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.