MN VISITORS AND A WONDERFUL SUNSET!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

Yep, time to move on.  

Most of the power boats were underway by 8:00 AM.  

We hung back to let it warm up a bit and to give Molly some Dramamine.  We were tied up to what they call a lay along dock.  

Headed out and wave heights were supposed to be 2-3 with some 5's.  Thought we would buddy boat with Leslee and they stopped to fuel up on the way out so we didn't actually leave the marina until almost 10AM.

This is another day where we cannot traverse the ICW and have to get out in the Gulf again.  Working our way out to the gulf we encountered lots of shrimp boats, like right in the channel!  

John radioed one and asked his intentions and he did not respond but proceeded to turn in front of us.  Wove our way through those and finally hit the gulf.  We had hoisted the main sail in the harbor and had the genoa out but we getting only a bit of wind to push us along.  We decided to motor sail just to get past the shrimpers and once out of their territory sailed for a while.  Then a radio call comes on channel 16 announcing a missile test by the Navy and basically tells us we cannot go the direction we are currently heading.  We didn't get the whole transmission so John asked for a repeat and next thing he knows he is talking to the Navy.  They direct him to avoid the immediate area and head at least 4 miles off shore as they are doing missile testing and recovery drills.  So not only do we get a late start but now we have to head a lot further offshore than we intended AND we are switching over to the Eastern time zone today.  At least it is sunny!

Adjusted our heading and continued on.  No big deal really.  The waves were not as advertised and were pretty tame but unfortunately that means the wind was slack as well.  We ended up motor-sailing pretty much the entire way.  Leslee was way behind us and falling back but looked like they were doing OK so we forged ahead, heading for Port St. Joe Marina.  

As we enter the Marina, we see Burke from Estrellita on the shore with fishing rod in hand.  I ask about his luck and he says he is doing well.  Stell in on the boat and anoounces she has appetizers ready.  We tell her thanks but we have guests meeting us here and maybe we will see them later, if not tomorrow.  

Got Free Bird all tied up and met Joe and Mona Longtin who we know from our days of sailing the Apostle Islands up in Bayfield, WI  - Lake Superior.  They were down in New Smyrna Beach, FL and are coming back North heading home.  

We took in sunset from the cute little bar here at the marina and waited for sailboat Leslee to come in.  

Stell & Burke helped Leslee tie up since the marina staff left at 5 which gave us the opportunity to spend time with our visitors.  Headed out to Free Bird where Joe & Mona's cute little dog Coconut joined us.  It was just too cold to leave her in the car.  We had a few beverages and shared a pot of gumbo I made while enroute today.  (Yes, we locked Molly in our cabin...didn't think she was ready to meet Coconut!)

Haven't seen these folks in quite a while and it was great to catch up with them.  So glad they took the time to stop and visit!  

I am watching my cat and my husband snooze as I write which means it is time to sign off and take them to bed.  Hope wherever you are tonight you are warm and snuggling with someone you love!!

GETTING BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS!

Tuesday, November 18

Well, another day has dawned and yes, it is still cold.  But the good news is we are in a marina, plugged in and are warm hanging out with a bunch of other Loopers "all in the same boat"!  

No real agenda today as we know we are not going anywhere.  The wind is still howling so it is not a good time to be on the move.  We have met another sailboat who was moored here when we arrived.  The boat's name is Leslee and the owners are Chris and Alice from St. Augustine.  They bought the boat in TX and are sailing her back to their home.  They had rented a car and were going grocery shopping so Foster from Quo Vadimus and I joined them. We all stocked up and headed back to the marina.  

A few of us had talked about going out to dinner so John and I organized the event beginning with happy hour at the Panama City Ale House at 5:00.  Thought that would be the best way to get everyone together so we could decide where to go to eat.  No one wanted to stand out on the dock and talk, it was just too darn cold.  Folks from 6 boats came so we had a group of 12.

Some of the gang...(note the coats and hats!)

Ended up going to a little Mexican place for food and had a nice time.  We even discovered that Stel from Estrellita is related to Chris from Leslee.  What a small world it truly is!  Tomorrow we are all heading out, time for a change of venue.  Some of us are going to Appalachicola and some to Port St. Joe.  We will be going to the latter.

