Clearwater Beach, FL

Friday Nov 23 - Day of Rest

This part of the Gulf coast has similar sand to the pan handle; nice, white, powdery and squeaky.  It is a joy to walk on.

Although the temperature was in the low 70's, the beach still had a lot of people, more than I would have expected.  I guess, though, that the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend can explain the number of people and the buskers and entertainers on the beach.

We managed to find a Hancock Bank in Indian Rocks so we took the Sun Coast Trolley and walked the couple of miles to cash the money order  to cover the damages from the accident during the Blue Angels Air Show.  At least that is behind us now and the financial impact was minimal.

While crossing the bridge to the mainland, we saw Second Noelle and The Bar-B docked at the Holiday Inn Marina.  Before heading back we stopped by but nobody was aboard.  We had lunch there at Iguanas but still no Linda and Ray.  Oh well, it would have been a great surprise but we have to wait to see them some other time.

Tomorrow we are heading for Treasure Island only a couple of hours away.  We will stay there for a week or so in order to get some routine maintenance down on the engines and to spend some fun time with our friends from Windsor who have a condo in St. Pete's Beach.

Is Christmas that close??

I'll send another update from there once I get a few photos for you.

We are Alive But...

(Wednesday - Thursday Nov 21/22 - Dist: 202.8 mi; TTT: 26:30 hrs)

We are alive but there were times when I was wishing, well, something else.  Let me start at the beginning:

We have been waiting for over two weeks for some calm seas on the Gulf so that we could make the 170 mile crossing in comfort.  We were not really suffering as you can see but we were already 9 days in this small fishing port. 

We committed to be the buddy boat for Seamoore which meant that we would do the crossing at 8 mph; which meant that it would take 21 hours to complete.  We thought that a window was opening on Thursday or Friday so we had already decided to leave beautiful Apalachicola for Carabelle in order to be 3 hours closer to East Pass and the Gulf.

When I got up Wednesday morning, Carlton was almost jumping out of his skin with excitement.

"This is what you have been waiting for, no more chicken parties, go, go,
go, go, go."

This was the guru who had saved us the previous week from a disastrous crossing.  We were so anxious to cross that we immediately packed up, fueled up and left Apalachicola at 10 AM hoping to arrive in Clearwater by 11 AM on Thanksgiving (US).  Our mood was exuberant and we headed out in beautiful sunshine and calm seas.  It took almost three hours to reach East Pass which would take us past Dog Island into the Gulf.

At about 2 PM Seamoore and Q's End left the sight of land.  Only 160 miles to go.  Everything was going well; the seas were only 1 foot and the wind was about 10 mph from the North giving us a push.

At sunset it was still a perfect trip.  The seas, which you see in the forefront, had shifted to our beam but were still comfortable and still about 1 foot.

When the sun went down it cooled off but we were prepared and had a number of layers of clothing nearby.  We ate some sandwiches for supper and I was deciding whether or not to turn the generator on and make some coffee for later.  I stalled for too long as the wind and the waves started picking up.  About 10 PM they appeared to be about 2-3 feet, still on the beam.  We were rolling a fair bit (rocking from side to side for our non boating friends) but with all of the Gravol (Cdn Dramamine for our US friends) in our system and a 3/4 moon it was a bit uncomfortable.  Not so uncomfortable that we could not appreciate the stars and the moon.  We even brought out the Ipad and used the Skyview app to locate the constellations in the sky.

Unfortunately, the beautiful moon went below the horizon at about 1 AM making it impossible to see the seas and waves.  Now most of you know that I am a very sensitive person and that I do not even ride in the back seat of a car... well this situation became much worse.  The only thing that my mind saw was the lights reflecting off the enclosures and swinging back and forth in about a 5-6 foot arc.  My mind spoke to my stomach and I was struggling.  Fortunately, Linda allowed me to lay down and the nausea passed.  I was popping Gravol like candy but every time I sat up my head started reeling and my stomach started churning.  I had to lay down again.  In fact our watch plan of 2 hrs on, 2 hrs off was thrown overboard.  I only got up once in order to adjust our speed so that we would not get to the crab pot fields when the sun's glare was too strong to see them.  Remember from our first Loop the entangling of a crab pot in the props was a show stopper; the only way to get under way again, that is if there was no damage, was to dive below the boat and cut if free from the prop or rudder.

Linda sat at the helm until daybreak.  Having been sick on and off for the past week she was really struggling... but there was no option.  Once I could see the seas, I got up and took off the auto pilot and drove the boat.  The concentration needed to do this in these gawd awful seas made me forget my sea sickness.  Linda immediately got sick and was struggling even more.  She sat on the deck between the helm seat and side seat so that she would not be thrown about the boat... with a bucket between her knees.

