My phone rings and I answer. I had just fallen asleep after being up for over 40 hours. I answer the phone and it’s a friend asking “where are you?”. I respond instantly with … “Oh. umm, ummm. ummm. I don’t know?” Funny that when you are always waking up in a new place each morning you forget where you are sometimes.
I planned on sleeping in leaving late. Why am I up and checking the weather at 5AM? Staying up for two days has knocked me off my circadian rhythm. The weather outside in the Atlantic is continuing to deteriorate with 25kt winds and 6-8′ seas. Lucky for me today’s trip will be on the inside motoring down the ICW.
Anchored at Fort Matanzas, FL and the current is so swift that you’d swear I was underway and not on anchor.
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I weigh anchor and proceed about an hour south down the ICW before docking at a marina in Palm Coast. I’m here to do a walkthrough of a boat for sale. I figured as long as I’m driving by I could help a friend by FaceTiming him from the boat he was interested in buying. The boat was beautiful.
As I make my way towards Daytona Beach, FL I pass several boats along the way.
The boat is autopilot and I’m reading a Facebook fishing group post where a FB user has posted about how he caught his biggest fish in Long Island Sound. As I look at the photo of the fish, I’m thinking…. That looks like a federally protected, endangered Atlantic Sturgeon. As I click on the photos to get a closer look FB says the photos have be removed. I’m thinking this must be a joke that nobody would post about catching an Atlantic Sturgeon. Or would they?
Sturgeon are living dinosaurs. Fisheries biologists have discovered that sturgeon existed as long as 200 million years ago.
The Atlantic sturgeon is one of seven species of sturgeons found in North America. Sturgeons are prehistoric species that date back to the time of dinosaurs. Sturgeons have physical features that separate them from other kinds of fish such as: a spiral valve stomach and cartilaginous skeleton (like sharks and rays), but they have scutes (hard, protective, large individual body plates) instead of shark’s denticles or bony-fish’s scales. The Atlantic sturgeon has barbels located on the underside of the snout, no teeth, rubbery lips, and a suctorial mouth for vacuuming food off the water bottom. The Atlantic sturgeon’s coloring typically is dark brown along the upper (dorsal) side, shading to a creamy white-colored belly (ASSRT 2007). The Atlantic sturgeon is a large fish that can reach a length of 14 feet (4.3 meters), a weight of over 800 pounds (363 kilograms), and possess strength to leap nine feet (2.7 meters) into the air.
As I approach Daytona I realize I only used 2 of my 10 FREE nights at Safe Harbor Marinas. After doing some research I learn that the blackout dates in the south prohibit their use.
As I pull into Halifax Harbor Marina the wind is blowing so I have already prepped and have my fenders out on both sides and my lines coiled on the deck but hanging within reach if there is a dockhand to help me land in the slip. As I start down the I-H dock fairway I see the dockhand is already waiting in the slip for me to back in.
My friend Jay is already waiting and within minutes of landing we are sharing a beer and catching up since our last meeting here in Daytona Beach. We make a quick call to another former Foxboro resident and we meetup at Hooligans to grab some hot wings.
It was great catching up with my Foxboro Friends. It’s great to have friends along the way to break up the month long journey.
Back at the marina I feel like I’m walking into a cage match.
Back aboard Simple Life I plan on sleeping a bit late, enjoying my coffee and not leaving until my 11AM leave the dock deadline.
The day’s route looked something like this
MV Simple Life 
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