Carrabelle, FL to Steinhatchee, FL

Total Miles Traveled 1026

We weighed anchor at Dog Island before sunrise and entered the Gulf of Mexico as the sun was coming up. There were four boats making the crossing to Steinhatchee with us but as we continued east we had two to three foot waves so two of the boats turned back to the anchorage.  The predicted weather forecast called for 2 to 3 foot waves in the morning then to gradually decrease as the day progressed.  After a couple of hours we had 1-2 and by midday around 1 footers.   

We saw several jelly fish and at one point had eight dolphins swimming around the boat.

Although there was a slight chance of an afternoon shower, we didn’t expect to encounter fog.  We could see the cold front moving toward us and before we could get to the Steinhatchee River channel, the fog closed in. We only had a quarter of a mile visibility but when we approached land, the fog lifted. 

If you look close you can see the channel markers, outside of the markers we run aground.

Overall we had a great day of cruising, we covered 82 miles from our anchorage to the marina and about 20 miles from shore at our farthest point.

“Lucky Lady” update:  We had heard that the Lucky Lady sank during the Gulf crossing from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.  We met the crew of the Lucky Lady at Evansville Indiana before completing our loop in September.  The boat was a Chinese Junk built in Hong Kong and shipped to Mexico in 1974.  The boat also appeared in a movie the “Luck Lady”.  (See my September 17^th blog for more info and pictures)

I contacted the crew of the Luck Lady and was informed the boat started taking on water 5 hours into the crossing.  Fortunately the crew was rescued by a looper making the crossing without any injuries.