Carrabelle, Fl to Gulf Shores, AL

Total Miles Traveled 2645

We departed C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle April 7^th and tied up to a city dock at White City, FL.  We stayed a couple of days to allow a few thunderstorms to pass through.  This area was hit hard by hurricane Michael, one of our favorite marinas, Port St Joe is only about 5 miles south of here and it was completely wiped out.

On April 9^th, we headed for an anchorage near Panama City, we passed this shipyard on the way, as you can see, they build them from each end and work their way to the middle.

As we approach the Panama City area we start seeing a strong military presence.  There are air bases and naval stations from here to Orange Beach.  We passed these naval vessels while crossing St Andrews Bay.

This is the US Navy LCAC 91 (Landing Craft Air Cushion) a hovercraft used as a landing craft by the United States Navy’s assault craft units and the Japan Maritime self-defense force.  They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel of the assault elements of the marine air/ground task force both from ship to shore and across the beach. 

A bridge before entering West Bay, don't miss the traffic at all!

We approached this dredge before entering a section of the Intracoastal waterway called the Grand Canyon of Florida.  It was very confusing as there were red and green markers on both sides of the temporary channel.  I hailed the dredge operator and he indicated to stay in the middle of the markers and I would be okay.  We have had friends that have ran aground and damaged props and shafts going around dredging operations.

We arrived at the Bluewater Bay Marina near Niceville, Florida on April 10^th; we stayed there several days waiting for a major storm front to pass through.  We also visited our friends Brad and Nancy Crackel formally from Terre Haute, and a few looper friends that are here. 

This was also a great stop for an unexpected repair.  I have been fighting an issue with our radar since purchasing the boat.  While in Gulfport in March, I had a local marine service center look at it and was told the system was obsolete and I would have to replace the entire unit or upgrade the system $$$.  I was able to find a wiring diagram online for the display connector, cable, and radar unit wiring.  Moni and I checked each wire to make sure we didn’t have a plug or cable issue and everything checked good.  A local boater behind us asked what I was doing and I explained my problem.  He pointed across the dock to a boat and said "that guy is the radar guru in this area; he services all the commercial and recreational boats in the Destin area".  I walked over and introduced myself and explained my problem, he was installing a new system on a boat and said he was very familiar with our system and he would take a look at it, he said he was confident he could fix it as he has all the new parts needed for this system.  He walked over late that evening, looked at my system and said the problem was one of two components and he had new replacement parts.  He returned the next evening, installed the parts, and the radar works perfectly.  He also gave me a few pointers on the operation and tuning of this model.  What a great stop!

We departed Bluewater Bay Marina April 15^th, the storms were passed but it was still very windy, the Choctawhatchee Bay was pretty choppy.   As soon as we departed we heard a Securite’ issued by the Coast Guard on our VHF radio.  This is a notice of an important safety message and informed us that someone had fallen from their boat in the bay and a search and rescue team was looking for them. 

This coast guard helicopter flew over as we were half way across the bay……yes I did pick the helicopter up on our new functioning radarJ

We arrived at Fort McRee, an anchorage near Pensacola Florida.  Fort McRee was a historic military fort constructed by the United States on the eastern tip of Pedido Key to defend Pensacola and its important natural harbor, very little remains of Fort McRee today.

The main reason for anchoring here was to watch the United States Navy’s Blue Angels.  Pensacola is the “Blues” home base and they practice here each week in preparation for their show schedule.  They fly six F/A 18 Hornets and are currently flown by five Navy demonstration pilots and one Marine Corps demonstration pilot.  This anchorage is located near the runway; the picture of our navigation app shows our boat behind the sand dune and the airfield. 

I couldn’t get a few of the close pictures as they flew just above the boat; you had to hold your ears.

After the practice we took the kayaks to the shore to explore the remains of the old fort and the beach.  In my infinite wisdom I decided not to wear my sandals so they wouldn’t get wet and full of sand, the whole place is sand right?  Nope, sandburs and cactus…..ouch.  

We had to make a few detours but were able to see the foundations of the fort and walked the beach on the Gulf side.  We had the whole beach to ourselves for as far as we could see.

Except for this Office Depot shopping cart. All of the hardware was gone and it looked like it had been in the water for quite some time before washing ashore.  Hurricane?

Nice vantage point to watch a sunset.

We weighed anchor April 17^th and dropped it in another favorite anchorage at Pirates Cove, we are now in Alabama. This is a very protected anchorage and severe weather was forecast in a couple of days.  There were two other boats anchored here so we didn’t have the swing room we like to have but we found what we thought was a good spot.

Another problem with this popular anchorage is people are purchasing property around the bayou.  This boathouse wasn't here in the Spring of 18.

As the storms passed through the strong winds caused our anchor to drag in the mud bottom.  This is the first time we’ve had this happen since 2015 and we had to reset it after midnight in gusty winds, not fun.  If we had been by ourselves we would have been fine but with another boat close by we didn’t want to take a chance.  The next morning the other boater said we had 60 mph wind gusts, I’m not sure how he knew that but I know it was blowing hard.

On April 21^st we arrived at the Orange Beach Marina, it is rare for a marina in Florida to have covered slips.  This is also the tightest marina we have had to maneuver a trawler in but we made it.

