Done going South, Time to go East

Since leaving Biloxi two weeks ago we've traveled nine days.  The first five were east and the last four have been south.  Today we start heading east again.

On Dec 29th, we arrived in Ft. Myers Beach Florida.  After traveling for five straight days with most days being 10 hours we choose to take a day off  yesterday.  Today will begin crossing through the southern part of Florida from the Gulf side to the Ocean side through Lake Okeechobee.  NYE will be spent at W.P. Franklin Lock which has a small island campground and eight boat slips on the island just after we pass through the lock.  Our dear friends from Naples will come visit us there for a few hours this afternoon and early evening.

The trip from Sarasota to Ft. Myers Beach on the 29th was an uneventful but long day with 10 hours of travel - exactly 80 miles.  The entire trip required close attention by our Captain as the ICWW markers had to be followed closely.  The day felt like we were on a boat super highway.   We couldn't believe how many boats were out on a Tuesday.  We kept plugging away at 8 - 9 mph while most of the rest were probably cruising past us at 3 or 4 times that speed.  The sun was out and the temperature was about 80 so being the week between Christmas and New Year's EVERYBODY seemed to have the week off work and was out using their boats.

Some of the day was in tighter sections on the ICWW where we could look at homes up close and other sections were quite open water, but you still had to stay in the markers for the channel as many times depths are 1-3 feet right outside the markers.  As has been typical the last few days, tons and tons of dolphins.

Home between Sarasota and Venice Florida

Home Between Sarasota and Venice - Wow!

At MM 34.2 (mile marker) on the ICWW is the Boca Grande Swing Bridge with a clearance of 9'.  We need about 12' so we had to wait for it to swing to open at its scheduled time.   After traveling so far from MI, we thought we'd seen all types of possible bridges, draw, swing, lift, etc.   Well this one was a swing bridge like we've not seen before.  It was a double!  The first lower bridge was built as a swing and then a second new higher bridge was also built as a swing.  When the horn sounded for the opening, they BOTH started to swing.  It was truly the most amazing engineering structure we've seen in awhile.  Both roads carry cars to the Island so both roads stop traffic so the double bridges can swing on the hour and on the half-hour.

Boca Grande Double Swing Bridge

Boca Grande Double Swing Bridge #2

We arrived in Ft. Myers Beach at Moss Marine right before dark.  It is at the base of the southern bridge that goes to the Island on the Island side.   We certainly made use of our daylight on the 29th.  After five days of travel, once we got the boat secured, we didn't even leave the boat to go walk the strip on the beach for dinner.  A good ole' pot of red beans and rice with sausage was the perfect end to a perfect day of boating.  For our northern friends, we equate red beans and rice to chili and it became one of our favorites while we lived in Biloxi.

Yesterday morning Bert had to chase a salt-water leak in the head which is a story for another day.  Yesterday afternoon and evening we visited with dear friends from MI who winter here on the island.  What did we do on our day off?   We went boating of course!  They have a pontoon and gave us a great tour of the island and the canals, etc.  Areas we would not have seen otherwise.  The day wrapped up with BBQ ribs on their deck as the sun set.  

Our friends pontoon boat.

In case today's events don't get posted until the new year, we want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year's Eve.

Finally feels like Florida

It finally feels like we are in Florida.  Another long day as today we traveled from 8 am to 5 pm and covered roughly 77 miles from Tarpon Springs to Sarasota Bay.  Much of the day was in the ICWW and we passed many huge, expensive homes on the way.  There were lots of boats around, including tourist pirate boats.  Temperature was 79 degrees today and we've been in shorts the last two days.  The color of the water has changed too, to the Florida greenish color.  Hilary's anxiety meter that was 10+ a couple days ago is about a 2 today.  What an improvement.  Crossing Tampa Bay was tense with 4 foot waves but that was short lived for only an hour.  One Christmas ornament broken but everything else "ok" even though for a bit it did feel like our home was coming apart.

Hat tipped to block the rising sun.  An Indiana Jones look.

Pirate Ship #1

Pirate Ship #2

Tonight we are trying something new, a mooring ball.   For those not familiar with boating, a mooring ball is similar to being "on the hook" or anchored, but instead of dropping your own anchor, you run a line to a permanent cement block with a floating ball.  The mooring balls are equally spaced and a mooring field allows for many more boats to be in the same space in a bay without actually anchoring.  There is also no worry of dragging anchor during the night while you are sleeping.  You still have to pay, but it is cheaper than a marina.  For example, tonight the mooring ball is $25 but a slip in the marina in Sarasota is $2.75 per foot plus 7% tax.   We are 36'.   A more typical rate for a transient boater for one night is $1 per foot and that is what we've paid most places since we left Biloxi.  For the real boat geeks, cash price for diesel was $2.14 / gallon.  

