The Home Stretch

I had to wait a week for a break in the weather so as to have a good gulf crossing. 

We left Carrabelle at 7 am. It was cold but the wind was calm on St. George Sound. So it appeared to be a good start. 

But once we passed Dog Island and entered the Gulf of Mexico, the waves started to pick up to around 2 feet. For the next 50 miles the waves ranged from 2 ft to 6 ft. It was like riding a bucking horse. The NOAA forecast wasn't accurate. 

As we got within 20 miles of Steinhatchee, the waves finally subsided to 1 to 2 feet. 

We arrived at Sea Hag Marina. We had a long day covering 85 miles.

We decided to stay a day and relax before starting the last leg of 93 miles. 

Just like our last stop,the Sea Hag marina office also had a friendly cat minding the store.

The next morning we left at 7am. It was low tide and the channel was less than a foot in many places. We actually bumped the bottom a couple of times. As we traveled, there were a large number of crab pots strung out all along this part of the gulf.

As we approached the mile markers into Crystal River, dolphins joined us for long stretches, welcoming us home.

6 pm on January 19th I docked the boat in its slip and we had returned to our home port. The Great Loop was completed.

I really enjoyed the boating, the places I visited and the people I’ve met. It was alot of fun and an awesome experience.

On the road again

I am back on my boat. I took a break and went home for the month of December through to after New Years Day.  If I have good weather I can complete the trip in 4 days and be back in my home port.

We left Panama City at 6:40am. It was a cool morning with a light wind and the water was calm.

Got out into St. Andrews Sound and back on the ICW. There was no boat traffic.

When we went by Tyndall AFB a dozen jets took off and it was loud. We traveled 63 miles and on the way to the marina in Apalachicola we passed a fishing boat that caught my eye.

Pete joined me for this leg of the trip

Evening sunset

At 9 pm we saw lights coming upriver and it was a set of 20 barges with 2 tugs. one in the front and a tug in the rear.

The next morning we left Apalachicola at 6:30am (still central time). There was a slight chop and it was 41 degrees. It felt colder on the water. We passed a dredge in the channel.

Today was a shorter trip, 4 hours, and we arrived at Carrabelle and the C-Quarters Marina. We are back on Eastern Standard Time.

Carrabelle is the end of the Intracoastal Waterway on the Florida panhandle. You can pick it back up at Tarpon Springs on Florida’s west coast. Tonight the temperature was dropping below 30 degrees and there were gusts of up to 35 mph winds.

A stray cat that found a home at the marina office.

We had arrived at low tide and made it a little difficult getting into the marina. Overnight the tide got even lower, so much so that the boat beside us hit bottom. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the boat, the rudder block was forced through the hull enough to cause a leak. The boat was taking on water and their bilge pump was running constantly. The boat had to be taken out of the water to be repaired.

Some windy and cold days are in the forecast for this week so we'll have another travel delay as we're waiting for a better weather window to cross the gulf.

Florida Panhandle

It was 37 degrees when we (4 boats) left Orange Beach heading to FL. I started off on the flybridge but went down to pilot from inside the cabin. We traveled through Santa Rosa Sound.

Smoke from a distant fire - hopefully this was a controlled burn. 

We passed by an interesting looking military test tower and radar dome. We continued through the Narrows.

  










    
A large barge traveling west bound.

It was an eight hour day and we stopped overnight at Legendary Marine on Santa Rosa Island (the Gulf Islands National Seashore).The water tower was nearby. Two of the boats from our group continued on ahead.

The next day the 2 of us left at 6am and entered the Choctawhatchee Bay passing by the town of Destin.

There was moderate chop on the bay with a few white caps. Needed to use the wipers today from the spray.

It took 4 hours to cross the bay and get on the ICW. There was no other boat traffic.

 

The sand formations on the coastline were interesting.

We took the ICW to West Bay creek which then empties into West Bay. West Bay flows into St. Andrews Bay. It was another 8 hour day on the water when we arrived at Panama City, FL. There are some interesting boats in the marina. 

St. Andrews marina at sunset

Sweet Home Alabama

 

I left Fairhope, AL and headed out into Mobile Bay. It was a clear 40 degree morning with a calm bay. We then left the bay and onto the ICW and continued to the Wharf Marina at Orange Beach, AL. 

I thought we'd be in Florida by now but we have been having a mix bag of cold, rain and wind. 

So we have been spending several days waiting out the weather here in Alabama. Boaters are backed up all along the Florida panhandle waiting on a good weather window to proceed further east or cross the gulf.

With my extra time here, I got to experience Lamberts Café in Foley, AL. They’re known for their “throwed rolls". You will not walk away hungry. http://www.throwedrolls.com/

A great blue heron thinks he's dockmaster and squawks at everyone.

Where I’m docked I had a view of the intracoastal waterway and have watched the barge traffic. 

The other night I returned to the boat to find a 120’ motor yacht, Freedom, blocking my view. 

It’s a charter that you can check out at http://www.comeaboardfreedom.com/. Freedom is available for a rate of $74,500/wk, all-inclusive, or a non-inclusive rate of $64,500/wk plus all expenses.

   Boat envy

   A boaters Thanksgiving dinner at Ginny Lane restaurant.

Last lock

We had 7 boats leave from the marina and I was bringing up the rear.

I have entered the final lock on this trip (the Coffeeville lock and dam).

It brought us down to sea level in 10 minutes.

 

We anchored out for 3 nights. The below shot was taken during a morning departure at 6:28 am.

We got to the Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope, Al on Mobile Bay. We hunkered down for a few days due to rain storms and a cold front that have come through. The temperatures are dropping so we hope to be soon heading out to the gulf and making our way east towards the Florida panhandle.

Winter Coat

We took 4 days, anchoring out every night before we reached the Demopolis Yacht Basin in Demopolis, AL. 

An early morning start at 6am. 

 

Amazing what you see in the middle of nowhere.

White sand bluffs

It was great to get to a marina. We were there a few days and ready to move on down the waterway to Mobile but we got fogged in and it would continue for several days. As we would be anchoring out for 4 days straight until we reached Mobile, we decided to stay put. In Mobile we were planning on getting the boats out and having the hulls painted before winter and before we got back into salt water. Since we were staying, we decided to get the work done here. Also we’re allowed to live aboard while the work is being done and we were told that it wasn’t permitted at the Mobile boatyard. 

On the boat lift

 

So here we are “on the hard”. Unfortunately a cold spell has moved in and we have been in the 30s every night. Let me tell you, boats are not very insulated. Who’d have thought I’d be freezing in Alabama? The winds were so strong, I woke up in the middle of the night concerned I might actually tip over. Luckily I had tied the ladder to the boat. 

The temps are too cold to apply the paint and since it needs two coats, we might be here longer that we had anticipated.

View from the boat of the TennTom waterway

My view of the boatyard