Waiting for a Suitable Crossing of the Gulf

Dec. 14, 2011   Yes we are still in Carrabelle, FL.  We've been here a week, ready to go again, but the week has gone fast.  We've climbed two lighthouses, walked the beach, did some biking and ate a lot of seafood (even fixed some - the shrimp- ourselves!) 

The IWC which is a route thru mostly protected water behind islands and bays ends at Carrabelle and doesn't begin again until Tarpon Springs.  This means 180 miles of  running thru the gulf in open water.   In boats our size, waves over 2' to 3' can be very uncomfortable, so everyone waits at Carrabelle until there is a good weather window.  After about a week there, their were at least ten boats in the two marinas waiting to cross.  This gave us the opportunity to meet several people who live on their boats and cruise as we do.   Many of the larger boats travel at 8 to 12 mph and take up to 18 hrs or more to make the crossing.  Normally they'll leave in the early afternnoon , run all night and arrive in Tarpon Springs or Clearwater the next day.   We run much faster but don't carry enough fuel for the whole trip.  The solution is to run a route closer to shore, duck into Steinhactchee River for fuel and a night of rest then finish the trip the following day.

                                                             Another beautiful sunset!

Tom & Jan's Boat -Laughter

We helped them decorate and rode along in the lighted boat parade.

Tom & Jan at the after party.  They won 2nd place in their division.  Got a nice trophy.

On St. George Island Beach, with the Gulf in the background.

 

A mountain of oyster shells in Appalachiacola, FL. 

 They use them for their roads and driveways instead of gravel.

We ate fresh oysters in this town - they were pretty good, actually.

Dec. 15 & 16, 2011  We made the infamous cossing of the Gulf!  Started out Thursday at about 9:30 AM and arrived in Steinhatchee at 2:30 PM for the night.  Up and travelling at 8:30 the next morning to arrive in Tarpon Springs at 1:45PM.  Got settled in and took our bikes to check out the Old Time Greek Town - very touristy and sponge capital of the World!  Sponges everywhere!  They are harvested right here in the gulf.

We left Carrabelle and ran the 7 miles to the pass into the gulf between Dog Island and St George Isand in verily calm water but at the pass and into the gulf some waves were 4' more more.  For the second time in all our boating life Theresa got seasick.  It was a very bumpy ride for the first couple of hours.  After that things settled down some and by the time we got to Steinhatchee it was verily calm.  The following day was much better although most of the day we were dodging the floats tied to crab traps.  Commerical crabbers run traps as much as 50 miles from shore.

A ship we met out in the gulf.

You've probably figured out by now that we are not sending Christmas Greetings,

so A Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all from us.

(We're flying home to Iowa for the holidays and plan to return to the boat Jan. 10.)

Florida Panhandle

Welcome to the Florida Panhandle, which includes the Emerald Coast (Pensacola to Panama City)
 and the Forgotten Coast (Panama City to Carabelle).

                                                      Dolphins out for a swim one morning.

                         Friendly birds at the Pensacola Marina, just waiting for us to take their pictures. 

We think they were homeless as they kept begging for food.

Large ship next to our marina in Pensacola.   It's function is to lay oil pipe lines in the gulf.  It was in the harbor being refurbished.  This picture doesn't  do justice to the size of this ship.

                                                       Oranges, ready to pick in Pensacola.

                                                      Beautiful sunset at Fort Walton Beach

We tied up to the city pier for one night in Fort Walton Beach.  The 2nd night we got a room at a resort on the water.  They had a slip for the boat, spa, heated pool and laundry at off season prices.  

It was nice having a king size bed and big bathroom even if only for one night.



Christmas in the South.  Someday I'll learn to rotate a picture and put it on the blog.  Now I can do only one or the other. 

                           Florida's Grand Canyon (Intracoastal Waterway "ICW") - more white sand

                                                    Full grown deer here are rather small.

                                                  Low Tide - raking the bottom for oysters.

                                      Shrimp boat heading back in to port - we've seen several...

                Carabelle Marina - where the locals gather for coffee in the AM and beer in the PM.
          Note: burn barrel, wood, basket for cans, dog.  They tell fish stories, boat tales, you name it.





 This is one of the more interesting marinas we've stayed at.  Tonight there's a free barbecue chicken  dinner, a lighted boat parade and fire works.  This is the end of this part of the ICW.  It begins again at Tarpon Springs.  This means we'll be traveling in wide open gulf water for the next 180 miles.  Several cruising boats are here waiting with us for a favorable weather window to make the crossing.  We'll probably be here another couple of days.

Florida!

We've arrived in sunny Florida - lots of people, condos, restaurants,marinas and BIG boats!  And lots of water!  I have a couple of corrections to the last blog - The picture was of Mr. Pelican, not Mr. Seagull and the Hurricane that left so much damage along the Gulf was Katrina!

                                                    Shrimp Boat rigged and ready.

                                                         Constant companions..

                                                      Lunch at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister)

We got stopped by the Coast Guard right before this lunch - they came aboard and made sure we had all the required safety stuff on our boat.  We passed, thanks to our "attention to details" Captain!

           We saw a group of dolphins swimming in this area one morning - we'll have their picture next time.

We are now running along the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes travelling the Intracoastal Waterway, which is more protected and calmer water.  We still run into LOOPers wherever we go, even saw our solo, sailing friend  from Germany sail by as we were docked in Perdido Key, just inside the Florida State Line.