The mooring field is a relaxed place and all windows are open for the night to cool the boat.   No generator needed and no air conditioning required.  The mooring field is tranquil, especially considering the Sarasota skyline is so close it feels like you could reach out and grab it.

So as mentioned, a mooring ball is a new experience and something this team has not attempted before.  To prepare Hilary on what to do, last night several YouTube videos were viewed on the correct way to approach a mooring ball along with some more comical videos on how not to approach a mooring ball.   It should be no surprise that the approach by the Captain was perfect.   The ball is hooked by someone on the front of the boat (Hilary) using a boat hook.  Then a line is run through the eye of the mooring line and secured to the boat.   Viola!  If executed correctly, you are all secured for the night.  The mooring line was unexpectedly heavy, but Hilary hooked it on the first try and pulled it up, ran the line through the eye and cleated the line.  All was done just in time to see the sunset over Sarasota Bay.  Now this is what the cruising lifestyle is supposed to be like.   We are sitting nicely in 10' of water as well.  What a comfort after a couple days of some pretty skinny water.

Secured to mooring ball

Mooring Field

Crazy blue V during sunset

Portion of Sarasota skyline

 

Big Bend - Day #3. Tarpon Springs

With a pre-dawn 7:00 a.m. start, we traversed back out the Withlacoochee River.  The first part was quite peaceful and enjoyable.  We saw loon-type birds in a tree and also noted the full moon.   All pictured below.

Withlacoohee River with full moon in view.

Birds on the River

Withlacoochee River

Ha Ha - someone has a house smaller than ours!

Bert did a masterful job navigating back out the Withlacoochee River and well out into the Gulf of Mexico.  We were going out with the tide so what took an hour and a half coming in the night before only took an hour out the next morning.   Well done Captain!  Rocks that were invisible going in were quite apparent on the way out.

Make sure to stay in the channel!  There are rocks out there.

Day 3 on the Gulf was the best we've had so far.  Very calm.  We arrived in Tarpon Springs around 3:15 p.m. and were greeted once again by Bert's family at the Tarpon Springs Municipal Marina.

Tarpon Springs is a mini-Greece and a village based on the sponge industry.  We enjoyed a fantastic Greek meal with Bert's family at Hella's restaurant.  If you ever find yourself in Tarpon Springs, we highly recommend it.

Dinner at Hella's Restaurant in Tarpon Springs.  Opa!

Dinner at Hella's Restaurant

Bert with is mom and sister

The Big Bend - Day #2

Getting around the Big Bend - Day #2 was by far the most challenging day we've had since we started the trip which is why this post comes a day late.  Fortunately, the Gulf of Mexico was good to us with relatively calm waters and no storms and no fog.  Many of you have asked how Fatty is doing on the boat ride.  I think he's doing just fine when the seas are calm.

Turner aka "Fatty" seems to be handling the stress of the trip just fine.

Day #2 was supposed to be Steinhatchee to Cedar Key.  It was expected to be the shortest of the three days around the Big Bend and was to conclude with a Christmas visit from Bert's family at the marina and an evening enjoying clams.  Cedar Key is known for clams and award winning clam chowder.  Suffice to say the day did not go exactly as planned.

As an aside, when you follow the Big Bend around, it is shallow!   We are fortunate to draft only 3'.  Our prior boat drafted nearly twice that.  Larger boats with a deeper draft can't choose the 3-day Big Bend route and are forced to do the overnight crossing in order to have necessary depth for safe passage.  Another fun fact is that a full moon causes extra low tides.  You may remember I mentioned Christmas was to have a full moon.  So now combine shallow boating waters and an extra low tide and you already know where this story is going. . . .

When we pulled out of Steinhatchee marina slip in the morning it was low tide, four feet lower than when we had come in the prior evening!  Not 30 seconds out of the slip, we bumped bottom.  The first time we've bumped bottom in this boat.  Never a good way to start the day.  Fortunately no damage as the running gear is protected by skegs (protective metal under the running gear).  A clue about the shallow waters should have been the numerous air boats we saw coming into Steinhatchee the night before and also the air boats at the marina.  

Typically, once we are underway, Hilary will call the next marina for the evening and secure a spot.  Hilary called Cedar Key only to be told, it is too shallow and during low tide the docks are mud!   Next thought, holy crap!   Where are we going to stay and what about seeing Bert's family????  Immediately off goes a text to Bert's family:   "Cedar Key is a NO GO!".  Then, frantically out come the guide books for a new location along with the panic that we might have to run all night to Tarpon Springs.    Suwannee River?  No - too shallow.  Crystal River?  No - too shallow.  Withlacoochee River?  Maybe.

