Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Dunedin, Fl

December 21, 2015
Monday
Miles Traveled 0
Total Miles Traveled 1742
Day 103



No, that’s not a sunset; we are staying at Moni’s parents at Port St. John, Fl for the holidays.  Port St. John is located about 10 miles west of Cape Canaveral and we were able to watch the SpaceX 9 rocket launch from the space center, standing in their backyard last night.

SpaceX successfully launched their Falcon 9 rocket carrying 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit. This mission also marked SpaceX's first successful landing of the first stage booster.  This was the first time a large rocket has delivered spacecraft to orbit and returned to Earth intact, so that it could potentially fly again.  The 15 story booster landed upright about 6 miles from the launch site, right on target. 

At lift off, the eastern sky looked as if it were late evening at sunset, then we could see the flame and hear the rumble  from the rockets  nine engines. When the first stage separated, the flame changed from yellow to blue, and a few minutes later we could see the booster returning to earth.  Not long after it descended below the tree line, we heard a loud boom and thought the worst, but learned the mission was a historical success.  


My only regret of the evening is that I tried to use my cell phone camera and could not capture the quality of our view.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Tarpon Springs, Fl to Dunedin, Fl

December 11,12, 13 th, 2015
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Miles Traveled 14.6
Total Miles Traveled 1742
Day 93,94,95

We have spent the last few days in Tarpon Springs, the Sponge Capital of the World.  In the early 1900’s sponge diving was introduced to the area and divers and crew members were recruited from Greece.  Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans than any city in the United States and continues to harvest sponges from the Gulf of Mexico.  The city is also known for their many Greek restaurants and pastry shops. 






One of the divers had a familiar face?


We have been having a lot of fun playing Jenga.


Our Gulf Crossing friends on the walk back from dinner.


We went to breakfast this morning by dinghy.  We followed our new boating friends a couple of miles downriver to a restaurant, then took the scenic route back.


We arrived at Marker 1 Marina at Dunedin, Fl about 3 this afternoon.  We will be here until after the holidays visiting with family and exploring the area. We think we'll will really like the marina because they have an awesome courtesy car.


Okay, I may be exaggerating just a little…..

I think this boater is ready for Christmas.




Thursday, December 10, 2015

Carrabelle, Fl to Tarpon Springs, Fl

December 9, 10, 2015
Wednesday, Thursday
Miles Traveled 175.8
Total Miles Traveled 1728
Day 91,92

Our Gulf crossing group planned to meet at the Dog Island R2 buoy at 3 p.m. to start our crossing to Tarpon Springs.  We left the Carrabelle Moorings Marina late morning and spent the afternoon anchored behind Dog Island exploring the beach before our departure time.


There were a total of 8 boats starting together, but some would branch off to other destinations as we continued our 175, mile 21 hour cruise to Tarpon Springs.  We were spaced between ½ to 2 miles apart as we set a course Southeast across the Gulf of Mexico.  The sunset was awesome, and as soon as the bottom of the sun hit the horizon, it went down very fast.


The Gulf conditions started out with less than one foot waves, but as we traveled farther out into open water, they gradually increased causing the boat to rock a sway most of the night.  Our course took us from the panhandle of Florida, across the Big Bend, to the West Coast of Florida, with our farthest distance from land about 40 miles.  We did not have a moon, so we could only see the waves  breaking across our bow, and the distant navigation lights of our flotilla, quite a different experience for a couple of landlocked Hoosiers.  We had navigation charts for the area, radar, and a chartplotter so we knew exactly where we were at all times.  I logged our position every hour in the event we would lose our electronics. 

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise about 25 miles from shore.


We did encounter the dreaded crab pots, but we only had to dodge a half dozen or so.  Our information was correct, when the sun is coming up, the glare on the water makes it almost impossible to see the floating markers.

Part of our crossing group.

We are staying at the Turtle Cove Marina, when you are finished boating for the day, they pick your boat up with a fork truck and stack it on a shelf.




We had dinner with some of the boaters that crossed with us last night.  


Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Carrabelle, Fl Day 3,4,5

December  8th, 2015
Tuesday
Miles Traveled 0
Total Miles Traveled 1552
Day 88,89,90

We rode the bikes around Carrabelle today and visited the world’s smallest police station.  In the early 1960's, Carrabelle's police phone was located in a call box that was bolted to a building at the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and Tallahassee Street. During this time, the city had problems with people making unauthorized long distance calls on its police phone. Johnnie Mirabella, the only St. Joe Telephone Company employee in Carrabelle at the time, moved the phone to another location, but the illegal calls continued.
Mirabella noticed that the policeman would get drenched while answering phone calls when it was raining. So when the telephone company decided to replace its worn out phone booth in front of Burda's Pharmacy with a new one, he decided to solve both problems at once by putting the police phone in the old booth.
On March 10, 1963, Mirabella, with the help of Curly Messer, deputy sheriff at the time, moved the phone booth to its current site on U.S. Highway 98. The booth did protect the officers from the elements, but some people still snuck into it to make long distance calls. Eventually the dial was removed from the phone, making it impossible for anyone to make calls.


We have decided to make the Gulf Crossing from Carrabelle, Fl to Tarpon Springs Fl in one continuous cruise; the distance is about 175 miles and will take around 22 hours.  We had originally planned to take three days stopping at Steinhatchee on the first day, Crystal River on the second day, and Tarpon Springs on the 3rd day, traveling about 10 hours each day.  There are no protective barrier islands from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs and the Gulf of Mexico is very shallow in this area, ten miles from shore the average depth is 12 to 20 feet.

I called a marina at Crystal River and was told not to enter the channel with less than mid tide.  I also called a boat towing company and was given the same information.  We can time the tide and daylight to make it in, but if we wait the following day for mid tide, we would not be able to make the next port before sundown. 

