we found the security gates which opened on the second attempt. We were met in the car park by Officer Terry who showed us into the waiting room. After a short wait, when Officer Terry was doing other important documentation in another room he started the process of booking us in. Now Lionel has a bent finger so when it came to comparing the four fingerprints on the scanner it didn’t quite work as he can’t bend the finger down to quite the right angle. From then on things went from bad to worse. He moved away from the eyeball scanner before it was finished and upset the computer which hung up. We sympathised with the officer completely as we fought with technology daily. After a fifteen minute wait Officer Terry did what most of us do when faced with a stubborn computer, switched it off then on again. He decided to try to identify me, I must have looked easier and less suspicious than the captain. First of all he looked at my visa picture. Oh dear, the Saturday afternoon he had envisaged was not panning out the way he had planned. My hair is tied back in my visa picture, probably because it hadn’t been washed for a while, and I looked totally different. I was led to his office and had to stand at the door and look straight ahead while he accessed my information and asked me several questions pertaining to my birth and employment details – I passed. My finger prints and eyeball were looked at, my passport scrutinised again. One more question, why had I gone to Turkey? My answer was accepted and I was welcomed into America…..HURRAH……. The captain was put through the process again and got his passport stamped then he was taken to the office for secret talks, the result being we were given permission to stay in America for six months. Lauren was very patient all afternoon but she also let out a huge sigh when we were granted permission to enter America. Yes folks, it’s a long drawn out process entering America but we did it and we are here.

On the way back to the boat we decide we would go out for a meal to celebrate. It being a Saturday evening AND Mothers’ day the next day the town was very busy but we had a lovely Italian meal in the district. Both of us were very tired and the conversation round the table was not our usual animated flowing talk but we did apologise to Lauren several times for the near zombie responses to her questions and comments. Bed, at last.

Typical St Augustine house

The captain was collecting the hired car from the airport Sunday morning and flying out on Sunday afternoon so the morning whizzed by organising him and ensuring Ruby and I would be fine. I did manage an early morning walk along the waterfront to the National Guard barracks and parade field. I realised how ignorant I am of American history and vowed to read up on the subject the coming week. Lionel left and my holiday began. I decide I was going to treat this week as a holiday and only do minimal work on Ruby and so it began.

Most of my information and knowledge about the USA came from television and films. Walking around parts of St Augustine was like walking in a film set – beautiful wooden houses with huge wrap-around balconies all painted white or pastel shades, American flags flying everywhere, burger restaurants a plenty and live music coming from every bar. I eventually succumbed to the music and entered a bar where the band was playing lively Country and Western music. At the bar I was asked “what it would be”, you couldn’t more authentic than this, and I asked for whatever the locals drank, which turned out to be a weak lager coloured draught beer. It was cold, very cold. The very first afternoon alone in America I ticked off an item on my bucket list – drinking cold beer in a downtown bar while listening to a country and western band. The clientele were all local and seemed to know each other so there was a lot of banter and loud hellos and goodbyes from the audience while the band played anything from Johnnie Cash to The Eagles. I discovered a few things that afternoon which will probably stand me in good stead for the rest of the American trip. First of all when an American ask you “how your doing” it doesn’t mean he wants a detailed description of your ailments or state of mind, he’s only saying hello and a nod or wave will suffice. Secondly, avoid all eye contact with drunks or people who may be drunk and lastly don’t start taking pictures or videos, people start doing strange things when they realise a camera is pointed in their direction. I had an enjoyable afternoon in a bar with OK music and a few laughs.

As the week progressed my American education continued.

• All the useful stores are situated in Malls which are out of town.
• There is a very limited local bus service as everyone has cars
• The bill for a meal or drink is presented before the meal is finished
• Tipping is compulsory
• Everyone seems to be fascinated with a Scottish accent

And the Americans are by in large friendly, helpful people who love to talk. As I wandered around this beautiful city, people would smile as they answered my questions, wondering what planet I came from. I call myself inquisitive, some may say down right nosey, so there was lots and lots of questions. I took a tour round the Flagler Estate. The tour was led by one of the students at the Liberal Arts College which has turned one of Henry Flagler's wonderful hotels into a students dormitory. The place was stunning. The hotels were originally built in the middle of the nineteenth century for very rich people to escape the harsh winters of up North. They would arrive in January and stay for three months. The hotels had all the luxuries of the day – casino, swimming pool, Turkish Baths, Russian Baths, gardens to walk in, tennis courts and even a golf course was added. It cost around $8000 per couple for the season. It was deemed to be unsuitable for a woman to see such large sums of money being handled so when the couple entered the hotel the gentleman went to the right to pay the bill while the lady went to the left into a sumptuous lounge to meet and greet all her friends. Modern day tourists find it unthinkable that there were no private bathrooms – each corridor had a bathroom at either end. The only suite which had a private bathroom was Flagler's own. What a way to spend your college years, encased in such luxury, lucky students who only pay around $25000 a year for this experience. Talking to the guide I also tried to understand the American education system. The jury is still out on that one. One of the other hotels has been turned into a mediocre museum which, to be honest, is not worth visiting for the contents but the building is wonderful.

Entrance Hall, Flagler College

St Augustine has a very active and useful cruisers net which is on channel 72 at 8am every day. Lots of information from liveaboards about the area. This is where I found out about the Sunshine buses. There are several coloured routes around the city where buses do run, all be it infrequently. They are cheap and cheerful and the drivers are very informative. The nearest bus stop to the marina is by the Flagler Auditorium where the timetables are posted. Use them, they are great. I ended up getting on the bus going in the wrong direction from one of the out lying malls. No worries. The driver took me to the depot then got me on the correct bus, at no extra cost. The new bus driver then gave me a guided tour of Anastasia Island and the city district. Fantastic fun. The cruising net also helped me find a sail maker and directed me to Sailors Exchange – an Aladdin Cave of nautical stuff, both second hand and new. Both were close to each other and only about a miles walk from the marina. Sailors Exchange is a very useful shop if your looking for random pieces of equipment or bits and bobs to fix obsolete bits of the boat. Make sure you have lots of time to browse though, nothing is in order. St Augustine is a very walkable city and there is something different to see down most streets. There are many art galleries showing local and national artists work. The city also featured heavily in the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King spoke in several different venues.

Flagler Estate

My week in St Augustine was totally different from anything I had experienced in the last two years and I enjoyed it but I was glad to see Lionel back all in one piece and get back out sailing. Being a tourist is good fun but nothing beats sailing on the high seas or even the choppy Atlantic Ocean.

Bye Bye St Augustine