Port St. Joe to Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Today started at midnight, like all other days, but this was no usual other day. At the stroke of midnight, we were about 2/3 of our journey across the Gulf of Mexico.

Clear night with a full moon

After a quick calculation of our estimated time of arrival, I decided to throttle back a bit and slow down. We don’t want to arrive before daylight so we can see the crab pots and avoid them on the way in. This proved to be a good decision as the first crab pots were spotted nearly 25 miles from the entrance to the Anclote River, which leads up to Tarpon Springs.

The water conditions had improved for this crossing since about 4 pm on Wednesday. By 2 am, the Gulf was glassy smooth which made for a very boring time on watch. We were able to rotate captains with one either resting or sleeping (Nan Ellen) during their off time. Skip kept hourly Lat/Lon (GPS position) notes and fuel consumption notes each hour.

Just beginning to be light

First sign of the ball

This was the uneventful crossing we had hoped for, and the fuel consumption was better than expected, in part due to calm sea conditions and likely some southward moving ocean currents to help us along.

Crab Pot marker - easy to snag one of these!

When we arrived at the Anclote River, we encountered the first of several rude boaters who were coming out of the river at full planning speed in a channel no more than 20 yards wide – barely enough for two boats to pass safely. We got rocked several times and this was the roughest water we encountered on the entire trip across the Gulf! Finally, we came up to the idle zone and it was calm again. We turned into a very narrow and shallow channel leading to the marina (my depth alarm went off several times before we finally pulled into the slip and tied up.

Time for Bloody Mary’s – even me! We had a couple of them before venturing up to the marina office to sign in and get the tour of the clubhouse. The Marina recommended a great Greek restaurant where we went for lunch and we brought leftovers back to the boat.

Skip ordered a rental car from Enterprise and by the time we returned to the boat to pick up his bags, they were there with the rental car. We said our goodbye’s and then decided to go up to the pool and soak a bit before taking showers. When we got to the pool, the water was a bit cold, so we did not stay long. Nan Ellen stretched out on the lounge chair and promptly fell asleep. When she woke up, it was time for a shower and then back to the boat for catch up on e-mails.

We went to dinner at Rusty Bellies. Then it was somewhat early to bed – easy decision there.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

After Skip showed up this morning, we had breakfast on the boat, and then started the final preparations for the trip across the Gulf of Mexico. We took the dingy (Little Waci) off the davits. I ran it down the river to check it out and make sure everything worked OK. Once back at the boat, we hoisted it back in position and secured it for the trip. We made our Float Plan know to the marina, called our friends and Nan Ellen’s mother, and said goodbye to Carrabelle at 12:10 PM.

House at the end of Dog Island before entering the Gulf of Mexico through East Pass

Two fishermen on the sea grass line off Dog Island

Final marker from Carrabelle and the beginning of our trip across open water

The journey from dock to dock is about 180 miles and about 165 of those are across open ocean waters with no protection or anchorages possible. This makes the choice of days and the weather of paramount importance when choosing when to stay or when to go. We expect that we did enough homework to have a good chance at an “unmemorable” crossing. We don’t need any war stories.




Sunset on the Gulf

The trip was calm coming out of the river, but as we neared the inlet between Dog Island and St. Georges Island, the waves started picking up. After the final sea buoy, we were in solid 2 to 3 footers for the next couple of hours. Fortunately, we were directly into them, so the ride was OK. We expected the seas to calm down as we moved south, and they did. By 7 PM, it had calmed to about 1 foot, and by 9PM, it was nearly flat. It stayed this way all night.

Too cloudy to see the "Green Flash"

A Full Moon rising above us

We encountered a few boats on the way including a couple of commercial fishing boats, a couple of Sportfishermen, a small boat like ours, and a sailboat running without it’s sails and without the proper night lights displayed. Thank goodness for radar! We also saw one tug pushing 110 feet of barges toward Mobile AL. AIS (Automatic Identification System) is another wonderful tool for navigation and allowed us to “see” the tug on our Chartplotter long before we could visually see it. The wonders on modern navigation instruments!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

We took a quick run across the bridge to 2 Al’s for breakfast – the same place we had dinner the night before.

Today’s major project was to replace the VHF radio that failed us yesterday. Interesting problem since it came on all by itself at 4 AM and woke us up like a fire alarm! It did not respond to turning it off initially, but I finally managed to turn it off – for about 10 minutes. It came back on again all by itself, so I pulled the plug on it. I will send it back to see if it can be fixed, but in the meantime, we need another radio to continue our journey. We were fortunate the C-Quarters marina had one in stock, so I bought it, and a cutting board (to make an adapter to make it fit in the dashboard). One of the marina guys let us use his jig saw to cut the cutting board to fit the radio. I already had a drill on board, so in just a couple of hours, we had the adapter made, the wiring harness soldered and ready to go.

Two masters at work replacing the VHF radio

What a craftsman!

Does green go to purple or is it red to black??????? Get out the book!!!

