THE BIGGEST AND BEST SAIL OF OUR LIVES!

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28 & 29 -

And what a sail it was!  178 statute miles, 25+ hours, average speed 7 knots (8 mph) SAILING with a NE wind of about 12 to 15 knots the whole way!!  That is what you can call awesome sailing.  Our GPS shows a max speed of 11.3 knots (13 mph) which is pretty much impossible but must have recorded that when we were surfing down a wave or something. Here's some video that is indicative of what kind of sailing we had.  This is of Blue Moon sailing just to our port side.

We left Carabelle at 9AM with 2 other sailboats, Blue Moon and Morning Star.  We motored out of the bay, set the sails and off we went. 

Our sailing buddy, Blue Moon

Seas were 3 to 4 feet with occasional ones to 5 right out of the gate.  We had given Molly Dramamine at around 7:45 and it helped but she still got a little sick.  The good news is that then she went into the little comfy bed I had made for her and she slept for almost the entire trip. 

We left a little earlier in the morning than we intended as the other 2 boats felt strongly they wanted to go then,  We thought  it best to kind of run in a pack so we could stay in radio contact.  We knew we would be out of range for any one on shore to hear us so having other boats to buddy up with was great.  We just met them the day before; in fact we didn’t even know the first names of people on Blue Moon until after we got to Clearwater and they dingied over to say hi.  We were faster than either of them and actually had to reduce sail and slow down to stay with within sight of them.  We ran on the same tack all the way to Clearwater, could not have asked for better wind.  About 8 hours in, the waves tamed a bit and made for an even nicer ride.  The sun set about 5:30 and we had twilight for another hour or so. 

Sunset over the Gulf

Then it was dark and the stars came out.  All 3 boats turned on our running lights and our anchor light (the one at the top of the mast) so we could keep track of one another through the night.  Lots of stars, wow, what a show!  Falling stars, just amazing.

The winds and waves picked up again about 3AM and on we went.  Blue Moon was about 2 miles off our port side and Morning Star was about 5 miles behind.  We talked on the radio to each other every 3 hours just to see how everyone was doing and make sure we were all running the same course.

We ran the engine twice just to keep the batteries charged as we had been using the auto pilot quite a bit but kept on sailing all the while.  The wind was supposed to switch E and then go SE which would have put a damper on sailing but it never really clocked around and we did not take the sails down until we reached Clearwater Pass. 

We had been warned to watch for crab pots when we got to about the 30 foot depth line outside Clearwater.  Turns out that was actually 20 miles offshore and so for 3 hours we had to diligently watch for those little buoys.  There were everywhere – it was like weaving your way through a maze and that was after 22 hours of sailing – wow!  We have heard horror stories of boats hitting these crab pots.  They can get tangled around the keel, but even worse their lines can get wrapped around the prop and/or rudder and incapacitate the boat.  We couldn’t get through the crab zone soon enough!  We had to reduce speed again towards the end of the trip to time it so that we would not go through this area in the dark.  The buoys were hard enough to see with the sun coming up right in our faces, but in the dark it would have been impossible.

We had intended to go to Dunedin and stay at a marina we had heard great things about but got pushed off course a bit and it made more sense to enter the ICW through Clearwater Pass instead. 

Blue Moon taking down her sails

Blue Moon said they knew of a great anchorage close by and we elected to do that.  We were ready for the journey to come to an end by that time and we would have had to motor back up the ICW to get to that marina.  Canceled the reservation and followed Blue Moon into a bay right next to Clearwater Yacht Club. 

You know you are in Clearwater when you see something like this...

They grounded a couple of times on the way in and had warned shoaling in the area was a possibility.  To their credit, they just backed up and tried her again.  Then after the 2^nd time getting stuck we saw a sailboat coming out.  We watched how they did it and talked to them and they said we’d be fine if we stuck right next to the green markers so in we went.  Dropped anchor and we are here!  YIPEE!!!  So glad to be here!  It was 11:15 am by the time we sat down.  What an adventure this particular voyage was.

Thought we’d be dead tired as I had slept 2 hours and John only about an hour but we actually felt pretty good.  Adrenaline must have been coursing through our veins.  We were a little punchy but doing just fine.  Our friends Steve and Dee Brachman from Minneapolis are here on vacation so we called them when we got in and they came down to meet us and took us to Crabby Bill’s for lunch. 

A nice couple of birds on the beach

Nice to put our feet on terra firma. 

Had a great afternoon with Steve and Dee

Went for a walk on the beach and they took us back to the boat.  How fun to hang with these guys down here.  Now it was time to relax and get back to Molly.  We were all in bed by 8:00.  Gotta say it felt good to hit the sheets!!