Temps have been a little cool, but expected to warm up this weekend.  Daytime hi's should be in the 70's.
Until next week...........
                                

Mobile Bay

                                Snowy white egret - we see them all along the lower Alabama River.

Waterfall below Demopolis, AL lock - where Don fell in the water.

He's OK, just a little more cautious now!

Another German sailor locked through with us - he's alone!

(Quite a journey to do by yourself.)

                                                             Entering Mobile Bay

                                                       Busy harbor - many container ships

                                                             
                                     Seagulls view of Mobile Bay on remnants of the Hurricane

Mr. Seagull

Thanksgiving Day with fellow Loopers

Next week we plan to head on to Florida (less than 50 miles from here).

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tennessee-TomBigbee Waterway - TN, MS,AL

  As we left on the Tom-Bigbee Waterway, "Muddy Waters" (a nice family & home schoolers from Florida) locked through 3 locks with us.  Beautiful boat, too!

Coots.. looks like a duck, but isn't.  Doesn't have webbed feet, so has a hard time taking off and landing in the water.  They flap their wings like the crazy, trying to run on the water and finally get airborne.  They only get about 2 feet off the water.  when they stop flapping their wings they don't glide like most birds, they just drop like a rock.

I think they are something thought up by a sales dept, then given to a industrial designer for the aesthetics.  Finally engineering was asked to make it work on a limited budget.  Coots are proof that God has a sence of humor.  db

Little green frog hitched a ride with us on the back fender of the bike for a day.  He was gone back to the wild, the next morning...

Didn't even leave a thank you note.  Probably some teenage frog running away from home. db

                                              Looking at the lock and dam from the land side. 
We've been seeing many lately - they are like a huge bathtub full of water and then after we have secure our boat to a floating bollard with a line (rope), they let the water out and we drop down 30 feet.

Inside now - The gates are opening - we can proceed...

Many of the inland waterways require dams for the water to be deep enough for the barges.  Locks make it possible for boats to get from above the dams to the water below the dams.  They are like big bath tubes with gates on each end.   If you are a boat above the dam and need to pass thru, the lock master closes the gates at the far end and fills the lock with water so it is the same height as the lake behind the dam.  He then opens the gates on the lake side and you take your boat into the lock.  The gates then close behind you and the lockmaster lets water out of the lock until it's at the same level as the water below the dam.  He then opens the gates in front of you and you pass out of the lock into the water below the dam.  It's a reverse process if you are going into the lake formed by the dam.  This sounds pretty straight forward but it's not all that simple.  In order to use the lock you must first call the lock master on your "ship to shore" radio and ask for permission to lock thru.  Pleasure boats are lowest on the priority list so if a barge or some other commerical craft is ahead of you, you have to wait--and wait--and wait.  When your turn finially comes a green light like a traffic light goes on by the lock and the lock master calls giving you permission to enter.

  You then must tie up to a floating bollard on the side of the lock that goes up and down with the water.  That can be a challenge as a boat doesn't have brakes and stay put when you try and stop it.  All the time the water level is changing in the lock, the boat keeps wanting to move around like a restless three year old.  Going thru a lock is an interesting experience but gets a little old after the first dozen are so. db

A fellow LOOPer - check out their blog:  wewillnotdrown.blogspot.com 

 They have chickens and a dog aboard and were at Columbus Marina when we were there.

Lots of shale along the river in Alabama

We're still meeting new people, seeing new vistas and learning new things as we travel on south. 

We are liking the warm temps - 70's most of the time.

Wedding Musings

We returned to our boat yesterday after spending 11 days travelling about central Iowa in a rental car.  There was little doubt about returning to the South, after waking up to 2-3 inches of snow on Wednesday morning.  The news included multiple accidents and power outages, but the roads were clear when we left about 11AM and we had a good trip back to MS.

The wedding of our daughter Pam and Eric was lovely.  Pam was a beautiful bride (of course, we're prejudiced) and Eric, a handsome groom.  Their vows were personal and touching.  The boys were very good at their parts and smiled for all the pictures!  The reception was a fun time - kids included!  Dancing and Lazer Tag seemed to be enjoyed the most.  The whole affair was certainly a joyful celebration!  It was great to be able to spend some time with family and friends!

                                     The Wedding Party - Our daughter,Jana is Matron of Honor
                                                               - Our son, Brian, an usher (tallest of the men)

                                                                 Eating the cupcake!


            These are only a couple of the pictures that we took.  There are also a few on Facebook,          
            professional ones will come later.

After provisioning the boat, some minor repairs and doing laundry, we're planning to leave tomorrow for points south.  Air temp here today -63 degrees, water temp - 58 degrees.  We'll keep you posted..........

The big laugh of the trip was Theresa's speeding ticket.  She was really upset.  I thought it was hilarious.  DB

First Segment Complete

Just letting you know that we have completed this segment of our journey.  We are in Iuka, Mississippi
at Aqua Yacht Harbor and we are leaving here by car tomorrow for IA and the BIG wedding!  We are both ready for a "break" and really anxious for all the celebrations and to see friends and relatives.  It will be a couple of weks before we blog again.

                                       Clifton, TN - small historical river town where we stayed

River Scenes

Here's the Pickwick,TN Lock 

1st mate doing her job - keeping the boat off the wall of the lock with her boat hook.

Beautiful roses everywhere....

Wildlife, too......