New smyrna-> St. Augustine 😅😴

Lexi DeLeon

Woo. Another rough day. Decided to leave New Smyrna asap, currents were strong and sandbars were busy! We stopped here after our crossing, I ran aground coming in the inlet because I was so delusional from no sleep and couldn’t see anything. lol rough night. We found an auto store to try to fix our engines (Reagan and I) we topped off on fluids hoping that would be good enough to make it to St. Augustine. We were wrong… I made it to the entrance of the inlet where my boat just decided to shut off. I dropped anchor in probably the worst spot possible to keep from drifting into the jetty. Eventually was able to get it back running and had Reagan cruising right next to me out of the inlet just in case it happened again. i made it through with no issues after that. We decided to run the outside just in case we had anymore issues so we wouldn’t have to deal with strong current, bridges and weekend boaters. Wind was so shifty and current was so strong my auto pilot could not stay on course. Which made for an extremely long day. I steered and monitored the engine for 10+ hours 🥲 i know this sounds dramatic but I am not used to having to be at the helm every minute. whooo that’s tiring. Eventually we made it about 16 miles out and Reagan’s engine died and he had run out of fluids. The wind was terrible but he decided to sail for another 5 miles which took forever. Then we decided for me to tow him the last 11 miles. He towed my dinghy and then I towed him. Seatow should hire me!!! This was stressful because I’ve obviously never had to tow a boat bigger than mine plus just all the stress from this morning and a long trip all day, but I was super glad to be able to help him. I’m not sure what we would have done without each other the past few days, not only for mechanical support but mental support lol I probably would’ve gone crazy. We eventually made it into St. Augustine and fueled up at the marina, got free fresh water (wooohooo), a mooring ball, showers, laundry, all the things. Plus finally got back with the trio- Alfred made a straight shot to St. Augustine instead of stopping in New Smyrna. Now it’s time to explore the town thanks to my grandpa Mr. Ponce DeLeon- (no i’m not kidding… he’s actually my great great great x 11 grandpa) isn’t that pretty cool?!

Boat & Crew

Sadie

Gemini, 105m

Grace R

Owner

Hadley Mae

Pet, Female

Lexi DeLeon

Owner

Trip Updates

Seatow… hire me 🙌🏼

Jun 16, 2025 4:42 AM

29.8946, -81.3090

After all the shenanigans this morning with my boat, Regan’s boat had engine issues again as well. We managed to almost make it to St. Augustine but 15 nm out his engine died. He sailed for a few miles before then the wind died out. Next option? For me to tow him, this created for a slow long several hours of pure focus. We made it and are anchored after yet another long day! 🙌🏼💪🏻⚓️😴

Engine died… again.

Jun 15, 2025 11:34 PM

29.7185, -81.1858

Engine died again right as I was exiting Ponce DeLeon inlet during a tide change. Adding summer Sunday morning boaters and jetskiers flying past me didn’t help either. I dropped my anchor in the middle of the channel to keep from getting pushed into the sandbar or jetty. Tried starting her 10+ times with no success. Gave the ole westy my master mechanic (LOL) touch and got er running again. Made the decision to try to push through the inlet with Reagan nearby in case of another failure. Made it through and have been motor sailing the past 8 hours. Which just adds even more confusion to what the issue could be.