Another professional installation using a cutting board and a little time and patience

A quick radio check confirmed everything worked, and it was time for happy hour after another check on the weather. We are still good to go for Wednesday night / Thursday morning for our crossing.

While Skip and I worked on the radio project, Nan Ellen took a tour of Carrabelle and all the sights.

Service Members Memorial

Time for lunch?

We went to lunch at the Fisherman's Wife. Nan Ellen had peel and eat shrimp. Skip had an oyster Po-boy, and I had the fisherman's salad...yum.

Looks better than the phone booth we saw on the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway

We decided to go to dinner at the Spring Hill Restaurant in Crawfordville for Stone Crabs. Nan Ellen and I had visited there while on one of our recon trips in January and they had great stone crabs then as well as now. Skip had mullet, and Nan Ellen and I split a fisherman’s platter. Absolutely delicious, and not what you would expect in the middle of nowhere.

Back to the boat and bed as tomorrow will literally be a LONG day.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Moving day! Finally!!! Carrabelle, here we come.

We got up early for showers, stopped by McDonald’s for breakfast, said good bye to the Captain’s Corner, and cast off our lines. The run started out routine, but the wind was predicted from the east at 15 to 20, and this means possible rough water in the direction we were heading.

Cypress trees in the canal

We were in the canal and the river until we reached Apalachicola. We passed what appeared to be eagle nests and a swing railroad bridge before reaching what we hoped to be a lunch stop for more oysters.
  

Eagle nest?

Railroad bridge Apalachicola River

Railroad bridge swings closed for trains

We tried to stop at Boss Oyster Co. for lunch, but there was no suitable place to tie up, so we decided on peanut butter and jelly instead.

Captain Eddie being towed by a Classy Lady

We passed a disabled shrimp boat who had lost power earlier and was blocking the channel. Another shrimper came to his aid and towed him back to the dock. After passing under the bridge, we were into the bay and the east winds and rougher water.

Under the bridge and out into the Apalachicola Bay

I had noticed earlier that the VHF radio had lost its position data, and this is a problem if we need to send a distress call. It gets this information from the GPS and for some reason, had lost it. I had noticed this problem intermittently for the last few days, but could never pin it down. Worse, once we went under the St. Georges Island Bridge, the radio simply quit – no power – no nothing. I pulled out my handheld VHF, but it has very limited range and will not be acceptable as our only radio for the trip across the Gulf of Mexico. It never came back on despite my looking at fuses, checking the wiring harness, and a few choice words thrown at it – they never work anyway!

C Quarters Marina

Our slip - next to the fuel dock and the ice house

When we arrived in Carrabelle at C-Quarters Marina, our good friend Skip Harper literally just pulled in the parking lot. He came to accompany us across the Gulf. They put us on the lay along dock which is the walkway to the fuel dock and the ice house. Shrimpers come here to load their boats with ice and fuel before they start their day on the water. After fueling up the boat, I washed off the salt spray and we decided to go to dinner close by at 2 Al’s across the bridge.

Sign at 2 Al's

Another check of the weather revealed that Wednesday night / Thursday morning would be our best bet for our crossing, so we have an extra day in Carrabelle. We will need it to fix the VHF radio.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

This was another routine day that started with a trip to the showers followed by a trip across the breezeway to the Captain’s Corner for coffee, goodies, and conversation. Today’s goodies include some blueberry mini-muffins we bought at Piggly Wiggly on Saturday, plus someone else brought cookies and cinnamon rolls. I resisted the cinnamon rolls, but caved in for a blueberry mini-muffin and a couple of cookies. You get to meet a number of very interesting folks here in the morning. One of them is a fellow Auxiliarist and Power Squadron member from the Memphis area and one of them is a retired Army Major General (2 star) who lives here and just put his boat in the marina. There are the usual transients like us and a mixture of liveaboards and locals who keep their boats here. The Captain’s Corner is the local spot to solve all the world’s problems, or at least that is the way the conversation goes. Today’s problem was what is the length of the African Queen boat? Some had ventured over to Apalachicola yesterday for the Antique Boat Show where they saw a wooden replica of the African Queen. We will miss this place when we move on to Carrabelle and points south in Florida.

Last morning in the Captain's Corner - 2 Star General on the right standing

Back at the boat, I screwed the navigation light back together to finish the job I started on Saturday, and then it was time to check e-mails, the weather, and watch the news on TV.

Today’s tasks are to move the boat to the fuel dock for a pump out of the holding tank and then back to our berth, and to plot our course on the computer and transfer the course to the Chartplotter in preparation for our Gulf Crossing. We are still planning to move to Carrabelle on Monday to stage for the crossing on Tuesday afternoon and night / Wednesday morning. It should take about 22 hours to make the crossing by my calculations.

Saturday, April 20

The day started out cold and windy with the passage of a major cold front that dropped the temperature about thirty degrees from Friday’s highs. We had to break out the long pants and jackets. 

