southern boating

St. Augustine, Florida, is about to get plundered just like it did four

centuries ago! Join the annual historic reenactment of the sacking and

burning of the town on Saturday, March 5th. The event is a recreation of

Captain Robert Searle’s and his privateers’ raid in 1668 and begins at

4:30PM in the old city starting at the Plaza de la Constitución and ending

at the Old City Gates, where the English brigade will battle the pirates.

(Searle and crew sailed from Jamaica to loot the silver ingots held in the

royal coffers.) During the day from 10AM to 4PM, the Fountain of Youth

Park will host drills, demonstrations and living history interpretations. The

event is free and new recruits are welcome. hfm.club

Cocoa water tower gets recognition

The Cocoa water tower, a famous ICW landmark that guides

mariners into Cocoa, Florida, was named 2015 Tank of the Year. The

156-foot tower is the cover photo on the 2016 Water Tank Calendar.

Its freshly painted 25-foot-high American Flag must have wowed

judges.

Free dockage & services

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MAINTAINEDPUMP

OUT

STATIONISAVAILABLE.EWRESTROOMSFORMARITIMEGUESTSWEREOPENED

early December at Town Dock #2.

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Creek, make way to The Wyld Dock Bar, where patrons can dock for

free. Gypsy Jazz Music and a $20 all-you-can-eat oyster roast beckon

for a stop over.

s,ITTLE3ISTERS#REEK&LORIDA!TTHEJUNCTIONOFTHE3T*OHNS2IVER

and the ICW, Jim King Park offers free dockage. The park boasts a

new ramp and is a prime spot for offshore and inshore fishing.

Changes to anchorage area

Two separate anchorages have been proposed to protect coral

and its habitat in the Port of Miami area by the Florida Department

of Environmental Protection, Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative

(SEFCRI). After eight years of study, SEFCRI, the U.S. Coast Guard

and the Anchorage Working Group propose a western anchorage and

a larger eastern anchorage. Damage to coral from anchoring not only

affects coral survival but also the marine ecosystem as a whole. The

Coast Guard oversees anchoring for both recreational and commercial

vessels and has in the past established anchorages in the Atlantic Ocean

east of Miami Beach. All agencies involved are reviewing comments.

Single-leaf operations

Repairs are underway on the Dania Beach Boulevard Bridge in

Broward County, Florida, located across the ICW at mile 1069.4. The

bascule bridge is on one-leaf operation with a four-hour notice for a

double-leaf opening through March 30th. For double-leaf opening call

Quinn Construction at (941) 722-7722.

Caffeinated beaches

In December, coffee lovers’ dreams came true when hundreds of

Cuban coffee cans and vacuum-sealed bricks washed ashore on

Indialantic Beach, Florida. Delighted beachcombers scooped them

into trash bags. The inadvertent presents were cargo from about 25

containers that fell off a large Puerto Rico-bound barge somewhere

between Cape Canaveral and Palm Beach. Other lost cargo

included cell batteries, ramen noodles, dog food, bird seed, and

bags of wine. After the spill, mariners dodged wayward containers

in the Gulf Stream.

By Nancy E. Spraker

26 s SOUTHERNBOATING.COM s MARCH 2016

SOUTHEAST

SEABOARD

SOUTHEAST

SEABOARD

NEWSNEWS

Buccaneers return to

St. Augustine.

The Historic Florida Militia puts on quite a show during their many

yearly historic reenactments that take place in America’s oldest

settlement, St. Augustine.

JACKIE HIRD