February 14, 2017 – Tuesday
Leaving the marina today we cruised by Alligator Point, where we often go to watch the sunset, and continued to Shell Island. Shell Island is a protected natural preserve and part of St. Andrews State Park. The seven-mile stretch of undeveloped land ranges in width from less than a mile at its widest point near the pass narrowing to 200 yards and less near its eastern point.
The stated purpose of our outing was to test our new rocna anchor. Rick was never particularly happy with our claw anchor and became even less so when we anchored in the rivers. We anchored Andiamo about a quarter of a mile from Shell Island and Rick was very pleased with the outcome, it appears to be a much better anchor than the one we had.
After dropping & setting the anchor I learned that Rick also had a Valentine’s Day surprise for me. We had a lovely brunch on the boat and then kayaked to the island, what a delightful place to explore. We saw egrets, eagles, fish, seagulls, and lots of busy hermit crabs.
I thought I had found a great shell for my shell collection, but it was occupied by Mr. Hermitcrab who was working hard to get back to the water.
Mrs. Hermitcrab seemed to be searching for lunch.
Speedy Gonzales was all about eating.
Tyndall Airbase must have lost a tire from one of their jet planes, now it is a small ecosystem.
Sunset at Alligator Point
