PERFECT CRUISE down the St. Johns River | Day 3 of our Maiden Voyage

Finally we have the day we were hoping since we started the trip! Today we left Astor Bridge Marina, in Astor Florida and head back southbound on the St. Johns River. We left early and had some help from Ted ( a resident at the marina) which led us to a successful departure!
We were very nervous considering we had failed twice docking and leaving this marina due to the size of the dock, the current around the bridge next to it, as well as our general in-experience.
The day turned out beautiful and our next stop was Hontoon Island State Park. This state park is only accessible by boat so this was a prime opportunity.
We end up the day anchoring just outside of Blue Springs State Park! Hope you enjoy!
Thanks for watching,
Jennifer and Elliot
Vlog 137 || St. Johns River, Florida
schoandjo.com/blog
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:33 Leaving Astor Bridge Marina
01:53 30s Dance Party
02:28 Recap for running into the dock
04:36 Alligator sighting
05:23 First bridge request on our radio
06:13 Docking at Hontoon Island State Park
07:36 Hiking at Hontoon Island State Park
09:53 Red Raccoon Sighting
10:49 Leaving to find our anchorage
12:03 Arriving outside Blue Springs State Park
13:07 Leaving to take Ollie to shore
14:55 Popping the Champagne (Andre)
16:03 Bloops
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ABOUT US
Hi! We are high school sweethearts from Atlanta, Georgia who decided to take a year off to travel around the world. Together we decided to create vlogs for our journey as a fun way to remember it. On September 15, 2019, we left Atlanta with 3 bags, 2 one-way tickets, and 1 goal of traveling for a whole year. Little did we know, 6 months later we would find ourselves in a nationwide lockdown in India. After spending 5 months in India, we came back to the United States and decided to purchase a 34’ Trawler, dive head first into boat life, and kick off America’s Great Loop.
The good, the bad, the ugly - and most importantly, the real and real funny. We’re not here to tell you “how it’s done.” Just how we’ve done it. And that whatever it is that’s calling you - the way you’ll do it is much more attainable than it may seem.
Thank you for following us along our journey!
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[@12000Jetlag]

I am sure you have found in your travels that most boaters are more than happy to help each other out when needed. Docking can be very stressful but you have to learn to relax, think about what the wind and current are going to do to the boat and then remember to take it slow. I tell myself this every time I dock and I have been boating for many years. I still bump a pylon occasionally but the key is not to go any faster than you are willing to hit something. Slow is your friend. You have more nerve than I do walking thru that swampy area. I am terrified of snakes!

[@stan4d1969]

Docking is by far the most challenging part of boating. I can't drive a boat for shit which is why we bought a newer boat with a joystick docking controller. Complete life saver - very easy and it makes you look like a pro every time.

[@SchoandJo]

Smart!

[@richmiller2501]

Loving your videos !!!!

[@AdventuresofAplusK]

LOVED the dance party! 🥳💃🏻🕺🏻

[@SchoandJo]

Gotta celebrate the good times!! 🕺💃

[@ThePassportCouple]

Awesome video, love the dance party, it was so cool to see the exchange between the Captain and the Bridge Master 🛳, and we think Ollie deserves the smoothness of Andre 🥂

[@SchoandJo]

Glad y'all enjoyed it as much as we did! Something that is so normal is cool to experience for the first time 😂 Ooooh Andre!

[@bethdarrow5111]

We are heading down the St Johns River starting Thursday so thanks for the info. It was so cute watching all your first!

[@SchoandJo]

Oh AWESOME! Hope you have a great trip! Let us know if you have any questions, I bet it will be fun 😁

[@carolwestermann5309]

Great scenery. Ollie is so cute. ♥️♥️♥️

[@SchoandJo]

Ollie is the star of the show...

[@ODriscolls]

Cheers! So happy to see (almost) everything go well. Florida looks very cool but also terrifying.

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks so much!! 🙏 Florida does have its scary portions but Alligators are harmless most of the time, unlike Crocodiles which are very aggressive 😄

[@lukebyrne4405]

Amazing scenery!

[@HollyandAndrew]

Loved the dance party, not sure that would work too well in the RV though 😂 So glad we are back to good wifi and can catch up on your maiden voyage!! ☀️

[@SchoandJo]

Thanks! Yes.... keeping both hands on the wheel is much more important on land 😂

[@ClassXIRoads]

New sub. thanks for the look into your adventure. I think the proper way to address Jennifer would be the Admiral not as the first mate

[@SchoandJo]

I guess that would make Ollie the first mate? or just deck-hands for the puppy?

[@terrynies4717]

did anyone explain to you guys how to use your bow thruster to make docking so much easier ?

[@SchoandJo]

Well our very first time, no we weren’t aware and it was pretty rough… but every time since then we’ve used it quite a bit and have a good system. There’s still nervousness and a little anxiety, but I’m sure that’s just because Pivot is our home and we are still inexperienced. But we are getting better!

[@SchoandJo]

Now we turn our wheel hard over to put our stern in and the keep our bow in line with the thruster. Feels like cheating!