Getting ready to repair the water leak.

Nan Ellen decided to do laundry, so we stripped the bed to change sheets and discovered one corner of the mattress was wet. This can only mean one thing – we have a leak allowing water to enter from above. In the area where the water had come in, the only hull opening is the rail mounts and the starboard navigation (green) light. When I pulled the cover to check the navigation light, I noticed the base was cracked and loose. Ha-Ha, the culprit had been found! When I unscrewed it from the deck, it came up in 4 pieces – not a good sign. We pulled the wet mattress up in the cockpit where it could dry out for the day while I sealed up the leak. I did not have any clear silicone sealer on board, so we would need to make another trip to the Ace Hardware to pick some up. It is convenient to have these resources so close!

Port St. Joe Farmers Market

Fresh Produce and Breads - Best corn we have had this year!

They have a Farmers Market twice a month in Port St. Joe, so we hopped on the bikes (with my backpack for carrying stuff) and pedaled over to the Farmer’s Market. We picked up several items including fresh white corn, carrot jam, and banana bread. We took a look at the vendor selling goat meat and goat products, but did not purchase anything from him. We then visited another antiques store, but did not buy anything. Next stop was the Ace Hardware for the silicone sealer, then back to the boat.

 

Goat anyone? He has EVERYTHING goat!

Once back at the boat, I first used super glue to piece the base back together, and then the silicone sealer to seal up the hull opening that had allowed the water to enter the cabin. It was necessary to drill two new mounting holes to ensure that it would stay secured to the deck and not allow water to enter; I let the whole thing dry overnight before finishing screwing it all together on Sunday. 

Some reassembly required to finish repairing the leak -even if only temporary.

It was time for dinner, and we had seen that the Piggly-Wiggly will steam their fresh shrimp while you wait, so we decided to try them. They use a mixture of Old Bay and other seasonings, so we bought a pound and brought them back for dinner along with the fresh corn purchased at the Farmers Market earlier. The peel and eat shrimp was OK, but not great. The corn was GREAT!

After dinner, I took a look at the weather again. It looks like a suitable window may open on Tuesday night – Wednesday morning. We will make a decision on Monday morning to go to Carrabelle to be in position for a crossing on Tuesday afternoon and night.

I took care of some Auxiliary business and responded to a couple of e-mails before it was time for bed.

Friday, April 19

Friday started out as a stormy and rainy day. It was a good day to stay on the boat, update the Blog, and generally catch up on e-mails. We made a quick run to Piggly-Wiggly for some fresh white corn and a few other grocery items. For dinner, we had leftover chicken I had grilled a couple of days earlier along with the corn. We watched coverage of the Boston Marathon Bomber on TV and called it an early night.

 

"Stuck" in Port St. Joe

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Coffee, tasty treats, and conversation every morning in the "Captain's Corner"

The day started as they usually do with a trip to the showers followed by a trip across the breezeway for coffee and treats in the Captains Corner. Today’s tasty treats included cookies and some mini muffins we picked up at Piggly-Wiggly on Wednesday. They usually don’t last long!

Then it was back to the boat for something different for breakfast. Nan Ellen had seen Emeril on TV yesterday talking about Mother’s Day breakfasts that kids could make, so she figured it would be simple enough for us. It starts with a split English muffin with both halves covered in Peanut Butter, and topped with sliced bananas and honey that makes a gooey sandwich. A little butter on the outside and 5 minutes in our Panini Grill made for a really delicious and different treat. We scrambled a couple of eggs on the side to make sure we got in some additional protein. Very filling, tasty, and not too bad on calories, although this is not something we would have every day.

As it was still early, we downloaded all the pictures from the camera and the I-phone so we can get ready to post to the Blog again on Friday.

Today’s adventure called for a return to the Constitution Museum after lunch. We rode our bikes on the trail and returned to the Museum. The museum gave us a history lesson about the area, but it is something that would not be on our list of must visits if you are in the area.

 

On the way back to the marina, we browsed an antique’s shop downtown and then went by the Port Inn and the Thirsty Goat Restaurant and Bar for a drink. Unfortunately, they did not open until 5 pm, so we went to the yogurt shop instead. We decided to go back to the boat again with Nan Ellen working on e-mails while I adjusted and marked the seat heights on our bikes. Having collapsible bikes means that we have to re-set the seat height every time we fold them up and re-open them to ride. I also marked the binoculars with fingernail polish after we set the focus for each of us – mine is a white dot and Nan Ellen’s is pink. After those tasks were complete, it was off to the Thirsty Goat for an appetizer and drinks. 

Best thing here was the cold beer

Cool Goat in the Bar

The beer was cold, but the appetizer was less than we expected. We came back to the boat, folded up and bagged the bikes. For dinner, Nan Ellen warmed up left over bratwurst I had grilled a couple of days ago.