GIVING THANKS FOR THE SUN...AND SO MUCH MORE!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 

Hallelujah - the clouds have parted and sun is shining!  While most Looper folks have elected to stay put and have their Thanksgiving here in Appalach (what the locals call it), we are going on to Carabelle to get staged for our Gulf crossing. The weather window looks like it will open up on Friday and we want to be in there to take advantage of it when the time is right.  Moving now will put us about 25 miles closer to our jumping off point.

We were just about to get off the boat when a knock came on the hull.  It was an Appalach Policeman who told us he was also the harbormaster.  Staying on the city dock was supposed to be $30/night.  He asked when we were leaving and when we said we were leaving this morning he told us not to worry about it.  We thanked him, told him we enjoyed his city and assured him we got to know the local merchants and food/drink purveyors very well during our visit there.  Karen, John, Alice and Chris came down to help us off the dock.  

Here comes the "help"

Tears were shed (by Karen and I anyhow) and we were off.  Got out the channel, rolled out the genoa and sailed all the way to Carabelle.  Nice ride!  Got in to the Moorings Marina about 2:30.   Met a bunch of Loopers that we had never met before at that marina and went over C-Quarters Marina down the road to check it out and met even more folks there.  They were planning a Thanksgiving potluck and the place has a nice vibe so we decided that we will move there tomorrow and join in on the fun.   Spent the night cleaning up and planning for the crossing, and 4 loads of laundry too!

A TURKEY DAY LIKE NO OTHER, NOVEMBER 27

Woke up and went to the breakfast that this marina provides as part of your slip fee.  I started making the dressing for the potluck and once we got it in the oven we moved over to the other marina.  That was easier said than done. These slips have 4 posts and one tiny little dock.  The river we are on has about a 3 foot tide and quite a bit of current that comes along with that.  Factor in the wind and it was interesting not only getting out of the one slip but into the other.  John did a great job as always and we were just happy to be done with it.  

1:00 was potluck time and we had a feast!  What started out as a concept yesterday sure blossomed into a whole lot of everything including baked ham and turkey, fried turkey, gravy, potatoes, dressing, salads, sweet potatoes, cranberries, green beans - the works!  

Enjoyed getting to know some new folks and having such a wonderful meal.  We are thankful for so much, our safe journey thus far, our wonderful family and friends, our wonderful little cat and crew mate Molly.  It's always good to sit back and take stock of ones' blessings!

Back to the boat and another knock on the hull.  This time it is Rick and Sherrie from Amada.  We hadn't seen them since Mobile.  Chatted with them a bit and now we are getting ready for sea. 

We plan to leave tomorrow morning to do our 150-mile crossing from Carabelle to Dunedin, just south of Tarpon Springs.  I tried to mark it with post-its on this map. Carabelle is on the right hand side of the top post-it and our destination is on the right hand side of the bottom one.  I should have drawn arrows or something, sorry!

We will be about 40 miles offshore and estimate it will take anywhere from 22 to 30 hours to make the trip.  The reason we have to make this big hop is it is very shallow across what they call the Big Bend of Florida (see all that blue area on the chart above).  Many of the powerboats and trawlers are taking a shorter hop to Steinahatchie and getting back into the ICW there.  Our first good opportunity to do that is much further South will be at Dunedin.  We would like to make the crossing with another sailboat of similar size and speed, or just another sailboat period.  We know of 2 ketches (ketch is a 2 masted sailboat, main mast forward, mizzen or littler mast back) going in the morning and perhaps we'll be able to sail with them. There will be a few other powerboats going too but most are waiting until Saturday when the winds drop off almost completely.  We need to try to time our departure right as we do not want to arrive near the coast in the dark.  Want to arrive in day light so we can see our approach and all of the reported crab pots that dot the coast in that area.

We will see what the morning brings.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

STARTING TO FEEL LIKE A LOCAL!

SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY - NOVEMBER 23, 24 & 25

We are still in Apalachicola and Sunday brings yet more rain!!!  Oh yeah and football!  Only we can't get the Packer game of course so we don our rain coats and head to Boss Oyster to catch what games we could with John and Karen.

Neat little tree along the downtown street

Apalachicola is famous for their oysters but unfortunately neither John nor I care for them.   I think Karen and John have had them in like 5 different places already.  

They even use oyster shells for mulch!

We discovered this morning that the "marina" that provides the showers and bathroom facilities for us (down the road) was locked and we could not get in to use them.   Not happy with this choice of dockage, that's for sure!  Went back to Free Bird and turned them on to the game Catch Phrase. They had never played before and I think they liked it.  Had a great time, it is always fun.  Just another Early to bed tonight.