 We're the 4th boat in from the left.

 Charter boat ready for customers.

 A unique boat for sure.

My sister and brother-in-law, Lucy and Jeff are vacationing here from Indiana this week so we selected this marina to visit with them during their stay.  We had a great time exploring an area by land that we have only seen by water.

We visited the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola and watched the “Blues” practice again but this time on the bleachers in front of the runway.  It was interesting to hear the history and an explanation of each procedure that they performed.  At the end of the practice season, they are flying just 18” apart.  If you ever get a chance to see a show, don’t miss it!

We stopped by Joe Patti’s, a local fish market in Pensacola, and stocked up on fresh seafood for our dinner.

We also spent some time on Orange Beach…and looking for treasures.  We mostly found pop tabs, and small change, but Jeff found a real silver earring. 

We returned to Pirates Cove April 27^th for a few days and will probably stay in this area a week or so.

  

A busy place on a Saturday afternoon.

I’ve been checking the rivers and there is still major flooding north of Mobile, AL.  The tail water at Coffeeville Lock (our first lock)  is 30 feet above normal and flowing 60,000 cubic feet of water a second.  Way too much current to be traveling upstream.   

Punta Blanca Island to Carrabelle, FL

Total Miles Traveled 2407.2

Wow, I was thinking I need to update the blog when we arrive at Carrabelle…..it’s been a couple of weeks, then when I looked at my last post realized it’s been one month ago today!  I know it’s hard to believe but time goes so fast, we’ve even had people ask if we ever get bored, we just don’t have time to.  Whether were anchored, or at a marina, we are always busy doing something. 

We anchored at Punta Blanca Island March 4^th and stayed for seven days, this is by far one of our favorite places on the Gulf Coast.  We took care of a few maintenance items and organized, then reorganized some of our storage areas.  Of course we also took time to watch Mother Nature whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Just when you think you’re in your own little world, miles from the nearest person, something snaps you back to reality.  We were enjoying our quite little anchorage when we heard a rumble in the distance, getting closer and closer, then just above the tree line a helicopter appeared, then descended into the trees.  We’re not sure of its purpose, but ten minutes later it took off again disappearing over the island.

Another great breakfast on the boat.

We left Punta Blanca Island March 11 cutting across Tampa Bay with favorable seas.  This is a major shipping channel and we have only seen ships a couple of times while crossing.  We made it across the channel this time just before a ship passed under the Skyway Bridge.

We continued on to an anchorage at Bird Key, near Sarasota, and then on March 12^th we traveled to an anchorage at Redington Shores.  On March 14^th we made the short trip to Gulfport, FL city marina for a two week stay while visiting family on the Florida east coast.  We really enjoyed seeing everyone and had a great visit.  There is one thing we don’t miss as full time cruisers, the traffic.  It didn’t matter what time of day we traveled Interstate 4, we could rarely drive the speed limit, or use the cruise control, stop, go, slow down, speed up………..I’m very comfortable cruising 8 mph on the waterways.

We left Gulfport on March 28^th and anchored near Clearwater FL, then continued on to an anchorage at Anclote Key March 29th. 

Passing Three Rookers Island on our way to Anclote Key.

The Anclote Keys lighthouse stands 102 feet high and was originally built in 1887 and then automated in 1952.  The Coast Guard deactivated it in 1984 and it was turned over to the state of Florida.  Anclote Key is now a state park and the lighthouse was restored in 2003.  The light can be seen for about 20 miles.

On March 30^th we started our Gulf crossing to Cedar Keys, about 70 miles.   The anchorage is located in a very shallow area and is exposed to the open waters of the Gulf.  We have to time this crossing to have favorable weather conditions to get from Anclote Key, to Cedar Keys, then to Steinhatchee.  Steinhatchee has a marina located about 5 miles inland providing protection from unfavorable sea conditions.

Anchored at Cedar Key looking through the channel markers to the Gulf.

We arrived at Steinhatchee on March 31^st, a 60 mile cruise to the Sea Hag Marina.  We stayed here until March 3^rd as a weather front moved through stirring up the Gulf.

On March 3^rd, we arrived at Carrabelle Fl, this was our longest part of the crossing at 84 miles.  Every time we cruise this route we see spotted dolphins, they act different than the other dolphins we have seen in the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean.  They are high energy dolphins, swimming in every direction around the boat, jumping high out of the water and darting from side to side.  I actually picked them up on our radar a couple of years ago jumping out of the water.  Six or eight of them traveled with us for about 15 minutes during this crossing.

We met these loopers at Carrabelle; they started at Ft. Pierce Florida last year.  They left early the next day so I didn’t get a chance to talk to them very long, I think they said they were from the Netherlands.  A very unique boat, that he referred to as a ship.

m/v Broadsword

We are back in the protected waters of the Intracoastal Waterway so timing the wind and waves won’t be as much of an issue.  We still have several open bodies of water to cross, but nothing like the Gulf.  The last word we heard was the waterways are open from Mobile to Demopolis but the area of the Aberdeen lock will be closed for at least another three weeks.  That shouldn't pose a problem as we won’t be in that area until mid-May.