BRRRR - IS THIS REALLY FLORIDA?

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13
So here we are, anchored in Destin, FL and the temperature is going down, down, down!  The wind was blowing hard so we just kind of hunkered down and did whatever we could to keep warm.  The "high" temperature inside the boat was 59!  We are at anchor so had no access to heat.  We did not leave the boat all day, I mean why would anyone want to get into a dinghy in this kind of weather?   The forecasted low for the coming night was 39 and we hoped with the water being 77 degrees that the boat would stay at least a little bit warm.   Thought we would just tough it out.  I made a pot of chili and we drank hot chocolate and played a game of Scrabble.  Then into bed we went with our books and our kitty.  Threw 2 more blankets on the beds and just snuggled up.  

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14
We woke up and it was 39 degrees in the boat!  YIKES!!! OK - that's enough roughing it.  Molly even refused to get out of bed and she was wearing a fur coat!   She literally was under the covers and would not move.  The weather was such that moving on was not a good idea but we had to find a slip for the night.  WE NEED POWER!  John called and called to try to find somewhere we could tie up that had power.  We did find a restaurant that could accommodate us but they wanted $4/foot - with tax it would be $178!!  Wow, we both just looked at each other and said we'd do again if that was what we had to pay.  We haven't paid more than $2.00 per foot all trip and $4.00 was just crazy.  John had a call into one more guy but we weren't optimistic about him calling back.  At least the sun was shining and the day time temp was suppose to be in the upper 50's.  We were just about to hop in the dinghy and get off the boat when the phone rang.  It turned out to be our guardian angel, Steve.  Apparently there was 1 slip in all of Destin harbor with enough depth for us and the man who could tell us where that was was on the phone!  Within 15 minutes we were underway.  We had to weave back through a narrow channel and were a bit nervous about the depth.  Steve assured us it was 9', we saw 7' but just proceeded very slowly.  Finally slip#E6 appeared to port and we drove right in. 

VIEW FROM OUR DESTIN SLIP

MIRABELLA YACHT CLUB

We tied up, jumped off and grabbed a hot shower.  This was a private condo development that also housed a boating club.  We did not see one other person on a boat but we did not care, we were in port with access to HEAT!  Took a walk down to the Destin strip.  We were here last year and didn't care for it then, liked it even less this time.  It is all condos and VERY touristy!  At least we got out for a walk.  We were a bit crazy after being cooped all day yesterday and sailing the day before.  As far as Destin - no charm, no cool, just commercialism - yuk!  Had lunch, made a quick stop at Target and back to the boat.  The temperature outside dropped into the low 30's and we we so glad to have heat.  Tomorrow we are outta here!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Time to go!  It's cold!!   At least it was warm in the boat.  We each put on several layers plus coats, hats and gloves.  Motored out of the harbor which took almost 40 minutes.  Then we raised the sails and were off.  Destination: Panama City.  Initially it was a bit rougher than we anticipated.  We had given Molly Dramamine and we were sure glad we did!  Even briefly discussed turning around but neither one of wanted to go back since there was really nothing to go back to.  Once we got the sails adjusted we actually had decent sailing for awhile.  Kind of the same thing as when we left Pensacola, fair winds and lots of jellyfish.  The winds continued to diminish though and we ended up motor sailing, then just motoring as the wind pretty much died and the seas went turned to glass.  So glad we didn't change the plan as we were so ready to get out of there.  

We had talked to Sundowner and they were going to meet us at Panama City Marina.   They left Blue Water Marina in Niceville and were heading down the ICW, basically they were paralleling us.  They were travelling with another boat, Serenity and we listened to their chatter on the radio although we couldn't chime in as we were too far off shore.  We all got into the marina about 4:00. We were just going to hang out at the marina but heard there was an ethnic festival in town, just a short walk away.   Karen made a pot of Jambalaya and we went over to Sundowner for a quick bite and into town we go.  The festival was winding down as it was chilly so we ended up at a little place called Millie's where there was a great acoustic musician.  We stayed there for hours and it was almost like a private concert as there were few patrons other than ourselves.  Stayed out later than we should have but we all sang the words to every song he played and had a lot of fun.  