Monday..,more rain!  We are turning into ducks and it is really getting old. We took the golf cart to the Piggly Wiggly and stocked up on some food.  Then we took the golf cart back and moved from the ice house dock to the city dock.  Got it done during a break in the rain and fog with some help from John and Karen. City dock has no electric or water but the price was right!  Got to know our new neighbors here a bit.  An eclectic group it certainly was, a Corsair F-27 trimaran, a Lagoon 45, a Catalina 27, a Marina Trader and shrimp boats!  Toured the town a bit more and ended up at the Owl Tap Room.  

Cool ship's wheel with tappers - love it!

Great place with wonderful food and drink.  Had Duck fries, OMG! French fries with duck confit, proscuitto and a gruyere cheese...heaven!

This sign was over the door leading to the bathrooms!

It was just too ugly outside to be walking around so called it another early night.  

Here comes Tuesday and yes, you guessed it - more rain!  Thought we would go out to breakfast just to get off the boat.  I started talking to a young gal at the next table who overheard John on the phone saying we were on a sailboat.  Her name was Irene and she was visiting from Maryland.  Her sister has a home on St. George Island and she asked us if we would like to drive over there with her and check it out.  Of course we jumped at the chance to go for a ride in a nice warm, dry car!  She gave us a tour of the island and it even stopped raining long enough for us to walk on the beach a bit.  Back to Apalach we go and decided to take Irene out to lunch and met up with John and Karen.  

Our new friend Irene!

Afterward Karen, Irene and I went and did some more Christmas shopping (I am now done!!) and the guys went back to the boats.  Most of the Loopers are down at the Water Street Hotel and Marina. Nicest place around but too shallow for us. On our walk down to say hi to everyone there we came across this cool Christmas tree they erected in the park this morning.

Tree made of fishing nets, life rings and buoys - so cute!

At 5 we went to the Bowery, our favorite little hang out here in Appalach.  They have free peanuts in the shell, live music and a great happy hour.  

Tonight's musicians were the Grey Cats.   What a great way to end our stay here!

The sun is supposed to shine tomorrow and it will be time to move on.  

NOT AS ADVERTISED...

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Woke to overcast skies and forecast of rain.  Thought it best to pull up anchor early and get into Apalachicola (we'll call it AP from this point forward).  Went to pull on to the lay-along wall at AP Marina and found it had a broken cleat on the dock, I mean half of it was missing!  John was concerned about getting the boat tied up adequately as we knew some big winds were on the way.  The man who came to take our line, Jimmy, got very offended when we questioned the safety of the dock and said we were just negative people and we could just take our boat elsewhere.  This marina had just gotten high marks from another Looper and we were definitely having a very different experience and we weren't even tied up to the dock yet.  To the best of our knowledge at the time, there was no place else there that could accommodate a boat of our size and depth.  We tried to smooth things over with the man and calm him down.  We got tied up and John went to pay.  The actual office was about 1/2 mile away which means the bathroom was about 1/2 mile away.  We had power and water but that's about it.  John came back with a golf cart that apparently we get to use to traverse back and forth so at least there was that.  When John went to pay, Jimmy said 1 night?  John said how about 2 and the man begrudgingly took our money.  Go figure!

Weather was rainy and not nice.  We knew there were a bunch of other Loopers here so we took a ride down to the marina where most of them were staying and popped in on Sundowner.  They had a friend visiting, Gary and we all went out to lunch.  Then the guys headed for the Maritime museum and of course the girls were off to the stores.  

AP is a cute, little Old Florida kind of town.  Has a neat funky feel to it so we enjoyed just cruising around.  Met the guys at the Bowery for some beers and then back to the boat for a bite to eat before going to a local theater production of "Hallelujah Girls".  It was nice to do something different for a change and we all enjoyed it.

No pics for today's post as didn't even want to get my camera out!  Weather looks dismal for the foreseeable future so it looks like we'll be spending a chunk of time here one way or another.

NOVEM-BRRRRR!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21

Well, I know we really have no right to complain but here is today's headline in the local paper...

It is supposed to warm up a bit now but wouldn't you know with that will come rain and wind.  Today looks good so off we go!  We can actually stay in the ICW for our trip over to Apalachicola for a change.  We call it the "ditch" because it literally looks like one.  Encountered some interesting images along the way...

And then some more derelict boats.  It's so sad that nobody loves them anymore!

Not a lot of flora and fauna as we traverse down this river.  