Now that we could see the seas it was even worse than we thought.  The waves were confused coming from different directions.  This made it impossible to alter course and find a comfortable path.  We were now seeing 5 footers always hitting us on the beam.   Carlton asked me whether or not we should notify the Coast Guard to give them our current position, just in case.  ???  Until that moment I never, ever thought that we were in peril or any danger.  It was as uncomfortable as all hell but...  It did not help that all night long we heard the Coast Guard looking for a boat named Sea Angel.  Then they were searching for a missing 43' Hatterass.  In the end we did not call.

When I saw the bottom of Carlton and Becky's boat, I knew that we and they were heeling (leaning to the side) far more than we ever had before.  I was sure that there would be a mess down below.  As it turned out, there was no damage for us below, just some items, which seldom move, were on the floor.  All our preparations were worth it.  Seamoore seemed to have more of a mess aside from the can of coke which spewed about the fly bridge.  Becky fell three times.  Once, while laying on the bench seat, the cushion and her went flying across the fly bridge.  A filing cabinet that was secured with a 2 inch railing crashed to their new hardwood floor leaving a gouge as a souvenir.  It was a sad experience.

At sunrise we still had at least 4 hours to go.  The sun was right in our path and we were concerned that we were nearing the area were the crab pots would be.  We decided to stall for an hour before attempting the run through the pots.  When we finally ventured towards shore, there did not appear to be as many as we remembered.  We got through with no problems although we did have to concentrate hard for a full 2 hours. 

Well now that we are safely in harbor, had a great meal (lobster for Linda and prime rib for me) and had a great night's sleep, we are good again.  The sun, warmth and white sand are making the horrors of the trip fade fast.  We are on the Gulf coast of Florida, albeit 3 weeks later than we wanted, but we have arrived.  We plan on spending at least a week at the Treasure Island Tennis and Yacht Club, a mini vacation with some friends from Windsor.

In closing here are a few calming photos from our time in Apalachicola.  It is good to be here.

Sunrise in Apalachicola

Oysters everywhere, at least 6 packing houses.

Half of the flshing fleet and shrimp boats.

Oyster shells are saved and used to seed the oyster beds from Pensacola to Cedar Island.

Monarch butterflys stop on their way to Mexico.

We toured the Thomas Gorman House, the founder of Apalachicola in the 1830's.

Linda picking cotton

Prudent: Yes, Yes, YES

(Friday Nov. 16 - Still in Apalachicola - Thankfully)

If you remember my previous post I was disappointed that we did not cross and was questioning the decision.

QUOTE:

Looks benign even pretty but we still sit here in Apalachicola. We did get excited Tuesday evening as a bunch (6-7) of Loopers decided that they were going to cross this morning. The wave and wind forecasts seemed to improve although still marginal. They all left but Carlton and I heeded the advice of an expert who has monitored the Gulf daily on behalf of all Loopers for many years:

"The Gulf was not real comfortable yesterday, at times the waves were over 3 feet with winds almost to 20 knots. Today will be slightly worse. My recommendation is to stay in port and enjoy a few more days in the Panhandle."

UNQUOTE

Here is an update from a friend who made the trip.

QUOTE

Tom,
It was THE most terrifying experience of my life!!

We actually had our life jackets on at one time.

The forecast was for 1-2 feet waves and 5-10 k winds. The waves were much bigger than that ( some said as high as 8 feet) and the wind was around 20kts.

Going east we took the waves on the bow which isn't too bad for our boat. Turning South , the waves hit us on the beam so hard that it threw Gary off the bench ( he was lying down -sick) and more than once threw me out of the chair.

this got worse ( the forecast said it would get better) as the night went on. At 8pm I was so scared I was shaking like a leaf, but I had to keep driving as Gary wasn't able to.

It was very dark, no stars, the only lights were the boats we were travelling with.

Our boat rocked so hard that the oranges in my hanging fruit basket was turned to PULP and where the basket hit the wooden trim strip in the galley it took the varnish right off down to bare wood.In the morning we were 30 miles off shore and because it was over cast we were able to spot the crab pots - they are EVERYWHERE
UNQUOTE

I am happy to report my friends are safe.

I am also happy to report that I don't care if anyone called me chicken, we made the right decision.   

  More Oysters anyone??  

  More beer anyone??

Chicken or Prudent??

(Monday Nov. 12 - Dist: 31.4 mi; TTT: 4:15 hrs)

Looks benign even pretty but we still sit here in Apalachicola.  We did get excited Tuesday evening as a bunch (6-7) of Loopers decided that they were going to cross this morning.  The wave and wind forecasts seemed to improve although still marginal.  They all left but Carlton and I heeded the advice of an expert who has monitored the Gulf daily on behalf of all Loopers:

"The Gulf was not real comfortable yesterday, at times the waves were over 3 feet with winds almost to 20 knots.  Today will be slightly worse. My recommendation is to stay in port and enjoy a few more days in the Panhandle."  