With weather on Friday is expected to be bad, we will likely work on the Blog and start plotting our course on the computer to transfer to the Chartplotter in preparation for our Gulf crossing which could occur as early as Monday night and Tuesday morning. This is a little too far into the future for an accurate weather prediction, but we remain patient and will continue to enjoy our time in Port St. Joe.

Wednesday, April 17

We took advantage of nice weather to finish the job started on Tuesday. When we initially re-tightened the flag pole mount, one of the bolts had broken off and the other two were loose. There were no washers installed on the inside, so it is possible that the nuts simply came loose because they dug into the fiberglass. We needed to pick up some new hardware to fix it properly, and everyone said the local Ace Hardware had a nice selection of Stainless Steel hardware

Nan Ellen needed to mail a postcard, so we mounted the bikes and set off for the Post Office. On the way back, we stopped at the Ace Hardware to pick up some new stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers. We came back to the boat and installed the new hardware. Nan Ellen tightened the screws on top while I held a wrench on the bottom and we completed the project in record time.

After lunch, we decided to do a little bike ride to the Constitutional Museum and set off on our bikes into the 20 MPH wind. 

Bike Trail to Museum and Schools / Ball fields / Recreation areas

Closed today - will return tomorrow

Not sure we agree with this sign!

 
When we arrived at the Museum, we found that they were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we will have to come back on Thursday. We then decided to ride the bike trail its entire length which is about 5 or 6 miles round trip. 

Taking a break at the lake

We stopped at a freshwater lake about midway along the trail and spoke with a couple of High School kids on their way home from school. In spite of the posted sign, we did not see any Gators, but did see one turtle sunning itself on a log. 

Did not see any

A friend of mine (Robert Lyons) who works in Communications for the State of Florida was in town on business, and called us to find our location as he was finished with business for the day in Port St. Joe. We were about ready to head back to the boat anyway, so we agreed to meet him at the marina and give him a tour of the boat. He has a dream to do the Loop at some point in the future, but for now he is content for him and his wife to do long road trips on his motorcycle. They have a motorcycle trip to the North Carolina Mountains planned for next month. We talked Communications and ham radio for a bit before it was time for him to head home. 

The grill master at work

After he left for his home in Tallahassee, we decided to go to Piggly-Wiggly for chicken and corn to grill for dinner. After dinner, I worked on the computer answering a few e-mails and then it was time for bed.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The alarm went off at 6:00 and it was off to the showers quickly since we had to make a decision early this morning. After our showers, we took a look at the weather forecast. It did not look good for the next several days, so we made the decision to stay at least until the next weather window is about to open. That may be the first of next week at the earliest. We are patient and are willing to wait for the right conditions. While we are not the least bit concerned about the boat’s ability to handle the Gulf, we just don’t want to be on a 22 plus hour ride on a roller coaster. We have enough experience to know when to stay in port and when it is time to go. As we are NOT on a schedule, we are happy to stay put in Port St. Joe – a pretty nice place if you have to be stuck somewhere!

We spent most of the day working on the boat tightening up the flagstaff holder, checking the batteries, cleaning out the sea strainers, and checking engine oil levels. We replaced the cover on Little Waci as it had been blown loose during the storms that passed through here on Sunday night. Our dock mates told us the wind was over 70 MPH during the storm. Our boat did not sustain any damage beyond the loose flag mount.

The remainder of the day was spent on e-mails, and planning our future potential stops once we cross the Gulf onto the west coast of Florida.

Monday, April 15

This is the day we return to the boat after our weekend back home. The alarm went off at 4:30 am and I quickly got up to head for the bathroom. Nan Ellen was up surprisingly fast as she normally moans and groans at this time in the morning, but she was focused on getting going, so she surprised me a bit by moving quickly. We nearly got away at our projected time to try to beat the Atlanta traffic, and stopped for breakfast in Newnan, GA after clearing all the Atlanta traffic. Then it was down I-85 to I-185 and Columbus GA.

Once in Columbus, they had changed the intersection where I-185 ends and highway 27 picks up going south. I made a wrong turn and ended up at the front gate to Ft. Benning. They directed me back on the proper path and on our way. At some point, I missed another turn and we ended up going through parts of southwest Georgia that we did not know existed. Nan Ellen’s I-Pad vectored us to Bainbridge GA which was one of the waypoints we had intended in our planned route. I suppose we turned lemons into lemonade with this extra mileage and a tour of a part of Georgia we had not previously seen. More two lane roads greeted us as we continued south into Florida including a 30 mile stretch of the Apalachicola National Forest. We finally came to highway 98 and the Gulf of Mexico. We turned west and in just a few miles crossed the bridge into Apalachicola.

Up the Creek Raw Bar in Apalachicola

It was time for lunch, so we stopped at Up the Creek restaurant for some raw oysters.  They were probably the biggest ones we have had in some time, but were not quite as good as the ones we had last week at Indian Pass Raw Bar. After filling up our gas tank, we drove toward Port St. Joe and decided to swing by Point San Blas on the way. We wanted to see the lighthouse there, but had been told the gate to it was closed. Good thing we did not ride the extra 6 miles on our bikes last week to be disappointed, as you could not see it from the road or the beach. We continued the remaining 12 miles to the marina to offload the car. Then, I took off for Panama City to return the rental car. About three hours later, I was back at the marina, and it was time for dinner.

