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.