Clearwater Municipal Marina - 1/17/11

Heavy rain during the night and into early afternoon. Skip put a bucket out and captured around 4 inches of the stuff. Glad we weren't home in WV or it would have been white stuff up to our ....

Ricki fixed a fantastic gravy and biscuit brunch for us when we finally got up around 10 a.m. Maybe now we have all our sleep caught up. I spent a better part of the afternoon charting our trip down the coast and made reservations for all the marinas we will be in from here to Marco Island. Tomorrow we will go to St. Petersburg Municipal Marina thru Friday when we will be going across Tampa Bay to Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton for a couple nights. Daughter Christine and her family are in Florida and will be joining us on Thursday to travel to Bradenton.

The pictures are from dinner tonight at Crabby Bill's here at the marina. Ten of us loopers got together for food and fun. Eight of us were in the group that crossed the Gulf together along with another couple from Michigan we met at Port St. Joe and are here at this marina. The folks around the table are: Nelson and Elizabeth (Little Bit O'Life) from Tennessee and moving to Florida, Pat and Dick (Gypsea) from Michigan, Scott and Marlene (Nomad) from Canada, Ricki and Carl (Quest) from WV, Skip and Barb (Moor $tuff) from Illinois. Couldn't believe the bucket of seafood that Scott and Marlene devoured! Skip tried his first raw oyster which Ricki videoed and he claimed he liked it. Our dinner of grouper was the restaurant special dish and was pretty good as well. The light chandelier that hung over our table was quite unique. Tomorrow we will leave for St. Pete as soon as the sun comes thru the predicted fog around 10:30 or so. Ricki spotted a nautical store that she hadn't seen before and needs to touch everything in there before we leave.

Clearwater Municipal Marina - 1/16/11

January 15, 2011 - Six boats that got together last night, decided to cross the Gulf together today. We had a final meeting with Buddy, the weather expert at the marina at 10 a.m. who told us to expect a good trip but we would experience 1 to 3 footers part of the night. He suggested that we travel a few miles further toward the west coast of Florida before turning south in order to use the land as a buffer for the NNE winds that are expected. We all decided to leave at 12:30 p.m. and preparations for departure started. It was quite a sight to see all six boats pull out of the marina at the same time. As we left Carrabelle River Ricki got a picture of all the boats turning the corner toward Dog Island. I was especially happy to see this day happen and really hadn't slept well in anticipation. Our little friend travelling with us wanted the first shot at driving the boat but needed a little instruction. This was a 189 mile trip expected to take 20 to 22 hours that we were extremely happy to have other boaters for company. Around 5:30 we were treated to a spectacular sun set and then it got DARK. We were the last boat in the convoy and boy did it get rough early the next morning. We couldn't see the water so we didn't really know if we were experiencing the wake from the other boats or if it really was rough so we dropped back a little over a quarter mile and discovered it really was rough. Even the auto pilot had a time keeping up with all the waves and kept trying to over correct so a big portion of the night it rested. This was definitely an experience of a lifetime running all day and night and at night all you can see is the running lights of the boats in front of you. Any movement around the boat in the dark and rough water had to be very careful. Chatter among the boats kept us company and most of the time amused us. We really made good time running most of the night at 9 1/2 MPH so we approached Clearwater just at dawn. We had been warned by other boater friends of all the crab pots and boy were they right. It was like a slalom ski event dodging them for the last 15 miles until you reach the harbor. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. safe and sound but really tired. I had called the local West Marine to check on a new 50 amp to 30 amp spliiter a couple days ago and took a cab to pick it up before hitting the sack. Tomorrow we are supposed to move over to Treasure Island marina but according to the weather report it may rain. As I sit here at 4:10 p.m. (in my shorts and t-shirt) it is 70 degrees and should be over 70 tomorrow. Life is good ... very good.

Our position is N 27 58.555 W 82 49.476

Carrabelle, FL - 1/14/11 (last night)

The Moorings Marina is a very nice place where everyone just bends over backwards to make you feel comfortable. It is also the final marina before entering the Gulf to go to either western Florida or start the big bend. It is a very small town but just about everything you need is within walking distance including an IGA, Ace Hardware and even a store that sells spirits. This morning at 10 a.m. a meeting was held with Buddy who has many years dealing with the Gulf regarding our crossing which has been set for Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. to Clearwater, a distance of 181 miles straight across. As of now we have at least 5 boats going with us. For those that have never met Buddy, which includes most folks, take a look at the picture with Ricki and Buddy. Anyone who has ever crossed the Gulf has depended on Buddy to determine the right time. We seem to be in one of the biggest good weather windows ever seen for January and we are excited to say the least. After the morning meeting the 3 boats that have traveled together, Little Bit O'Life, Moor Stuff and Quest went to a local cafe for breakfast. Later in the afternoon at 5 p.m. about 6 boats of loopers got together on Double Trouble x 4, a beautiful big Carver for docktails along with their dog Hannah. Tomorrow is a big day for us. This adventure is nothing but awesome and the folks we have met have made the trip very memorable. I think we have everything loose either tied down or put away just in case we hit some rough water which I don't think will happen .. but just in case. I am sure when we get to Clearwater after 20 to 22 hours awake this blog will not have an entry.

