St. Augustine and the wind keeps howling!

We picked up anchor very early this morning to pass though the Mantanza Inlet around high tide. With all the shoaling and reports the Coast Guard has been putting out over the VHF radio we didn't wish to take any chances. We made it safely though with plenty of water.

We arrived early afternoon to the Bridge of Lions, St Augustine, Fl. Unfortunately for us we missed the 1:30 Pm scheduled opening by 5 to 10 minutes. This meant we would need to wait for the 2 PM opening, that never happened. The bridge decided to break down just as it closed from the previous opening. After waiting for what seemed an eternity we decided to anchor and wait. Sometime after 3 PM we transited though the bridge opening. S/V Interlude was ahead of us and made the 1:30 opening. S/V One With The Wind went aground before he even made it to the bridge. Tow Boat US, came to his rescue and he anchored near us but decided he had enough excitement for the day and stayed put for the night.

It's 10:45 PM now and the wind and tidal current are battling for control of the direction of our boat. It's noisy and loud and I hope it soon quits so we can get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day. The tide will change at midnight and the wind is suppose to die down, promises, promises.