View of St. Josephs Bay from the Sunset Coastal Grill

 
We walked the mile to the Sunset Coastal Grill for a nice view of the bay and the sunset. The fish was good, and we brought home leftovers for the next day.It is another early to bed night as we need to make a decision early in the morning on the weather and if we want to go or stay in Port St. Joe.

Sunday, April 14

The day was spent mostly preparing for our return to the boat in Florida such as washing clothes, going to the grocery for items we could not find in Port St. Joe. It rained part of the day, so we mostly worked on the computer and watched the Masters on TV. We packed as much of our bags as possible to speed up the loading process on Monday morning.  It was early to bed as we needed to get a VERY early start on Monday.

Saturday, April 13

We had plenty to do today starting with Stilesboro Biscuits. This is a VERY unique restaurant that really is an old country store. Every fourth Saturday, they have the Jot-Em-Down boys playing live Bluegrass music for their customers. I suppose they like the practice, the exposure, and I know they like the biscuits. Alas, this was not their day there, but I brought biscuits back home for Nan Ellen and her mother. After breakfast, we finished sorting through the mail and planning the rest of the day.

I needed to drop off my watch at the jewelers for repair as I broke the band during my fall off the bike last week. Also, we needed to pick up a few things at the store, and I needed a temporary watch to use for the next month while mine is being repaired. Nan Ellen’s mother had a beauty shop appointment, so while Nan Ellen accompanied her, I took off to accomplish what I needed to do. When we returned in the afternoon, it was time for a little yard work. Nan Ellen edged the concrete while I cut and bagged the grass. After finishing cutting, I needed to put on a mask before I broke out the backpack blower. WOW!! The pollen was unbelievable at over 4000 grains per cubic meter of air. To those of you not familiar with spring in Atlanta, you can wash your car from front to back and by the time you reach the back, it is time to start all over again. Our dark gray rental car was greenish-yellow with pollen. The only thing that knocks down the pollen count at this time of year is rain, and that is only temporary. After the yard work was done, it was shower time.

Our good friends on our dock at Lake Allatoona, Skip and Linda Harper, had invited us for hamburgers on the dock. We did not need to be coaxed as it does not take much to get us back to the lake. Skip is planning to help captain our trip across the Gulf of Mexico once the weather clears and we have a suitable calm weather window. After dinner, it was back home to bed.

Friday, April 12

We planned to return home for the weekend to check on Nan Ellen’s mother while we waited on better weather to enable us to stage for the trip across the Gulf of Mexico. We had called Enterprise Car Rental in Panama City (about 45 miles west of us) and arranged for a rental car for the weekend. They actually came to pick us up that far away! Their driver was not in a hurry to get here, and as a result, we did not leave Panama City until about 2 pm for the 6 ½ hour trip home. The trip was uneventful, and we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Marietta – Papasito’s. Their Brochette Shrimp is worth the trip and one of their signature dishes – always enjoyable. Once at home, we spent an hour sorting the mail and then off to bed.

Orange Beach to Port St. Joe

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Happy 26^th Anniversary to us! Today is our Anniversary and it seems like just yesterday we were pledging our vows and getting ready for our Honeymoon in the Cayman Islands. Although a few years have gone by, our marriage is stronger now than ever. We both figured out that no one else would have us as partners, as we were both hard headed and set in our ways. Had we met a few years earlier, we probably would not have been together.

We have our old friend Charlie to thank for our chance meeting on a Friday night at the Beer Mug in Atlanta. Charlie and Nan Ellen worked together at the IRS and when I moved to Atlanta, Charlie had come to work for my company – Nationwise Auto Parts. I was in Human Resources and Charlie was in Loss Prevention. Our offices were next to one another and we joked that they came in my door as I hired ‘em and out his door as he fired ‘em. As someone new to Atlanta, I just wanted to meet a few folks and have a beer after work. Charlie invited me to the Beer Mug for Happy Hour to wait out the Friday night Atlanta traffic. It was there at a “reserved” table, a group of friends met every Friday night and I was invited. The rest is history - it has been a little over 27 years since I first met Nan Ellen and 26 years since we were married.

Today was spent updating this Blog, re-checking the weather for a suitable crossing weather window, and planning a quick trip back to Atlanta to check on Nan Ellen’s mother while we wait for the weather. We planned to go to dinner tonight at a favorite with the locals restaurant, but the impending bad weather caused us to go to the Marina Restaurant instead. We got back to the boat before the really bad weather came upon us.

