Clearwater, Fl to Gulfport, Fl

Total Miles Traveled 1198

The marina at Clearwater is conveniently located next to downtown with shops, restaurants, and a trolley stop just outside the marina gate.   We took the trolley to Dunedin and Tarpon Springs spending the day visiting the local shops, a museum, and taking advantage of fresh seafood for lunch.

Several fishing boats were coming into Tarpon Springs. 

It appeared that most of the sponge boats were docked, but we saw very few nets of sponges drying.  Last year several of the boats were full of sponges.  We’re not sure if we were there on the day before the boats were going back out, or the harvest isn’t as productive as last year.

We left Clearwater Saturday morning and traveled only 10 miles to an anchorage off the ICW.  We had a few items to check off on our boat “to do” list and then we took the dinghy to one of the local restaurants near us for dinner.  We also saw a stingray a few times swimming around the boat, it was camera shy because every time we would see it and I would grab the camera, it would disappear.  We were anchored here Saturday and Sunday and completed quite a few items on our list.  We have had great weather, 80’s during the day and 60’s at night.

On Monday we made another short cruise on the ICW to Gulfport, Florida….almost a suburb of St Petersburg.  This is a well protected marina where we will leave the boat for two weeks while visiting family near Cocoa, Florida for the holidays. 

This will be our last blog update in 2016; we hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Steinhatchee, FL to Clearwater, Fl

Total Miles Traveled 1173

After encountering fog going into Steinhatchee, we decided we would not leave the marina until it was clear. 

The marina is about 4 miles up the river from the Gulf, as we approached the open waters of the Gulf, the fog started to appear again.

Five miles from Steinhatchee

Ten Miles from Stienhatchee

About 10 miles from Cedar Key, the fog started to appear again, really?  By the time we reached the main channel to Cedar Key, we could only see about 200 feet ahead of us.  We had to use our chartplotter and radar to feel our way up the winding channel to an anchorage.  The weather forecast only indicated fog until 10 a.m..

We decided we were not going to leave Cedar Key unless we could see at least a mile from our anchorage.  Navigating in the fog is not fun…..or safe.  Finally about 10:30 it was obvious the fog was not going to be an issue.  The only problem was by leaving at 10:30 it would be cutting it close to make it to Tarpon Springs before dark.  All of the marinas that we called were booked through the weekend, so we decided to anchor when we reached the ICW at Tarpon Springs. 

The problem of crossing the “Big Bend” of Florida is there are no barrier islands and Intracoastal Waterway between Carrabelle and Tarpon Springs so once we make the commitment to hop to the next port; there are very few options to stop in between.   

We left Cedar Key with clear skies and less than 1 foot waves, it appeared to be a great cruising day to Tarpon Springs.  About 2 o’clock in the afternoon the waves increased between 2 to 3 feet and an hour later a wall of fog was fast approaching behind us.  We were already running faster than our normal speed because of the late start, but picked it up a little to stay ahead of the fog……..not going to happen.  Running with chartplotter, radar, autopilot and automatic fog horn.....and four eyes looking in all directions.

We cruised in the fog for an hour, and then it disappeared about as fast as it appeared and we had clear skies to Tarpon Springs and the seas calmed to a foot or so.

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico about 6 miles from Tarpon Springs.

We didn't  make it to Tarpon Springs before dark but were able to get to our anchorage without any issues.  Although we had to deal with fog, taking three days to cross the Gulf was a far better experience than our 22 hour overnight crossing last year, we will retrace our course on the way back in next spring.

Our anchorage behind Three Rooker Bar

We slept in this morning then had breakfast on the flybridge overlooking the island, the Gulf, and a few visiting dolphins.  We weighed anchor at 11:30 and continued south on the ICW to Clearwater, Florida to visit the city and take the trolley to Tarpon Springs tomorrow. 

We learned this morning that the Dismal Swamp Canal between Virginia and North Carolina has been closed indefinitely due to the damage from Hurricane Matthew in October.  The damage requires dredging , debris and tree removal, and investigation into reports of shoaling.  We were very fortunate to have  had the opportunity to travel the Dismal Swamp during our loop last year, it was one of the highlights of our Great Loop Adventure.

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.

Carrabelle, FL to Dog Island, Fl

Total Miles Traveled 944

Finally, after spending nine days at Carrabelle we have a favorable weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee, Florida. 

Carrabelle was a great town to visit while waiting though; we were able to attend the annual holiday festivities including the downtown celebration, a Christmas light boat parade and fireworks.

We left the marina early this afternoon and traveled approximately 6 miles to an anchorage at Dog Island.  Dog Island is a popular anchorage for boaters before setting out across the Gulf of Mexico.  The island is located between the Gulf and St George Sound.  This is where we anchored last year before starting our 22 hour overnight crossing to Tarpon Springs.  This year we are taking a more laid back route to Steinhatchee, about 80 miles from our anchorage to the marina.  Then we will continue down the west coast of Florida to Cedar Key and anchor, before continuing on to Tarpon Springs.

Believe it or not there is a trawler and 3 sailboats anchored here from our home port, Grand Rivers, Ky planning a Gulf crossing tomorrow.

Treasure Hunter...........

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

Panama City, Fl to Carrabelle, FL

Total Miles Traveled 938

It was a little breezy when leaving Panama City but we only had a few miles of open water on East Bay before it narrowed into calm cruising waters. 