It is not the clearest picture but the drum in the photo has fresh oysters and cleans the sand and mud off of them before being packed in boxes and shipped all over.  Apalachicola is renowed for their oysters.  Even I have tried some (ie. I have never been a fan) and they are very good.  I have had a dozen a day since arriving and will have more.  The town itself is a neat fishing town with a surprising number of very good eating establishments.  We are eating and drinking well... except for Linda; she caught the flu or something similar and has been spending more time in the head than in bed or up and about.  Hopefully she will get out later today for a bit.    

In the meantime, we watch the shrimp and crab boats come and go, drink too much beer at the Tap Room (12 craft beers on tap and Happy Hour prices from 4-6:30) and eat oysters and shrimp for dinner.  Oh well, at least I haven't gotten sea sick in the rougher seas.  I'll suffer here until the Gulf lays down for us.  
  

 

Playing the Waiting Game

(Monday Nov.5 to ???)

We are still sitting tight here at Port St. Joe Marina and well why not.  The marina and staff are great, the Dockside Cafe here has good shrimp, the Haughty Heron bar and package store has great specials (on Ladies night we had 12 beer for $12, cheese and crackers and live entertainment), great pizza at Joe Mama's, great Mexican food at Peppers, and a Piggly Wiggly, a good grocery store only 100 yards from the marina.  We have enjoyed it all.

We have accomplished a few things most notably replacing the primary batteries for the boat.  I am stiff and sore from lifting the six Group 29 (bigger than a car battery) batteries from behind the engines, up through the hatch, out to the deck up, onto the dock and then to the parking lot and then doing it all again in reverse.  Of course I cannot fit behind the engines so everything, including the wiring and tie downs, had to be done bent over the generator.  Oh well, hopefully we are good for another 7 plus years.

We have also re-organised the packing of the boat.  All of the maps, charts and guide books for the Great Lakes and inland rivers were put away under the couch and the Florida gear was brought forward.  We have been stocking up on wine again.  The bottles are a pain to store.  I truly miss our 10 bottle tetra packs that we had brought from our home made stock.  So with the eating, drinking and the odd job taken care of, we managed to get out for a bike ride or two.  There are some nice paths in the area and with the weather a little cool, around 70 F, it is good to get some exercise.

Carlton and I have been studying the marine weather forecasts and reviewing the daily crossing advice column and much to our chagrin there is no suitable window in the foreseeable future for a crossing.  This time we are planning on travelling with Seamoore, a trawler that cruises at about 8 mph.  This means that the crossing will take about 21 hours.  This means that we will be out in the Gulf overnight, all night.  The standard way of doing this trip is to leave about 2 or 3 in the afternoon from Carrabelle and arriving at Tarpon Springs about 11 AM.  It is no good arriving earlier because the early morning sunshine makes it impossible to see and avoid the hundreds and hundreds of crab pots.  We are in for a new experience.

Our current plan is to go to Apalachicola on Monday for a couple of days and then onto to Carrabelle for fueling and more waiting.  Hopefully, we can get across next week.  That is all for now. 

Port St. Joe, FL

(Monday Nov. 5 - Dist: 44.0 mi; Temp: 78 F; TTT: 6:05 hrs)

When leaving Watson's Bayou the next morning we re-entered the Port area again for awhile but do not encounter any commercial traffic.  There were a few interesting sights and some good travelling weather once again.



Please let me know if you know what ships are being built here.

Most of the travel day was spent going down a narrow, then really narrow canal.  When we turned off the GICW onto the 5 mile canal to St. Joseph Bay and the Gulf of Mexico we ran into some commercial boats and yards.  Not sure what this old ferry?? did or where but it has seen better days.

Near the Bay there was a fish packing plant and a number of fishing boats to see.

We soon arrived at the Port St. Joe Marina and settled in for a few days.  I will probably add some more photos or another update about our time here but for now I have determined that my 8 year old batteries need replacing and I am taking care of a few other things as well.

More later while we wait for the Gulf to settle down and give us a good window for the 180 mile crossing.

Panama City, FL

(Sunday Nov. 4 - Dist: 64.8 mi; Temp: 74 F; TTT: 7:50 hrs)

I neglected to mention that our first sighting of dolphins occurred many days ago, before our stop at Lulu's, just as soon as we got into the GICW.  They have been numerous and playful at times but we have not been able to get any really good pictures.  We will keep trying.

We decided to make a long day of it in order to reach the home of some very kind people that are friends of friends.  We started off early and as soon as we got to Choctawatchee Bay we ran into some fog.  We continued on because we did have a 100 or more yards of visibility and both radar units going.  It lasted for less than an hour.  The trip took us through some canals, some wilderness and finally the Port of Panama City.  Here is the pictorial version:

After traversing the Port and St. Andrews Inlet we soon arrived at Watson's Bayou.  Not far up was the private home of the Vernon's.

