Picking up where the Fort Caroline Narratives left off.
An archaeologists account of the discovery of the mission site Santa Catalina de Guale, its excavation and the artifacts they found there. Including several interesting photos.
AN EARLY FLORIDA ADVENTURE STORY
This one is a hair raising account of a 1595 shipwreck written by a Spaniard, Fray Andres de San Miguel. He was bound for Spain aboard the ship “Our Lady of Mercy”, out of Havana. It foundered in the Gulf Stream with a broken rudder. The remaining crew fashioned a makeshift lifeboat and drifted for several days until washing ashore on probably either Little St Simons Island or Wolf Island. They were rescued by some local Guale Indians, who gave them maize cakes, acorn cakes and some water and a smoldering log. Then they were taken to Asao (an indian settlement located on or very near the Fort King George site in modern- day Darien) , then later on to San Pedro ( on Cumberland Island ) and eventually on to St Augustine, Havana and Spain. There is a lot of original material here about the indians he encountered on the way back home , and on life in early St Augustine. An eyebrow raising note: Frey Andres mentions that he was shown the ruins of Ft .Caroline, then called Mateo, from the river, (probably the St Marys or Cumberland river) as they were leaving San Pedro . San Pedro must have been very close to what is now the Dungeness ruins.
Father Ore’ was born in Peru but visited St Augustine and surrounding mission territory a few years after the Guale rebellion of 1597 (Juanillo’s revolt) His account was published in Spain around 1617. It is a brief history of Spanish, English and the Catholic Church’s involvement in Spanish Florida up to that point. He recounts early explorations before the arrival of Pedro Menendez , the founder of St Augustine, and subsequent explorations, settlements and missions along the coast as far north as the Chesapeake (Jacan ), as well as rebellions by the indians and the martyrdom of some of the religious.
A more in depth study of the Spanish colonial support system Mainly concerned with Spanish Florida, From translated documents, the author examines the relationships between the various native groups with St Augustine, and with the Catholic church.
Murder and Martyrdom is the story the deaths of five Franciscan friars and the capture and ransom of another in Guale territory. The Friars were clubbed to death at the Guale Mission on St .Catherines ‘Island, and at Tolomato, located up around Harris Neck, at Tupiqui, farther inland near Pine Harbor, and at Asao, near modern-day Darien. The book is full of information, supported with maps charts, and translated Spanish documents. 
The Struggle for the Georgia Coast is the fruit of a long effort by Archaeologist John Worth. During the dispute between the English and Spanish over the territory between Santa Elena (Parris Island) and St Augustine, the Englishman James Edward Oglethorpe began colonizing and fortifying the coast,. The Spanish King Philip V ordered governor Montiano, in St Augustine, to gather documentary proof of Spain’s rightful claim to the territory. The result was a large package of documents that were pulled from the archives at St Augustine, and sent to Spain, where it all languished for a couple of centuries. This is a trove of information , which included royal cedulas , maps, tables, census, registrys and correspondence. John Worth translated it and puts it all into perspective.
A more general introduction to the Spanish mission system within the ambit of St Augustine, along with descriptions of some of the archaeologist’s and history scholar’s projects and techniques. Many illustrations included. According to Milanich, “Wally’s Leg”, a creek that branches off the Macay river near the Frederica river junction, is simply an English spelling of “Guale”.
Next thing is the deadweight survey, which is a measure of the boats displacement. Then we have a couple of plan submissions yet to be returned from Washington DC. Then the final inspection, where they will count the lifejackets etc. 
Who should I tie up next to but my old friend Dave Reidel, from the Key Largo days . It was great to have a beer with him and catch up . Next morning he came over to “supervise”
Coasties found no issues, so we checked another milestone off the list