The Happy Couple at Dinner at Port St. Joe Marina

We have reserved a rental car from Enterprise Car Rental in Panama City for the trip back home. We should be back on the boat around Tuesday, April 16. We will post again once we return to the boat.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The primary objective today was to rest, recuperate, and relax after a busy day on Tuesday. I rode my bike to CVS Pharmacy and bought additional first aid supplies for my skinned up hands. We spent the rest of the day catching up on e-mails and later went to the Piggly-Wiggly for a few groceries including some rib-eye steaks for grilling at dinner time. I took time out to pose with the Pirate in front of the Piggly-Wiggly.


Which one is the Pirate?

Nan Ellen took shrimp out of the freezer and defrosted them. She took a martini glass and put a little cocktail sauce in it and lined the rim with the thawed shrimp. Rib Eye steaks, shrimp cocktail, and a relaxing evening. This is how the Loop should be! After dinner, we set down to the computer to edit our photos from the past few days and delete the ones we are not keeping. With the narratives already done and stored on my desktop waiting to be posted, it should make the Blog update less stressful and easier. It is my intention to make this my priority for Thursday. It looks like we will be here a few more days waiting for a weather window.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Another day dawned with ambitious plans for the day. We decided to go visit the Indian Pass Raw Bar as recommended by our friend John Sprague-Williams.

Indian Pass Raw Bar

This is an old time favorite of the locals and has been around over 100 years. The only problem is that it is located about 12 miles away and certainly not within walking distance! We decided to set up the bikes and go for a little ride to get some oysters. I had to pump up the tires on both bikes and got out the BoeShield T-9 to lube up everything and then we set off into the wind for a leisurely 12 mile ride to the raw bar. When we finally arrived about an hour and a half later, we were not disappointed.

Nan Ellen with "Ed" of Hot Sauce Fame

We each had a dozen raw oysters and split a bowl of gumbo. Unfortunately, the oysters were not Indian Pass oysters as they had closed the fishery last week due to an influx of fresh water, so the source of these were from the Texas coast. Slightly salty, very clean, and tasty – probably the best raw oysters we have had anywhere. The gumbo was great too.

We decided to take a short break on the way back as we came to the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Center and spoke with the docent. They are funded by the state and work to preserve the ecology of the bay and work with other environmental groups for protection of the bay.

We discovered a few fun facts here such as that the Bay is the only body of water on the Gulf of Mexico that is not influenced by the influx of fresh water. They are known for their bay scallops, but we are too early in the season for them. Very interesting stop and it happened to be strategically located about halfway back to the boat from the Raw Bar!

On the ride back, I had our bag containing our drinks and the camera and it was strapped with bungee cord to my rear rack. It came loose and when I reached back to adjust and grab it to keep it from falling, I lost my balance and crashed right there on the pavement. Even more tragic, Nan Ellen was following too close and then proceeded to run over me. She was not hurt, but I have several skinned areas including my left palm. I also broke my watch band and it will take a jeweler to fix it. We had a couple of cars stop and ask if they could help, but other than my bruised pride and a couple of skinned up areas, I was OK. The only damage to the bike was a skinned up handlebar grip and the chain came off. After putting the chain back on and straightening up the handlebars, we continued riding the rest of the approximately 6 miles back to the Marina. When we arrived at the Marina, I washed up to get rid of the dried blood. Once back at the boat, we broke out the hydrogen peroxide and the band aids to finish the job of cleaning and fixing me up.

We went to another local favorite – Joe Mama’s Pizza for dinner. We had previously visited their location in Tallahassee and loved it. We had a cup of Clam Chowder on the recommendation of one of the Captain’s we have coffee with every morning. He said it was the best Chowder he had ever had, and we agree that it is great. Definitely not expected in a pizza joint, but this was no ordinary pizza joint. For the main course, we had a “Due” (pronounced du a) pizza and it was GREAT. For desert, we had a chocolate whipped desert with chunks of chocolate and whipped cream on top. No calories here, but since we did the 25 mile bike ride today, we really did not feel guilty. On the way back to the boat, I stopped by the CVS pharmacy to pick up some Bacitracin and then across the street to the Piggly – Wiggly for some bananas. Nan Ellen had already made it back to the boat and was reading the day’s e-mails when I arrived. 

Since I take a baby aspirin daily, I tend to bleed and bruise easily and as usual, the band aids applied earlier were soaked, so I decided to wear rubber protective gloves to bed. Good thing I did, because the leakage continued. We were both tired from the day’s activities, so it was early to bed at 9:00.

Monday, April 8, 2013

The day started with a trip up the dock to the Marina showers and laundry. While we were waiting for the laundry, we went to the “Captains Corner” at the Marina office for coffee, cookies, and conversation with other marina guests. We met a few of them over coffee and swapped stories until our laundry was finished. Then it was back to the boat for breakfast and some time on the computer to study the weather in preparation for our Gulf Crossing. The marina mechanic, Robert, came down to take a look at the broken step and suggested that a couple of 4x4 blocks of wood might hold temporarily.