Carrabelle, FL - 1/13/11

Not much happening today. A trip to the local IGA across the street from the marina and on to the ACE Hardware next door with Skip to pick up a couple items then back to the boat to do engine checks before we get the green light. To respond to a couple comments ... we will be meeting with Buddy the Gulf water expert tomorrow at 10 a.m. along with the other loopers here to determine when we will leave. Looks like a Saturday crossing to Clearwater as of right now. We will go first to Clearwater Municipal Marina for the first night then on over to Treasure Island Club. As for the splitter problem ... I had a single cord 50 amp male to 30 amp female to a splitter for twin 30's. Apparently the 30 amp female was not enough to handle the twin 30 load and when I turned on an additional heater the 30 amp female as well as the 30 amp male plugged into it flashed and popped the 50 amp breaker. When I started tearing into them to replace the plugs, I discovered the whole wire from the 30 amp male to the splitter was burned.

We have made reservations in Marathon at the Sombrero Resort and Marina for 1/28 thru 2/12 and will then work our way up the east coast toward Ft. Lauderdale in hopes of leaving for the Bahamas sometime around 2/20.

Carrabelle, FL - 1/12/11

A nice lazy day but pretty chilly outside. We did our laundry at the marina laundromat and I walked to the ACE Hardware store across the street from the marina. When we were getting ready to leave Port St. Joe I had put a small heater on the helm to warm it up but the 50 amp splitter to twin 30's couldn't handle the extra load since all 3 heaters in the boat were also running and it flashed and all the wires in it were burned. The hardware store did carry some marine parts but not the splitter I will need on the rest of the trip. Seems that 90 percent of the marinas that we have stopped in require this splitter and do not have just 30 amp service. Tonight is supposed to be cold again, in the mid 20's and only mid 40's tomorrow. It sure will be good to get further south. I did make reservations in Marathon for later this month for a couple weeks. Tomorrow I plan to check all the engines out for the anticipated crossing later this week. Yesterday we met Buddy here at the marina who is the undisputed expert for picking the crossing day and he thinks it may be as soon as Friday so all the boaters will meet with him at 10 a.m. Friday morning for final decisions.

Carrabelle, FL - 1/11/11

Finally we are on the move again! We left Port St. Joe about Dawn 30 (0720) and traveled the 60 miles to the Moorings Marina in Carrabelle, FL which will be our launching port for the Gulf Crossing. The trip over was pretty uneventful but chilly. For those not ever being in Port St. Joe, when you leave the marina you exit back out into St. Joseph Bay then make your way over to the canal that runs about 5 miles back to the inter coastal waterway. After about 10 miles you make your way thru Lake Wimico, which is about 5 miles across, then 10 miles of the GICW to Apalachicola. The first 7 pictures are of the town which is know for the best oysters in the south, but since I tried them and don't care for them, it doesn't matter. The bridge is highway 98 that runs the whole panhandle of Florida east to west. After leaving the GICW canal we entered the Apalachicola Bay which is BIG and runs into the St. George Sound. It was about 31 miles of water, some of it pretty shallow and it was not unusual to see depths of 5 to 6 feet in a lot of places. We ran about 1500 RPM which was a speed of 8.7 to 10.7 MPH depending on tide movements. To enter the Moorings we turned north just about the east pass on Dog Island which is where we will exit to cross. Upon arrival we had to wait for our buddy boats that made the trip with us ... "Little Bit Of Life" with Nelson and Elizabeth and their nephew Captain Robert and Skip and Barb on "Moor $tuff" to get fuel and pump out before our turn. We put on 203 gallons which has carried us 288 miles, part of which (228 miles) was with both injector pumps leaking fuel so I think our MPG may increase. All 3 of us plan to cross together hopefully this weekend when a weather window might appear. We plan to leave late in the day so we don't arrive before noon in order to see the crab pots without the sun in our eyes. Thanks Ross & Nancy for the tip. In the next couple days we will probably do our laundry and final mechanical checks before getting rested for the trip. Obviously this will be one of the bigger challenges of the whole adventure. Tonight was a steak dinner with our buddy boaters on "Little Bit of Life". We are saving the champagne for Clearwater.

Our position is N 29 51.113 W 84 40.377

Port St. Joe Marina - 1/10/11

Final preparations to depart after more than a month here. Today I changed all the fuel and coolant filters which took a major part of the afternoon. Of course during the mantenance while changing the fuel filter on the genset, while draining the Racor bowl the drain cock broke off inside the bowl so it resulted in a quick trip to NAPA to create a new one. By 5 p.m. all systems were complete and everything ran without any leaks so a celebration with Skip and a couple adult beverages on the aft deck was in order. Skip spent the day playing with his new Garmin chartplotter and tells me that he has entered all the waypoints for our trip tomorrow. Ricki has been trying to track a lost prescription order from MEDCO and had to go to the local CVS for an emergency 10 day supply. Of course that sounds simple but it involved calling MEDCO, paying for them again to get another shipment, getting a waiver to get the emergency supply, calling her doctor to send CVS a prescription then waiting for all this to come together. We are sooo ready to move again tomorrow. We will be leaving at first light for the close to 70 mile run to Carrabelle.