A quick call to B's marina up the Withlacoochee only to find out they are full and can't take us.  Please, please, please.  Pretty please, with sugar on top??   Can't you squeeze us in somehow?  

Helen at B's Marina calls Nancy up the road at the Riverside Inn.  Yes, they have room behind the restaurant to take us, but no power hook-up.  We'll take it.

Next come the warnings from Nancy about depth and how to get up the river - 8 miles up the river!  That is an hour for us but at least we can get there before dark and tie safely for the night.  Hilary passes the phone to Bert so he can talk to Nancy's son Zack.  Zack is a fisherman and knows the river.  The sage advice from Zack:  "Stay in the middle".  

Another text to Bert's family:   "Riverside Inn, up the Withlacoochee River in Yankeetown".   A return text:  "OK, we'll find it".  This new cryptic text game is sort of like the boating equivalent of Where's Waldo?

Next the highlight of the day, a full picture of a dolphin, out of the water!  The shot we've been waiting for.

Finally, the Dolphin shot we've been waiting for!

We also got a shot of some out in the lead in front of the boat.

Dolphins lead the way out in front.

Then another low point of the day, the fresh water valve/switch on the head (toilet) that lets fresh water in stopped working and was stuck in the "on" mode.  Unknown to us, the head filled full, over filled, over filled some more, drained into the bilge and in the process emptied what little fresh water we had left on the boat.  This was discovered when Hilary stepped in the room and found herself with wet feet, an overflowed head and a soaking wet rug.  Yuk!   Next comes the hollering:  "Hey Bert, the toilet overflowed".  

Next low point in the day, the fresh water pump quit.  It quit because it had been run dry as a result of the head overflowing and completely emptying the fresh water tank into the bilge.  Fortunately we have two spare fresh water pumps on-board.  Bert added replacing the pump, fixing the toilet fresh water switch and locating more fresh water to the project list for later in the day.  The list already includes several items such as checking engine oil and air conditioner strainer.

Finally we reach the markers to take us into the Withlacoochee River.  We came in at nearly high tide and had frightful depth readings going in.  Will we be able to get out on low tide in the morning?  Hilary watched the depth finder and marked depth on notebook paper at every set of markers for an hour.  We'll double check the tide schedule, do the math and make sure we have enough water to get out in the morning.

It took 1 hour 20 minutes to get up past the red 3 in the circle from the beginning of the markers out in the Gulf.

Remember the advice about staying in the middle?  We'll it is tough to do when you see two shrimping boats side by side headed towards your tiny little catamaran.  Are you kidding!!!  We pass three boats wide "in the middle" of the river.  Two going out and us going in.  Fortunately we all met at a wide part of the river.    Finally after miles of nothing, no houses, no shacks, nothing, we see RiverSide Inn and and welcomed by Bert's family!  They found us.  Zack too.   Zack helped us fill up with fresh water.

Docked at Riverside Inn

After a wonderful post-Christmas dinner at RiverSide Inn with family, back to the boat we go.  Remember, no power so now it is time to fire up the generator to get some air conditioning to cool the boat down!  It is over 80 degrees.  With the air cooling us nicely, Bert gets to work replacing the fresh water pump.  An hour later, we have running water once again and a cool boat.  Things are returning to normal thanks to our Captain who after all the stresses of the day, fixed everything.  He even figured a way to engineer a temporary fresh water switch so the head is operable until the correct part can be located.

After showers to wash away the salt, sweat and grime of the day, off goes the generator for the night and also the heavenly air conditioning.  Oh yea, check the tide charts for the morning and chart the next days route.  Ok - low tide at 10:04 am.  If we get a pre-dawn start we should be out in plenty of time.
  

The best Christmas, a safe crossing to Steinhatchee

As we had hoped for, the weather broke today.  We have crossed safely from Carrabelle to Steinhatchee.  We left this morning in heavy fog at 7:15 am.  It cleared for a bit, fogged up again at noon and then cleared again about 90 minutes later.

We know of four boats that finally crossed today.  We left with one this morning but lost them in the fog about 30 minutes into the trip.  Two others also crossed and are docked with us here in Sea Hag marina in Steinhatchee.  It is good to see Looper burgees once again.  The two docked with us tonight waited nine days to cross so I guess we should be thankful we only waited four.