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Needless to say we slept in.  Felt good to not have to go anywhere and be warm!!  All we know is there is a Packer game today that we will actually be able to watch and we are psyched!  Did some chores around the boat.  We invited Sundowner for the game so I got busy making some football food. Heard that Estrellita was on their way to join us here and another Looper boat docked as well.  John has been busy trying to plan our itinerary for the next week including the big crossing we will have to make soon.  We need to cross about 150 miles from Carabelle to Tarpon Springs.  It is quite a way offshore and will take at least 30 hours.  Even the power boats need to make this leap so it is a passage that we are all thinking about.  Power boats want smooth water and no wind, we want wind...to a degree.  There are some boats already at Carabelle and we are watching their progress and anxiously awaiting word from those who have already made the crossing.  One sailboat we have been in email communication with, EDEJ, said they were going to make the crossing and left at 3:00PM yesterday, no word from them yet.  The forecast for tonight calls for some possible severe weather - hope they are OK.  After enjoying a Packer win and little more TV time, we called it a night and headed for bed with our books.  
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17
At 2:30AM we woke up to thunder and lightning.  Got out of bed to check the radar (common practice for us) and found there was a tornado warning for our county.  Oh my, there is really no where to go.  I didn't think they had tornadoes in Florida.  There is a marina building which houses the laundry, a ship store and bathrooms.  Not sure if that would even be better than staying on board.  John kept watching weather as I got dressed and got out Molly's carrier and another for Captain Jack thinking we may have to wake Sundowner and the other boats.  The tornado went 8 miles north of us.  We stayed on the boat and waited for the warnings to expire then back to bed.  Woke at 8:00 to yet more bad weather.  There was a black wall of clouds coming our way and sever thunderstorm warnings.  We retied the boat and just put out more dock fenders when it started to pour and the winds picked up.  It rained heavily for over an hour but thankfully the worst of it seemed to go around us yet again.  It was 77 degrees so at least that was a plus.  With the weather situation as it was, we evidently were not going anywhere today.  

Got email from sailboat EDEJ and they made it to Tarpon Springs OK.  Several other power boats who left around the same time as EDEJ shared their stories of a having a hairy and somewhat scary ride.  Apparently it was a better night to be a sailboat than a power boat.  Just glad all made it safely.

John went over to Sundowner to try to help fix a problem they were having and Karen and I went to town to do a little shopping.  The temperature has been dropping all day and there are freeze warnings out here.  Crazy weather!!!  As I write, the wind is howling out of the NW at 15 to 20 and the boat is rocking.  Have decided it is a night to take it easy, make a bowl of soup and just get caught up on the blog! Tomorrow promises to be chilly and then even colder at night, like 28 degrees so we are staying put here in Panama City.  We know the weather is bad up North where most of you are reading this but take comfort in knowing you are not alone as it is not much better down here.  

(Have had major internet sllooowwness tonight trying to get this post done so I didn't get many pics uploaded.  Apparently all the other Loopers are on the internet too!  Time to give up and just publish so we are up to date at least and you all know were are OK down here.) 

Hope this finds everyone warm, snug and safe - PEACE TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!

A GULFIN' WE WILL GO!

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

Woke to a nice breakfast prepared by Tim.  He drove us back to the marina where we took time to make some preparations for our first sail into the Gulf.  We had to get the heads pumped, take the motor off Marley and fill the water tanks.  Finished our prep work and it was time to play a bit.  The guys dropped me off at a shopping and entertainment district downtown on Palafox where I proceeded to check out the local wares.  Meanwhile Tim took John for a ride in his center console fishing boat for some sightseeing.  A few hours later they picked me back up and we headed to a local Greek deli and the famous fishmongers Joe Patti’s.  We got some Grouper and some Scamp to put on the grill tomorrow.  Went back to the marina and met up with Amy and had dinner at the Oar House. 

Love eating all the fish and seafood here!  I can get used to this.  Then it was home to be with Molly and get some shuteye.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Tossed off the lines about 6:30AM.  Had to motor back West to get out of the ICW ad in to the Gulf.  By 8:10AM we have full sails up and are pointing towards Destin.  Dolphins abound once again.  It is so much fun to sail along with them.