They have a beautiful place with a large dock that easily handled our two boats and theirs as well.  They were so kind as to take Carlton and Linda to the Sam's package store for some cheap booze and provide us with a great meal of pulled pork.  Excellent.

Also sharing Watson's Bayou is the Mercury Marine test facility.  Notice all of the different boats, all yellow, in the racks for testing Mercury motors.

Joe's Bayou Anchorage, Destin FL

(Saturday Nov. 3 - Dist: 53.5 mi; Temp: 78 F; TTT: 7:15 hrs)

They say bad luck comes in threes, well after the incident and little sleep overnight, my port engine would not crank over.  Fortunately the starboard engine fired up and I was able to use the parallel start switch to fire the port engine. Whew.  Without further adieu, we headed off for the Fort Walton Dock.... it was damaged and taped off closed.  No worries we decided to go another hour or so to the Joe's Bayou Anchorage near Destin FL.

Joe's Bayou was a bay which worked it's way into a very nice neighborhood.  It was a great spot with lots of room and well protected from wind and other boats.  We had a pleasant although somewhat rushed dinner due to the fact that the Alabama Crimson Tide was playing LSU at 7 PM.  You see Carlton is a ribald (ie. more than avid) Alabama fan.

You can see that I tried to get into the spirit of the game but the #1 team in the country was not playing well and they were losing in the 4th quarter.  I decided that I best leave before the end of the game for fear of enduring the wrath of Carlton and getting blamed for their first loss of the season.  Well Carlton and Becky are still speaking to me which meant that Alabama came back and won the game; thank goodness.

Just another night on the water.

Eleven O'clock and All is Well

(Friday Nov. 2 - Dist: 20.7 mi; Temp: 82 F; TTT: 3:35 hrs)

After a very enjoyable time at the Wharf we decided to go just 20 miles and anchor out near Pensacola in ordered to watch the Blue Angels perform an Air Show from their home base. 

Wow, we soon crossed into Florida and today is only November 2.  We seem to be making pretty good time although I had originally hoped to be across the Gulf sometime in early November.  Hopefully we will get a good window to cross without any delays.

It was a beautiful warm day and the anchorage was already busy when we arrived.  We set our hook and helped Seamoore raft to us as we have many times before.  We were all settled and enjoying the ambiance by 11 AM with a Bloody Mary,... a couple of Caesars,... and then some beers.  You get the picture; we were having a good time in this beautiful setting.  Many other planes were putting on displays throughout the day but we were ready for the Blue Angels.  At the 2 PM starting time our drinks were full, the binoculars were handy and our cameras at the ready.

AND THEN 

All hell broke out.  A 38 foot boat lost control and hit our bow pulpit.  He tried to gain control but got involved with my anchor line; he hit the bow pulpit again before backing off and almost hitting a sail boat.  Mean while the Angels arrived and were screaming over head doing their thing.  The boat who hit us left the scene immediately after gaining control of his vessel.  I tried to raise him on the radio but no response.  I decided to report the incident to the Coast Guard and after taking done the particulars passed me onto to the FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission, I think).  They also took down the particulars but did not have a boat available to come out to investigate at the time.  They did promise to send out someone later to deliver a "self reporting" accident form.  OK.  I was finally done... but so were the Blue Angels; I missed it all.

An hour or so later, while I was still waiting for the FWC Officer, the boat called and we exchanged contact info.  Well the long and the short of it is that my 300 foot anchor rode needs replacing and they have agreed to cover the cost.  They could not get cash so I have subsequently received a money order to cover damages which only their bank will cash.  Of course, we have moved on and it may be weeks before we are in a city with their bank close by.  Hopefully, it will all work out in the end.

Well that did put a damper on things but we rebounded and had a great dinner in a great setting.  While motoring around in the dinghy most if not all of the neighboring boats witnessed the incident and some even had photos of the boat to support us if need be.

Well I had hoped that was the end of the excitement for that day but NO.  The anchorage was crowded and a number of late comers were too close to give both boats their full swing room.  Sure enough when the tide changed and was opposite the wind, every boat re-acted differently to the two forces.  My fly bridge and the fact that we were 2 boats swung around with the wind.  The nearby sail boats were lower to the water and had a full keel so were affected more by the tide.  Just before midnight we were very close to a couple of sailboats.  It looked OK for the time being so I went to bed.  An hour later I heard strange noises and quickly discovered that the 2 sailboats were in front of us.  I pulled on our anchor line which had gone slack and got us in front of them again.  At 2 PM the tide changed and the wind picked up from the same direction as the previous afternoon.  We seemed to separate from the other boats so I went back to sleep.  The next morning all of the boats were in the same position, with the same clearances as the previous day.  Go figure.