We had planned to anchor between Panama City and Apalachicola, but tied to the municipal dock at White City instead. There is room for two boats and only one small sailboat was at the dock.  I needed a valve core removal tool to replace the core and charge our water system air tank and figured I could walk to town and pick one up, but they didn’t have one (I have a half dozen at home). We saw several fishing trawlers pass the dock this evening.

We also saw this homemade houseboat approach the dock.  We talked to the houseboat owner and he built the houseboat and his 12 ft fishing boat himself out of aluminum.  He said the houseboat only has an 8” draft and he can go about anywhere he wants.  He pulled the boat into a shallow cut next to the dock.  He said his only problem with the shallow draft was the installation of the bow thruster; the boat doesn’t sit in the water low enough for it to work.

We stopped overnight last year at Apalachicola but didn’t visit the town, so our plan was to stop and see the sights and enjoy some of the local seafood.  When I checked the extended weather forecast before leaving White City, the wind was supposed to increase over the next several days.  We were 50 miles from Carrabelle and had to cross two big bodies of water, Apalachicola Bay and St George Sound to get there.  We decided to continue on to Carrabelle and visit Apalachicola on the way back in the spring. 

We arrived at Carrabelle Friday December 2^nd, I checked my log book and we arrived here last year December 3^rd and made our Gulf crossing December 8^th and 9^th.  Carrabelle is a cool little town to be stuck in; our marina was described to me as having a lot of character, and characters. The town has a post office, grocery store, bank, a few restaurants, great hardware store, and an oyster bar…..what more do you need?

We are not going to cross the Gulf of Mexico overnight like we did last year.  We will leave Carrabelle and go to Steinhatchee, about 62 miles across the Big Bend of Florida, then continue down the west coast to Cedar Key, anchor, then continue to Tarpon Springs.  The weather has not been cooperative, we planned to leave here tomorrow December 7^th, but 3 + foot waves are forecasted.  If it’s not fun, we don’t go.  It looks like our next opportunity to leave here will be December 12^th.

Oh, the valve core I thought was leaking ended up being the air tank, not to worry, the hardware store had one $7 more than an online purchase…..life is good

Mobile, AL to Panama City, FL

Total Miles Traveled 846

We left Dog River Thanksgiving morning and entered Mobile Bay at daybreak, taking advantage of the flat water for our crossing. 

As we headed south to the Intracoastal Waterway the water was unbelievably calm and the cloud cover provided an awesome reflection on the water.

We have seen more dolphins this year; we had six or eight around the boat at one point. 

I found why the dolphins swim to the front of the boat.  I leaned over the bow and watched this dolphin for several minutes.  Its tail was inches from the bow and motionless, we were pushing it through the water at 8 mph with our bow wave.

We entered the ICW and turned east toward Gulf Shores, AL. 

Pirate watch.

We passed LuLu’s , Jimmy Buffet’s sisters restaurant along the ICW, we stopped here last year but it was closed today.

This is the approach to the Roberts Bayou anchorage, it is very narrow going in and you have to favor the sandy beach on the port side but there is about 9 feet of water all the way in.  This is a protected anchorage with good holding and room for 3 or 4 boats; we had the place to ourselves this year.  The Pirates Cove bar and grill is a unique dog friendly place located next to the narrow entrance of the bayou.  It was hard to find a seat last year when the songwriter’s festival was in full swing.  We listened to several songwriters perform their music that they had written for famous artist. 

Sometimes you see a boat name that just makes you grin.

Our next stop was the Bluewater Bay Marina, close to Niceville, FL.  We have a friend and his wife that relocated here last year after retirement.  We both retired in 2015 after working together for several years, we had a great visit and plan to stop again on our return next spring.

We have been very lucky with the weather, except for a few chilly nights we have had perfect cruising weather.  A cold front was moving through as we worked our way toward Niceville, we didn’t have one drop of rain, but did see this rainbow north of us.

We had one good weather window to make it to Panama City before another weather pattern moved through.  As we left the Bluewater Marina, be had 2 foot waves on the 25 mile long Choctawhatchee Bay.  The wind was blowing from the northeast so we had the waves hitting on the port bow making the ride comfortable.  As we came to the end of the Bay, we entered a man made canal connecting to West Bay.  The canal is known as the Grand Canyon of the ICW as huge sand dunes line the shore.  

We will be staying at Panama City for a few days as high winds and thunderstorms are predicted through Wednesday November 30^th.   This will give us an opportunity to perform a few maintenance tasks and to plan our route to the west coast of Florida.

Coffeeville, AL to Mobile, AL

Total Miles Traveled 667

We had a great catfish dinner at Bobby’s Fish Camp with our new friends from “Further” and “Portofino” Sunday evening.  We passed through the Coffeeville Lock at daybreak Monday morning, our last lock on the waterway to Mobile Bay.  We are now in tidal waters so we’ll have to keep that in mind when anchoring and tying the boat to a fixed dock.

Since we had an early start and a little boost from the current, we traveled 83 miles to an anchorage on the Tensaw River; we were now only 39 miles from Mobile Bay.  We had planned to get an early start this morning, but the low temperatures overnight produced a lot of fog over the water, we waited about two hours for it to clear off.

As we leave the waterway we enter the commercial shipping lane, there is a lot of boat activity in this area.

Mobile Convention Center

Entering Mobile Bay……..when we came through here last year we had 1-3 foot waves to deal with….today was perfect!

We even had an escort to lead the way.