By 10AM w had a respectable 6 knots going with a NW wind on a gentle sea.  This is what we were hoping to find as we decided not to give Molly any Dramamine.  We don’t want to medicate her unless we have to.  We were sailing about 3 miles offshore in 60’ of water and did not see one other boat out there which felt kind of weird.  Our power boat friends and smaller sailboats can just continue on the ICW to points South but we cannot because our mast height is 58’.  There are many fixed bridges that are 49’ and we just can’t get under them so out we go in to the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. 

I was up front watching for dolphins when I noticed jellyfish, lots of jellyfish swimming just under the surface on the port side of the boat. 

There were hundreds of them!  I tried to capture them on video and camera and did the best that I could.  Video could not grasp the images.  What a sight to behold, I felt like I was on a National Geographic special or something.    They were showing off their pretty pink flowing skirts, just cool! 

Passed the famous Pensacola Beach and had a beautiful view of the entire coastline. 

White sand, blue sea - just beautiful.   Then, our wind died.  Motor-sailed and then sailed and then motor-sailed once again – the story of our life.  We wanted to make it in to Destin by like 4:00 so keeping up about 6 knots was key.  We knew it was very shallow coming in there so were a bit nervous about it.  It doesn't exactly instill confidence when you see a dredge at the mouth of the harbor entrance.  John called the dredge to ask for guidance getting in and couldn't understand a word the man said.

Had an email from another Looper sailboat the day before and he said he got in there OK and suggested we follow another boat in.  Destin is very commercial.  We don't like that about it, the beaches are in fact beautiful but it's just too touristy and condo, condo, condos!  Not our scene so to say.  But it was a place to stop and we avoided doing an overnight passage to Panama City. 

On our way in the channel we were graced by lots of dolphins, more than we have ever seen.  I could see them under the water which was really neat.  Wish I would have gotten video of them.  

That Looper we got the email from had one other comment, be prepared to wash your boat when you leave.  We didn’t exactly know what he meant but it didn’t take long to figure it out.  We saw one osprey and lots of cormorants perched high on masts and leaving piles of presents all over the boat decks below – yuk! 

We had a plan to stop that!  Got anchored and John leapt into action.  He employed one of Molly’s toys and 2 of my colored exercise bands and ran them up halyards to deter those darn birds.  It seemed to work and we were glad to not have to worry about that! Next thing we know the sun is going down, time to grill that fish we bought in Pensacola...

PENSACOLA BOUND

PENSACOLA BOUND

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10 - Woke to another beautiful morning. Enjoyed soaking up the sun!

Free Bird, Sundowner and Estrellita respectively

View looking back at boats

Then we headed into the beach to check out Fort McRee which was built between 1834 and 1839.  It was heavily damaged during the Civil War in 1861 during a massive artillery exchange between Confederate forces who were held up at Fort McRee and Fort Barrancas (just across the bay) and the Union forces who were at Fort Pickens (on another slip of land near Pensacola).   

Coastal erosion has taken its toll but you can still see some of the batteries that remain.  The best part of our morning venture was the flora and fauna! 

There were monarchs, butterflies and moths everywhere as well as birds, herons and even jellyfish!  Karen and I found a jelly fish that was trapped in a little puddle of water up off the shore.  The falling tide left him stranded there.  What a neat opportunity to see one up close.  Karen nudged him with a stick and he was definitely alive. 

He moved slowly and his body kept morphing into different shapes.  They are really interesting creatures.  There was a sign there that warned of their sting and told you to apply vinegar to any bites you may get.  Hope we never have to worry about that.

Sundowner and Estrellita decided to spend another day in this spot as it was so nice. 

We had plans to go into Pensacola for a couple of days to meet up with John’s high school friend Tim and his wife Amy.  When we were staying on Dauphin Island last winter we came and visited them and John and Tim reconnected once again after not seeing each other for 40 years!  It was as though the 2 had never lost touch and I thoroughly enjoyed their company as well.  We were looking forward to seeing them again. 

We passed by the Pensacola Lighthouse and Naval Station and into Pensacola Bay we go accompanied once again by dolphins. 

We are just amazed at how many there seem to be.  Had no idea there were so plentiful.  Pensacola is known as the city of five flags as five different flags have flown over the city since its inception in 1559 – Spanish, French, British, Confederate and American. 

