This was not the first time we have cruised the St. Johns River. We were living on our Fathom 40, finishing up our second Great Loop boat trip, when Kismet left Key West, Florida, heading north to the Solomon Islands. It was June 2009. Our goal was to spend the summer in the Chesapeake Bay area. That was a fun thing to do. Spending the entire summer in Maryland gave us more of an in-depth experience of another part of the country we knew little about. We made lots of side trips during our stay in the Solomon Islands, either by car or boat. We cruised up the Potomac to Washington, DC, we visited St. Michaels, Annapolis, Tangier Island, Smith Island, and many of the great anchorages close to the Solomons. When the time came to head south again, in October, we had our sights on cruising the St. Johns River. Having heard such great things from other boaters about this lazy southern river; we had to go.

Cruising With Friends —
We hooked up with our friends Louis and Diane Wade near their home, in Morehead City, North Carolina, and cruised with them down the ICW to Jacksonville, Florida. However, just days before arriving there, we received news of Jim’s father’s passing, so we flew to Ohio for the funeral. When we returned to the marina, it was Thanksgiving Day. Louis and Diane, and a few other boating friends surprised us with a very memorable dinner on one of their boats when our hearts were still so tender from our loss. It’s moments like these that define the highlights of our boating adventures.

A few days after we arrived back in Jacksonville, Kismet headed out with Bella Luna to explore the St. Johns River. We traveled from Jacksonville to Sanford, Florida. We tried to hit all the highlights small, sleepy river towns, a few natural, freshwater springs, and a few free docks. Jim and I were a little concerned about the time of year we planned to take this trip. It was the end of November, but we had good luck with the weather and during our three-day stay in Silver Glen Springs, we had to remind ourselves it was December, especially when we went swimming every day in the 72-degree crystal clear water. To two Michiganders, this seemed a miracle for this time of year. However, in December, we didn’t see many alligators moving around, although the river is home to many.

Fast forward to early spring 2022, after our two-month winter stay in Fort Myers, we pulled the boat out of the water and towed it to Deland, Florida. This time we would start our trip from the more southern end of the St. Johns River. Then we planned to explore the narrower section of the river, from Deland to Silver Glen Springs and back to Deland. We heard that section included a beautiful wildlife sanctuary we were eager to spend time in. It was a trip well-planned, as always, by Jim. We saw many alligators while cruising the off-shoots of the river. One must have been nesting and as we moved closer for a better look, she lunged off her perch and headed toward us. While anchoring overnight in the wildlife sanctuary, we saw a lot of wildlife. Alligators, manatee families, eagles, and many birds. The most beautiful thing was the wide assortment of bird songs we woke up to every morning in the wild. Occasionally, a small fishing boat would pass us. But, other than that, during our time in the sanctuary, we felt like part of the wilderness of the St Johns River.

After almost three weeks, we were ready to go home. We’d been away since last Thanksgiving this year—driving to Seattle to get our new Ranger Tug and then driving to Florida. So, we spent a little more time on the river than expected, watching for the weather to ease up a little. There were several blizzards still blowing through where we needed to drive. Not fun while towing a big boat.

Deland Marina, St. Johns River, Florida (above-below)

Two-night stay in Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge (above and below). The best!

Hontoon Island State Park (above).

Silver Glen Springs (above and below), is a favorite of ours. We found it much busier this visit, but still enjoyable.

Fellow Trailer Trawler (Facebook Group) members (above and below), found us at Silver Glen Springs. There was a C-Dory rendezvous happening, at Hontoon Landing, while we were on the river.

One of the many alligators (above) we saw while on the river.

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