Enough with bridges, get me to the ocean!

(click photos to enlarge)

After a harrowing day of dueling with bridge clearances, we opted to get into the Atlantic and sail, which was much more relaxing.  This meant exiting the Inter Coastal Waterway through the St. Augustine Inlet.  The cruising guide cautions that the inlet has shifting sand bars with breakers on both sides of a serpentine pass.  We went anyway, and the conditions were quite mild.  The seas were flat and we had following wind, but not enough to sail so we motorsailed 55 miles south to Ponce de Leon.  Ponce de Leon Inlet is described in the cruising guide as one that is "best left to those with local knowledge" and "subject to continual shoaling, swift currents and strong winds".  We went in anyway.  The conditions were just fine for us and we entered on a rising tide so we'd (hopefully) float off the bottom if we found it.  We found our way to a cozy place to anchor and slept like babies.

The really like their lighthouses here!

 The next day, it was a bit longer (68 nautical miles) down to a berth at the Cape Marina in Port Canaveral where we plan to visit the Kennedy Space Center.