We were anxious to anchor as we have spent more nights in marinas than we ever thought we would.  It is only supposed to get down to 55 degrees tonight so found a spot on Saul Creek. Molly couldn't wait to get out and about.  She loves NOT being in a marina.  Enjoyed the antics of our wild child as she explored not only the top of the bimini but the boom as well!

Found a turtle nearby who was enjoying the last rays of sunlight and gazed on the reflections the cypress swamp had to offer.

Back to marina life tomorrow...

A LITTLE "PEACE" IN THE PANHANDLE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20

Woke up to a nice day and thought we'd just take time to enjoy the town.  After taking a couple of showers in one of the nicest facilities we have been to yet, we took the marina bikes and headed out.  Thought that would be easier than getting ours out and then having to stow them again.  What an awesome bike trail they have put in.  Took a nice long ride, it felt great.

They even have solar lights all along the path.  This is one of the best biking trails we have come across.  You never know what you are going to see.

John went back to the boat and I did a little Christmas shopping.  It is so weird to be in the stores and hear Christmas music, I don't think it has really sunk in with me that this is November and Thanksgiving is next week!

We are extremely happy with this marina.  We get a newspaper delivered to the boat each morning, the harbormaster came to the boat and thanked us for coming and offered local advice and any help we may need.  There was a nice restaurant on site, free bikes, Loopers discount, this place has it all!  

And once again we had a spectacular sunset!  The sky turned red and purple and was just beautiful.  

Could stay here longer but think we'll be on our way tomorrow.  Hate to leave but would really like a night at anchor before the rain moves in.  Love this little "peace" of the panhandle!

ALABAMA SIDE TRIPS - FORT GAINES AND USS ALABAMA

We are now in Florida but I must take time to post about the side trips we took while we were in Mobile. I apologize to Mrs. Noonan's class for my delay but I have been looking for the brochure they gave us when on the USS Alabama to tell you a bit more than you can just read on the internet.  Alas, I must give up, I know as soon as I do the brochure will show up.

Dauphin Island - We stayed in Dauphin Island earlier this year for 6 weeks and we returned last week with our visiting friends Ed & Fran.  We went to Fort Gaines which is best know for the Battle of Mobile Bay.  These pictures are from our visit last January.  

Construction of the fort began in 1819, but the work quickly ran over budget and the foundations proved to be so close to Mobile Bay that water flowed into them at high tide. A series of other problems followed and it was not until 1853 that the project again showed progress, but under a completely redesigned plan.

Fort Gaines was considered a state of the art defense by the time it neared completion in 1861. Southern troops seized the fort that year and its construction was completed by them in 1862. 

We also took a day trip with our other friends Dennis and Dawn to see the USS Alabama, an impressive ship for sure.  We also had seen this ship last year but were happy to go back again as there is just so much to see, you can't possibly take it all in with 1 visit.  The ship carried a crew of 105 officers and 2,205 enlisted men, both Navy and Marines.  The thing that I found so fascinating was how self sufficient the ship was.  Sure it had a laundry room, bakery and mess hall but it had things I didn't really think of like a cobbler shop, a printing shop, a photography darkroom, a church and a film library room.  They had a store where enlisted men could buy uniforms and supplies but then they had another store where they could buy magazines, after shave lotion, chewing gum and more.  The ship’s store averages a monthly business of more than $12,000. Stocked with a wide variety of merchandise, monthly sales include such items as 2,000 packages of razor blades, 20,000 bars of candy, 7,500 bars of toilet soap, and more than 2,000 boxes of stationery. The clothing store carries uniform accessories. Monthly sales include 1,000 hats and 500 pairs of shoes.

But the coolest thing was they had a soda fountain!  The soda fountain dispenses soft drinks and ice cream at the average rate of 500 customers an hour. Slightly less than 3,000 gallons of ice cream are made on board each month.

On her third anniversary (8/16/45), observed while cruising off the Japanese homeland at the war’s end, the ALABAMA had traveled about 207,000 miles – more than eight times around the earth at the equator. 

Length of the ship is 704 feet at the water line. She has a beam of 108 feet. 

The ship has nine 16-inch guns. Bombarding a target, she is capable of firing, in a single salvo, approximately ten tons of high explosive projectiles. 

The Galley serves the ship’s company (2,500 sailors) in an hour’s time. Some of the daily food requirements include 100 pounds of flour, 900 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of lard, 300 pounds of coffee, 550 loaves of bread, and 2,000 pounds of fresh potatoes. 

The pictures above are from both our trip to visit January and the trip we just made last month.  I think you could go a dozen times and see something new every time you go.  If you are ever in the area, put it on your list of things to do!