Did I drag anchor?

...or is the earth moving?

Does it still count as dragging anchor if the earth-part comes to you?!?!?

Last night at anchor on the St. John's, I looked out the port and said "we're dragging anchor!" Ran outside and saw what looked to be at least 1/4 acre of solid water hyacinth/seagrass ever so slowly drifting by the boat!!

Yikes!

That was creepy. Time for a beer.....

Did you cast a line under it?

LOL!!
.....but that would require me to put down my beer.

Where are you headed?

Sanford. We just got here today. 8 days on the St. Johns gunkholing from JAX - Black Creek, Palatka, Silver Glen Springs, Blue Springs, etc.

We'll stay here a week or so, then go back north (downriver) and stop and see all the places we missed on the way down

Planning to be in St. Augustine all of Dec and Jan.

Moving grass! When cruising in SE Alaska when the tide switched from high to low tide there was so much crap in the water you had to shut down your generator.

WOW. Might be gators lurking in there.....

Damn! That'll wake you up. How deep is the water next to the grass? Im sure the bottom is as soft as baby poop anyways.

If you have ground transport when you get to Sanford, you’re twenty minutes from a wonderful Florida meal. Jolly Gators Fish Camp is on SR46 and the river East of Sanford. Their Florida swamp cabbage is out of this world!

The view of the river is worth the trip. Relax with a beer and watch the boats and birds.

South of Heaven said:

Damn! That'll wake you up. How deep is the water next to the grass? Im sure the bottom is as soft as baby poop anyways.

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We were in 6-7ft of water. Yes, much stuff on the bottom. The anchor came up with a complimentary 25ft tree

HopCar said:

If you have ground transport when you get to Sanford, you’re twenty minutes from a wonderful Florida meal. Jolly Gators Fish Camp is on SR46 and the river East of Sanford. Their Florida swamp cabbage is out of this world!

The view of the river is worth the trip. Relax with a beer and watch the boats and birds.

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Oooh! That sounds like my kind of place! Thanks!
[.....cue background sounds of dialing Uber....]

There nice in open water but we ran into it at the Aster bridge. It completely blocked the river under and around the bridge. Marine patrol moved it thru the bridge after a 4 hour delay. They put the bow of there patrol boat into it and then threw there anchor into the hyacinth and pulled the grass thru into Lake George. We enjoyed beers at anchor watching the removal.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Moving grass! When cruising in SE Alaska when the tide switched from high to low tide there was so much crap in the water you had to shut down your generator.

WOW. Might be gators lurking in there.....

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Saw this guy just across the river....

HiDHo said:

There nice in open water but we ran into it at the Aster bridge. It completely blocked the river under and around the bridge. Marine patrol moved it thru the bridge after a 4 hour delay. They put the bow of there patrol boat into it and then threw there anchor into the hyacinth and pulled the grass thru into Lake George. We enjoyed beers at anchor watching the removal.

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Wow! That's crazy!

While I haven't experienced patches anywhere near that large, I often wonder if anything is calling the island home and make an effort to avoid them. My first thought when seeing your pictures was, "I wonder if any big snakes are on the island, looking for higher ground?"

Ted

Alligators, big snakes, and hurricanes.......this is why I prefer to stay in New England. Besides the skiing down there is not really that great. LOL!!!

Shrew said:

Alligators, big snakes, and hurricanes.......this is why I prefer to stay in New England. Besides the skiing down there is not really that great. LOL!!!

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The skiing in Florida is great!

Shrew said:

Alligators, big snakes, and hurricanes.......this is why I prefer to stay in New England. Besides the skiing down there is not really that great. LOL!!!

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I prefer to use my boat more than 3 months a year without dressing for an artic expedition.

Ted

Hey isn't that the floating island from 'Life of Pi?' Were there any meerkats on it?

wayfarer said:

hey isn't that the floating island from 'life of pi?' were there any meerkats on it?

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??

Can you get all the way to Sanford? I thought just south of Deland it got dicy.

Bigsfish said:

Can you get all the way to Sanford? I thought just south of Deland it got dicy.

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Sure can! What a great little town!

River was a minimum of 10-12ft deep all the way to Lake Monroe. Shallowest water we saw below that was about 6ft, and only then in the fairway at the marina in Sanford (Monroe Harbor Marina).

We were tucked in there for 9 days eek:) sampling the far-too-many restaurants, food, and FOUR breweries (soon to be 5!). Street festivals abound.

Highly recommend the Old Jail House (it is) restaurant. Very cool vibe with jail cells and everything....

On our way back downriver now. We are the only boat this afternoon at Hontoon Island State Park. Beautiful area!

We are having a LARGE time on the St. Johns.....

Be sure to eat at the Outback Crab Shack on Six Mile Creek and Corky Bells in Palatka. They both offer free overnight dockage with dinner.
Joe Apicella

I know that area well, I did my undergraduate studies at Stetson in DeLand, worked part time as a fishing guide on the St John’s to pay for school (with a few other jobs not as glamorous).

Enjoy, it is a lot different today than in the 60s.

Bigsfish said:

I know that area well, I did my undergraduate studies at Stetson in DeLand, worked part time as a fishing guide on the St John’s to pay for school (with a few other jobs not as glamorous).

Enjoy, it is a lot different today than in the 60s.

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Fish guide!! Where is the best place for Shad? When will the run be this year?
I don’t usually admit to shad fishing. The guys with the glitter boats make fun of me.

JoeApicella said:

Be sure to eat at the Outback Crab Shack on Six Mile Creek and Corky Bells in Palatka. They both offer free overnight dockage with dinner.
Joe Apicella

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Alas, the Crab Shack is no more.....
We will certainly stop in at Palatka again on our way by!

Parks I graduated in 1968, do you think I remember even the area (many drugs in those days) besides I guided for bass when the regular guide was too drunk and hung over to meet the paying clients.

Shrew said:

Alligators, big snakes, and hurricanes.......this is why I prefer to stay in New England. Besides the skiing down there is not really that great. LOL!!!

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as a displaced New Englander, you don't know what your missing! Time to leave your sandbox.

boathealer said:

Alas, the Crab Shack is no more.....

We will certainly stop in at Palatka again on our way by!

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Outback Crab shack was a victim of Hurricane Matthew and Irma..

HopCar said:

Fish guide!! Where is the best place for Shad? When will the run be this year?
I don’t usually admit to shad fishing. The guys with the glitter boats make fun of me.

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Thread drift alert, but I've genuinely always been curious about those boats. Why is it that the Bass boat, with it's refrigerator sized million horsepower outboard, and invariably pulled by a lifted F-550 with truck nuts and American flag stickers, the very symbol of macho manly masculinity...

... covered with Glitter. Always Glitter. Wall to wall glitter. Elton John spangly jacket sparkly sequins extra fabulous disco ball craft herpes glitter. I don't think I've ever seen one that wasn't.

What's the deal with that???

Dave see who gets out of the truck and you’ll have a clue. I’ll bet their clothing has patches from various manufacturers. LMAO

Glitter hides a bunch of imperfections in the finish. Hardest to hide in a black or navy gelcoat or paint, hence many white hulls.