A very, very Merry Christmas present to be across!  Today was our last day of heading east and tomorrow we begin to head south.  Today was about 9 1/2 hours with some stress of waves and fog mixed in, but all "ok" in the end.  We have a superior Captain.  When we were waiting to dock at Steinhatchee, Bert even saw a Manitee.  Unfortunately, Hilary missed it, but maybe tomorrow.

We saw a few dolphins during the crossing and what struck us is that they are much bigger than the ones back in Biloxi.  We even saw one that was partially white.  Very unusual.  We keep trying to get pictures to post, but they are hard to capture.

R26 - A major nautical marker for Loopers.  We passed at 9:45 am.

The splash of a Dolphin.  Eventually we'll get a good picture.

Fog at noon!   Only about 1/4 mile visibility for about 90 minutes mid-day.

Sea Hag Marina.  Deserted on Christmas, but looks to be the happening place in warmer weather.

Sunset afterglow over the Steinhatchee River.  Merry Christmas Everyone.

 

Christmas in Carrabelle

It is looking more and more like we will NOT be rounding the Big Bend before Christmas as the weather is not cooperating.  Again today we are a "NO GO" and it is looking to be the same for Wednesday and Thursday too.  One line of thunderstorms came through this morning and rain is predicted for the next several days.  Waves are predicted at 3-4 feet and increasing to 6 feet again tomorrow.

Preliminary forecast looks like Friday, Christmas Day, will be our weather window to cross to Steinhatchee.  This year is shaping up to be a rather non-traditional Christmas for us.

The Harbor Master here told us a fun fact when we pulled in on Sunday.  This year the full moon is on Christmas for the first time since 1977!  The next Christmas full moon won't occur until 2034.

Carrabelle is a small place and its claim to fame is the world's smallest police station.  According to the guidebook covering Carrabelle's sole point of interest, initially there was no police station at all.  The police phone was in a call box bolted to the side of a building.  That was in 1953.  The police stood in the rain to answer calls.  When the phone company replaced a worn-out phone booth, the police department usurped the old phone booth and mounted its phone there in 1963.  While exploring yesterday before the rain started, we were sure to get our souvenir picture.  We'll always be able to remember Christmas 2015.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas with family and friends.  We'll catch up again from Steinhatchee once the rain stops and the wind/waves subside for us to cross.  Be safe everyone!  We certainly plan to be.

Bert at Worlds Smallest Police Station

Hilary at World's Smallest Police Station

Go or Stay???

To go or to stay, that is the question that plagues all Loopers when they reach Carrabelle.  But before getting to that, lets cover yesterday.  Yesterday was a delightful travel day.  Even though we started out from our peaceful anchorage with the temperature at a brisk 41 degrees, the sun warmed us quickly.  Yesterday was the first day we've started just before sunrise at 6:30 am CST.  The sunrise was everything that could ever be hoped for.  Just beautiful.  And the ICWW was calm and smooth to start.   As you can see below, the water was like glass yesterday morning.  We even got to see a Bald Eagle in all its glory atop a dead tree.

ICWW - Forward looking

ICSS - Where we came from

Bald Eagle

Other than God's beautiful scenery, Sunday was uneventful.  Mid-morning around Port St. Joe we crossed the time zone from Central to Eastern.  Early afternoon we entered Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound.  It was about 3 hours for us to cross these bodies of water.   These are large bodies of open water and we won't be back in "The Ditch" for quite some time.  We now have several days of open water to contend with.

The areas of Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sounds are similar to the Gulf Coast in that there are barrier islands about 10-12 miles out.   Waves were 2-3 feet with an occasional 4 footer thrown in and Turner was unhappy with us for a few hours.   We've discovered he quiets back down and stops his yowling when held.  That is one heavy cat to hold in your lap when the boat is lurching around from side to side.  As a side note, check out that nice chair Hilary is in!  That was a "congratulations on the new job gift" from Bert for the journey and a vast improvement over its predecessor.  Nice and cushy for an 800 mile ride.    

Hilary holding Turner aka "Fatty"

We arrived in Carrabelle, FL at 4:15 pm EST after a 75 mile day.  On the way up the channel to C-Quarters Marina where we are docked, we noticed a shrimping boat unlike those in Biloxi.  Even though it is tied at the dock, this one was no longer floating.   We've been surprised on this trip how many abandoned or partially sunken boats we've seen.

Shrimping Boat - Carrabelle Harbor

We'd planned to cross from Carrabelle to Steinhatchee on Monday and all was looking good to cross last evening.  What a difference 12 hours makes.   By this morning, we are a NO GO today.  As was mentioned above, Carrabelle is a big decision point in the trip for all Loopers.  Choice #1 is a 24 hour open water crossing from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.  That is about 180 miles and at 8 mph you can do the math.   We did not choose this option.