We know others have taken this course in the past, but we would be traveling alone and if we run aground, we would have to rely on VHF radio signal only for assistance.  We feel it is not worth the risk so early in our adventure to follow our original plan.

When we arrived at Carrabelle there was one other boat here waiting for a weather window to cross, today there are seven.  We will all start our crossing tomorrow, the slow boats will start about 2 p.m. and the faster boats around 4 p.m.  There are two reasons for the afternoon start, the first is crab pots.  Crab pots or traps lying on the bottom, are connected by a rope to a float on the surface.  When we arrive at our destination we will be heading east and at sunrise we will not be able to see the crab pot markers with the sun reflecting on the water.  Although we have a cutter ahead of our prop, if we hit a marker and rap the rope around our prop shaft it could be a show stopper.  The second reason for the afternoon start is the tide.  If we leave at 2 in the afternoon, traveling about 8 mph, we should arrive at Tarpon Springs at noon; high tide is 12:30.

We had docktails at the marina last night and discussed our plans for the crossing tomorrow.  We are looking forward to a sunset and sunrise cruising on the Gulf of Mexico!



Saturday, December 5, 2015

Carrabelle, Fl Day 2


 
December 4-5, 2015
Friday, Saturday
Miles Traveled 0
Total Miles Traveled 1552
Days 86-87

It looks like we will be at Carrabelle until we get a weather window before cruising in the Gulf of Mexico.  There are no barrier islands between here and Tarpon Springs, about 175 miles, so we need calm seas for an enjoyable transit from the panhandle of Florida to the west coast of Florida.  Today the wind on the Gulf is blowing 18 mph with gust of 25 and seas 4-5 feet.  It looks like Tuesday would be our first opportunity.

We have been catching up on a few things but haven’t washed the salt from the boat yet.  This picture is looking out the windshield through the dried salt; the lower half of the boat is covered with this stuff.   


Gee sure wish I was scraping frost or shoveling snow…………..not!

We are starting to get used to the slips in the marina’s in the south.





You better watch your step when walking the plank!
 


The best thing about Carrabelle we have found so far is the fresh seafood and oysters!


 



We stopped at Fathoms oyster bar this afternoon and watched a heated game of Jenga.

 



Yes, that is a fish hook in this guys ear…….man there tough down here.


Thursday, December 3, 2015

Apalachicola, Fl, to Carrabelle, Fl

December 3rd, 2015
Thursday
Miles Traveled 30.4
Total Miles Traveled 1552
Day 85

Happy Birthday Elaine, we will always miss you guys.

Today was windy and cool and our course to Carrabelle was over open water.  Because the bays are so shallow, we had to travel over 3 miles out into Apalachicola Bay, before turning East into the channel.  “Moni Jean” handled the 2-3 foot waves without issue mainly due to our course being northeast and the waves were coming from north, northeast. 
 

This is our first experience using range dayboards.  These aids to navigation come in pairs to help maintain a straight and safe course within a navigable channel.  Each member of the pair is separated from the next in distance and elevation, with the one in front shorter than the one behind it.  When the two appear to be vertically stacked, your vessel is on the range line.  These dayboards and our chartplotter were very helpful staying in the narrow channel in an open body of water.


We arrived at the Carrabelle River leaving St. George Sound, in calm and protected waters. 

 
 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Saul Creek, FL to Apalachicola, FL

December 2nd, 2015
Wednesday
Miles Traveled 8
Total Miles Traveled 1522
Day 84                      

Another short cruise to the Scipio Creek Marina in Apalachicola, Florida.  We left our anchorage in the rain, but had a break in the weather when we tied up to the dock.  We passed this swing bridge before entering the town.
 



This is a coastal fishing town and we see a lot of boats bringing in the days catch.

 


 
 

Houseboat rentals seem to be popular here on Scipio Creek.





 

Searcy Creek, Fl to Saul Creek, Fl

December 1st, 2015
Tuesday
Miles Traveled 11.6
Total Miles Traveled 1514
Day 83

A short cruise today from one anchorage to another, we had our mail forwarded to Apalachicola, Fl on Wednesday and are planning to arrive there tomorrow.  This anchorage is very secluded with very little cell phone coverage.  We cruised up Saul Creek about 2 miles and passed several houseboats along the way. 
 





The Cyprus swamp is very thick without road access, so they must get to their houseboats by water.

 
We have passed several derelict boats over the past day or two; this one is about 3 miles up Saul Creek.
 
We took the dinghy out exporing the creek about 2 miles past our anchorage but didn't see any gators.
 

 

Monday, November 30, 2015

Pearl Bayou Fl, to Searcy Creek, Fl

November 30th, 2015
Monday
Miles Traveled 40.4
Total Miles Traveled 1502
Day 82

We started our day with a beautiful sunrise over the bayou.
 


About 8 a.m. we were treated to an air show.  There is an air force base not far from our anchorage so we had an awesome location to see them practice.


 



We passed “Saphira” in East Bay; we met them at Fort Walton, Fl a couple of weeks ago, they are from Knoxville, TN
 



We did see a few dolphins before leaving East Bay and entering a narrow section of the waterway.





As the waterway narrowed, we passed this ship building company, it seemed to be an odd location and the channel is only 12 feet deep.






Most of this section is swampland on both sides of a narrow canal; we did see a lot of wildlife from here to our anchorage.







We had planned to stop at Port St Joe but decided to continue on and anchor in an ox bow off of Searcy Creek, part of the Intracoastal Waterway.  This anchorage is surrounded by Cyprus swampland and is one of the most beautiful places we have stayed, and believe it or not, no bugs.