Tim suggested we take a slip at Bahia Mar Marina which is very near to where he keeps his boat.  We pulled in about 12:30 and there was Tim waving to us from the Oar House Restaurant which was adjacent to the marina.  While we were walking down the dock to join him for lunch we saw 2 other Looper boats we had locked through on the Illinois River with, Can Am and Oasis!  Both boats looked like no one was aboard and Oasis had a for sale sign on her.  On to lunch we go, more fish!  Just love all the fresh fish one can eat down here.  There is no limit to the types of fish and the ways it is prepared.  Had a yummy lunch complete with mojitos and bloody mary’s.  Tim insisted that we spend the night at their house so we packed a bag, buttoned up the boat and bid Molly farewell for the night.  We got a tour of Pensacola ala Tim and headed out to Chumukla for dinner and a visit.  We passed fields of cotton, some that had been picked and others that yet to be harvested. 

That is something you don’t see up North!  Had a nice relaxing time except for we were missing Molly.  Hated leaving her alone but Tim & Amy have 2 big dogs and it was not an option for her to be there with us.  We will give her some extra special lovin’ tomorrow!  Enjoyed a hot shower, a delicious dinner, a warm fire and just a nice evening catching up with Tim and Amy and their pups Pahsha and Joey.

CROSSING INTO THE SUNSHINE STATE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9 - After spending a lovely night at anchor rafted to Sundowner.  We woke to a beautiful dawn with dolphins feeding only feet from our boats.  We had a little breakfast and enjoyed the solitude of the setting before moving out to the next spot. 

Captain Jack...just being himself!

A dolphin scaring up some breakfast

We know this bird well, can Kennedy students identify?

Continued down the ICW (the Inter Coastal Waterway, same as GIWW but most people call it the ICW).  More cool houses, docks and marinas.

ICW view

This bird was drying his wings, they do that a lot.  What is it?

Bye bye Alabama, bring it on Florida!   We still have a long way to go but boy are we getting there.

And we have dolphins alongside once again.  They are so graceful, so amazing!

.  

This weekend is the annual Homecoming Air Show at the Pensacola Naval Base.  How lucky for us!  We were planning to anchor at Fort McRae, just off the Base but as we approached we saw a wall of fiberglass – literally boats of every size and shape were stuffed into that anchorage.  Seems the locals had the same idea and beat us to the spot.  Rather than wedge in, we decided to drop the hook in Big Lagoon near the shore of a long white sand beach that divides the Gulf from the ICW with the plan to move over to the other anchorage (that is in a NO WAKE zone) once the show is over and some of the folks go home.  Meanwhile planes are zooming through the air overhead and in front of us.  Truly there wasn’t a bad spot to anchor in the whole bay. The air show is a celebration of 100 years of flight at the Base.  It has been running since Friday during the daylight hours and we are catching the tail end of the last show.  Sundowner anchored next to us and we both took our dinghies to shore armed with blankets, some snacks and beverages.  We thought we’d take a beach walk and watch the Blue Angels when they take flight.  

We crossed over the dunes and put our toes in the Gulf – yay!!!  It felt so good, can’t believe we made it this far!! 

The Johns

Girlfriends...

Next thing we know the Blue Angels were flying directly over our heads.  Time to get back to the beach for the grand finale!  We started back across the dunes when all of a sudden we heard someone yell “Estreeeelittta”!  It was our friends Burke and Stell from Estrellita. 

They saw our boats there and they anchored and brought their dinghy in too.  Were we surprised to see them!  We all went back to the beach and put out our blanket and shared took in the acrobatics of the planes. 

It was an amazing show and it was so cool to be sitting there with this group of people taking it all in. 

The guys gawking at the planes

Our dinghies from WI, FL and SC

Beach party!

We just hung out and waited for the parade of boats to go by after it was over and then made our way into Fort McRae cove.  We anchored and this time Sundowner rafted to us and Estrellita anchored just in front of us. 

We hosted the 4 of them on Free Bird for cocktail hour and dinner.  We grilled a Pork Tenderloin and I threw some greens bean together.  The others contributed purple potatoes (yum!), brussel sprouts and fresh baked bread.  It was a feast and a good time was had by all.