Choice #2 is a three day trip around the Big Bend.  Day #1 being from Carrabelle to Steinhatchee.  This is still a long 88 mile day and includes over 60 miles of open water pretty far offshore which requires a good weather window.  Last evening waves were predicted for today at 3-4 feet.  Not a great ride, but familiar to us and we decided we could handle a 10 hour day of these conditions.  However, overnight the winds picked up and now waves of up to 6 feet are predicted for today.  That is a show stopper for us.  Every weather forecast has small craft advisory and combined with warnings from the Carrabelle HarborMaster to stay put, it is always advised to heed those warnings.

So, today will be a no travel day and we'll explore the quaint town of Carrabelle, home of the smallest police station.  We'll see what the weather is tomorrow morning.  On the bright side, Hilary was able to drink coffee out of a real ceramic cup today instead of a travel mug and she'll also be able to go for a run before the rain starts this afternoon.  Bert will be able to find some engine oil in town to keep our little diesel beauties humming along.  We always make the best of every situation.

Finally - a calm day at sea

Finally, we had a full day of calm waters.  Day #3 was the most delightful so far.  Today we started just before 7 am and stopped at our anchorage at 2:45 p.m.  During the day, the sun was out and we crossed several bays with calm waters and also a 20 mile stretch called "The Grand Canyon".  The Grand Canyon is a very secluded portion of the ICWW,   In those 20 miles we never passed another vessel and only saw one cabin.  No other houses or sign of man at all.  I'm always surprised when we find long stretches where it is still completely natural with no sign of man.  Life is good at 8 mph.

As we passed by Panana City today we did see an amazing double masted tall ship, which we estimated at about 120 feet.  It was beautiful!

Our anchorage tonight is at Murray Bayou, which is east of Panama City.  Today it took 3 tries before we got the anchor to hold.  The nearest town is Callaway.  Our choice today was to stop early at 2:45 or run about 45 minutes after dark until 5:30 to the next safe stop.  We chose to stop early.   We used the afternoon to do some cleaning around the boat and watch tons of dolphins.  We often say the dolphins are like deer in that no matter how many times you see them, it is still an exciting sighting.  Today at this quiet anchorage, you can actually hear their blow holes when they come up for air.  We've never heard that before.  So close to the boat it felt like you could reach out and touch them.

During the cleaning today we found one casualty from the past two rough days.  It was one of two champagne flutes.  I guess that is what we get for having glass on the boat.  Thankfully it was an inexpensive flute and easily replaced.

Grand Canyon #1

 

Grand Canyon #2

Bank of Grand Canyon

 

 

120' Tall Ship near Panama City

Baytowne at Sandestin

For anyone that hasn't been to Baytowne at Sandestin, we recommend it!  We departed Ingram Bayou at 6:45 this morning and traveled 73 miles today.  That put us in Sandestin at Baytowne Marina for the night.   We did better today and arrived with about 45 minutes of daylight to spare.  We had time to wash the salt off the boat before walking the boardwalk to Baytowne.  It is a small downtown area.  A real vacation destination, complete with an ice skating rink.

We found the ice rink funny because there are walker type contraptions made out of PVC pipe to help folks ice skate that don't know how.  The PVC walker keeps them from falling down.  It is cold here tonight and we found a fire pit outside Marlin Grill to warm ourselves.  Marlin Grill is in the middle of Baytowne and several interesting people came by to warm themselves too.  That made for good conversation.  One lady from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan visiting her sons for Christmas and another man who is an ER nurse was there with his children.  Having been on the boat for two full days it was nice to get off and chat with people this evening.

This morning was a chilly 46 degrees when we left our anchorage.  Dolphins all around this morning while the sun came up along with the anchor.  A relaxing way to start the day, and so quiet!  That is until the generator started to make coffee and hot cocoa.

Overall a good day with a little rolly polly again when we crossed Pensacola Bay and also Choctawhatchee Bay.  Slightly unpleasant with 2-3 footers again from the Port side with some 4 footers sprinkled in for good measure for about half the day.

When we passed through Ft. Walton Beach, we noticed two sailboats hard aground.  Glad we stayed in the channel markers!

Ingram Bayou Anchorage

Bert cleaning dew off windshields.  Notice the coat and hat!  Brrrr.....

Sailboats hard aground in Ft. Walton Beach

Hard Aground in Ft. Walton Beach

Hilary in a very big chair.

 

Baytowne Christmas Decorations

Firepit outside Marlin Grill

Christmas Decorations at Marlin Grill

Ice Rink with PVC walkers.