Broken step support

Wood blocks under the bottom step

He proceeded to screw them together and we had a temporary support until we can get the stairs fixed properly. Most of the remainder of the day was spent answering e-mails and making phone calls.

The weather does not look good for a crossing until at least Friday night or later, so we plan to see a bit more of the town while we are here. We heard about a highly rated restaurant about 12 miles from here, and we plan to ride our bikes there tomorrow for lunch for a 24 mile round trip. We have to get exercise somehow! We tried the marina bikes this afternoon, and they are less than ideal for anything more than just a few blocks journey. Nan Ellen tried the three wheeler bicycle and had a really hard time not crashing due to steering problems. I kidded her that she needed more Tanqueray and Tonics to ride it properly! She tried the two wheeler beach cruiser I was riding and had even more trouble with it due to loose handlebars, so we shall see how it goes tomorrow on a much longer ride. At least, it will be on our bikes. 

They don’t have cable TV in the marina, and the over-the-air TV reception is not good , so we missed the Men’s Basketball Finals. We just listened to Satellite Radio for entertainment. Tuesday’s planned activities also include posting the updates to the blog to bring us current with our postings. We also plan to check the dingy since we have not had the cover off or looked at it since Chattanooga.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Massalina Bayou Bridge opening for us

When we woke up on Sunday morning, the wind had shifted 180 degrees from when we went to bed, but the boat was still securely anchored. We fired up the engines and motored the 50 yards back to Bayou Joe's for breakfast. Nan Ellen had shrimp, grits, and scrambled eggs, while I had a special that had creamed spinach with fried oysters, covered by eggs and hollandaise sauce. This place has character and some pretty good food too.

Wetappo Creek marshlands

 Sunday’s journey took us through the remainder of St. Andrews Bay and East Bay before connecting to Wetappo Creek, a winding river with numerous oxbows. It also has a variety of  marshland and forested areas.

"Free Boat" - Any takers?

Turn down the Gulf County Canal to the Marina

This is another man made canal that reminded us of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway. 

After about 15 miles of this canal, we came to the Gulf County Canal that leads south about 5 miles to the St Joseph’s Bay just off the Gulf of Mexico for the 2 mile run over to the entrance to Port St. Joe Marina.

This is a first class marina that we had visited in December by car on our way to Miami to visit our friends Don and Anita Gulseth as well as Tom and Patsy Conrad while they were on their boats.

Port St. Joe Marina from the entrance off St.Joseph's Bay

The wind was blowing about 20 to 25 when we entered the Bay and we had 3 to 4 foot waves as we navigated to the marina entrance. It took two dockhands to grab our lines and ties us to the dock as the wind was blowing us off the dock. We finally got everything secured and adjusted and checked in at the office.

After coming back to the boat, I washed the topsides to knock off the salt spray and then we walked to dinner. First, I stopped at the Advance Auto Parts store and bought some new wipers as the old ones did not do the job and needed to be replaced. Once that was done, we continued to the Mexican restaurant and had fajitas. On the way back to the boat, we stopped at the Piggly Wiggly and picked up some bananas for breakfast. Once back at the boat, I fired up the computer to try and answer a week’s worth of e-mails and that job will take at least another day. 

We plan to meet with the welder on Monday to determine if this step can be welded in place or if the stairs will need to be removed and welded elsewhere. We are crossing our fingers. If it cannot be easily fixed here, we hope to put some bracing below it – maybe some wood blocks? In any case, it looks like the weather may keep us here a few days anyway and we hope to take a more critical look at that part of this puzzle on Monday and come up with a plan for crossing the Gulf. Our friend Skip Harper is coming down from Atlanta to help get us across and we need to tell him when to meet us in Carrabelle.

Sunset at the entrance to Port St. Joe Marina

 I am trying something new on this leg of the journey. I have decided to set aside a few minutes each day to recap the day’s events and put it in writing to make it easier to later edit and post to this blog. I am hoping it will make it more fun and less work!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Saturday’s journey took us from Destin to Panama City. It was interesting that we saw an announcement on TV while in Orange Beach for the Coast Guard Auxiliary holding free Vessel Safety Checks at the Joe’s Bayou Boat ramp –the same anchorage where we spent the night on Friday. Sure enough, after breakfast, they were at the ramp doing VSCs, so we motored over, tied up at the courtesy dock, and introduced ourselves to the two Examiners. We thanked them for what they were doing and gave them our cards. They wished us well and we were on our way.

Boat that followed us across Choctawhatchee Bay and the canal

We crossed the remainder of Choctawhatchee Bay which is 30 nautical miles long and 3 to 5 nautical miles wide. With the wind from the east today, parts of the trip were bumpy, but not uncomfortable.

Entering the Canal

At the eastern end of the bay is the man made canal known as “The Ditch” and the "Grand Canyon". It is about 20 miles long. This area very much resembled the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway where the Corps of Engineers did the same work by connecting two bodies of water by a man made canal. The difference in “The Ditch” is that most of the terrain was heavily covered in sugar white sand instead of red clay and dirt.

