Anchored Next To A Second National Monument!

Two Nights, Two National Monuments

After two wonderfully relaxing and fun-filled days at Fort Matanzas, we woke up to learn that the anchor dragged 0.5 NM in the night. It was an eye-opening experience, and the worst we have ever dragged. We realized that when we calculated the amount of scope to let out, we only used the depth we were currently in, and we hadn’t accounted for the increased depth at high tide. Big oops! Luckily we didn’t drag the other direction, or we would’ve woken up to the sounds of us crashing into the National Park Service docks.

We pulled the anchor up with too much ease and set off for downtown St. Augustine, a very short cruise away. The Pirate Museum there has the only authentic pirate chest ever recovered, which just so happens to be Thomas Tew’s, whom I’m named after. I’m a descendant of his brother who was the Lt Governor of the Colonies of Rhode Island. My mother was a Tew and I was always told I was named after him, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I looked into my ancestry myself was able to confirm it. He’s my great, great, great, great uncle and the reason why we fly his flag on Swamp Puppy.

I’ve loved the water from a young age, and like Thomas Tew I’m known for my charisma and being a fair leader. When he told his crew he wanted to turn to piracy they responded with “A gold chain or a wooden leg, we’ll stand with you.” Tew had one of the most successful pirate cruises in history, amassing a large amount of wealth, which I unfortunately didn’t inherit. On only his second voyage out, he took a canon ball to the stomach and died. “The Rhode Island Pyrate” had a short but successful career and is one of the most infamous American pirates.

We dropped the dinghy, headed ashore, and grabbed some provisions, so we don’t wind up with scurvy! We paid $15 to tie Zed up at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, which gave us access to the showers, the lounge, and coin laundry. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Mexican restaurant Casa Reina before touring the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.