Wanderers : Matanzas Inlet

We wanted to stay in St. Augustine longer but there weren't any mooring balls available. In case you're wondering what a mooring ball is, it's similar to being at anchor except you tie up to a floating ball that is anchored deep into the ground/mud/sand, etc. It's a lot more secure (you don't have to worry about dragging your anchor) and you don't need to worry about swinging into other boats (or have them swing into you) because of a long anchor rode. We were in a slip for two days but at close to $100/night, it was a little 'rich' for us. We wanted to move to the mooring field at $25/night but there were 13 boats ahead of us. Sooo.... we moved on Friday morning and headed south. A storm front is coming Sunday so we want to be in a slip Sat-Mon. We left St. Augustine as close to slack tide as we could (1100) and headed to Matanzas Inlet. We had two friends help us with our lines when we left. A fender somehow got caught and literally broke the line. Our friend, Gail, yelled up to me, "Is this yours?" as it was floating in the water. I said, "Yes!" and she somehow heaved it onto the back of our boat! Matanzas Inlet was only about 15 miles south but there weren't any other anchorages between there and Daytona. Well... one or two but they didn't sound very appealing.

Going down the ICW.

We dropped the anchor next to Fort Matanzas. We're in a small stretch of 'no wake' in the perfect depth of water (for us) -- 7-11 feet. The current definitely rips through here! Our 35 lb Manson Supreme anchor and all chain rode has been holding tight all day! We took our dinghy to the fort but weren't allowed to tie up. Our electric outboard was struggling against the wind and current. We did MUCH better going the other way toward the visitor center and park. We weren't allowed to tie up at that dock either so we just beached our dinghy and tied up to a tree branch.

Back in the day... the Spanish controlled/owned most 'la Florida'. The French had built Fort Caroline and tried to attack the Spanish to the south. A storm drove them into the coast and as they were making there way back north, got stuck at the inlet we're anchored in. It was too deep and the current too swift to cross and the Spanish captured them. They slaughtered 250 French non-Catholics and the area was named, "Matanzas" which means 'slaughter' in Spanish. The fort was later built to protect enemy ships from entering the inlet which is a back door to St. Augustine.