Sand and trees on the banks of the Canal

  

The eastern end of the canal had several oxbows and was part of a natural creek. There is a great deal of skinny water all around and you absolutely MUST stay in the marked channel. It is common to see 1 and 2 foot depths outside the marked channel. 

"Red" ICW marker on a "Green" Inlet marker

  

For those readers who do not understand Aids to Navigation (ATONs) the red and green markers tell you which side to pass the marker for safe and navigable water. Normally, it is "red right returning" meaning when coming in from the ocean, keep the reds on the right. When going out, it would be reversed and keep the reds on the left. In the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), you keep the reds on the right as you make a clockwise journey around the US. This means that for the direction of our trip, the reds are on the left while in the ICW.

"Green" ICW marker on a "Red" Inlet marker

 

This is pretty easy to remember, but near any inlet from the ocean, sometimes the ATONs may serve a dual purpose - that is, they may mark both the inlet and the ICW. To differentiate which marker shows what course, the ICW markers have yellow squares (which is equivalent to a green) and yellow triangles (which is equivalent to a red).
You MUST pay attention to the yellow squares and yellow triangles closely anytime you are near an inlet. Here are a couple of pictures showing a "green" ICW marker on a "red" inlet marker, and a "red" ICW marker on a "green" inlet marker. You need to study the charts and closely plot your course as well as closely pay attention and visually confirm what the marker is actually showing you for your intended path. Failure to do so will almost certainly result in running aground - never a good thing!

Air Boat in the Canal just before West Bay

  

Traveling east, the next body of water is West Bay which connects to St. Andrews Bay and the Panama City Inlet to the Gulf of Mexico. Just past the inlet, we turned into Panama City Marina to take on fuel and water and rinse off the salt spray. After the fuel stop, we motored around the corner to Massalina Bayou for dinner at Bayou Joe’s Grill.

Bayou Joe's Grill - just tie up alongside and come on in!

Don’t confuse this restaurant with our stop the night before at Joe’s Bayou. This is a unique restaurant with a LOT of character. We tied up on one side of the restaurant and went in to eat. 

The "Manly Trash Burger" about to be consumed

Great food – we had crab claws and a Cajun shrimp burger followed by drunk & ugly (peaches soaked in rum with cheesecake topping over graham crumbs all topped by ice cream). The meal was great and the other patrons were fun.

View of Bayou Joe's from our anchorage

Sunset at the anchorage in Massalina Bayou

At the table next to us, a young man ordered a “manly trash burger”. This consists of whatever the cook wants to throw in it. This particular one was filled with pancake, BBQ, animal crackers, goldfish, onions, something green that looked like Jell-O that made a smiley face on top, and the usual ketchup, mustard, pickles, mayo, relish, lettuce, tomatoes, and several other things we could not identify. He actually ate the whole thing!

 

After dinner, we cast off our lines and moved about 50 yards to the anchorage to settle in for the night.

We watched the Final Four men’s basketball semi-finals on TV before calling it a night.

Friday, April 5, 2013

We finally cast off our lines for the resumption of our Great Loop adventure. The day started out cold and windy and did not improve much until late afternoon when we finally saw the sun and it warmed up a bit – still very cold for this time of year. We were in long pants and jackets all day and I wore my gloves early in the day.

Welcome to Florida!

Colorful homes near Pensacola

Aid to Navigation team moving temporary markers

Air Force Radar Tower near Destin

Pensacola Bay sailboat

Water Tower in Destin/Ft Walton area

Beautiful Home on the water

The goal today was to go from Orange Beach to Destin and the anchorage at Joe’s Bayou. During the day, Nan Ellen mentioned that the bottom step of the stairs seemed loose, so I checked it out. I thought it was just loose, so I got out the screwdriver to tighten the screws and found all of them tight. I then looked at the support brackets and BOTH of them were broken. Obviously, the welds were defective and will need to be re-welded. 

We called Marine Max at Lake Lanier and they were less than helpful – nearly worthless! I remembered that a friend of ours knew some folks in this part of the Panhandle, so we called our friend Harold Sundal. Harald immediately put us in touch with the owner of Shalimar Marina in Destin. Steve (Shalimar owner) tried several of his contacts to try to find someone with a portable welding equipment to fix us up. Unfortunately, on a Friday night, he was unsuccessful.

Sunset at Joe's Bayou anchorage

Our plan B was to contact the Port St Joe Marina and they have put us in touch with a welder who will meet us there on Monday morning. Hopefully, he will be able to fix it, otherwise, we may have to wait until we make the jump across the Gulf and find someone qualified on Florida’s west coast. 

We finally made it to Joe’s Bayou, but were unable to make it to the recommended anchorage due to shallow water. We had a soft grounding in mud and simply backed off. When we finally anchored just before sunset, we grilled pork chops and had a nice quiet evening.