“Red Sky in the Morning, Sailors Take Warning” 12-5-08

We were all dressed up and nowhere to go again this morning. The NOAA forecast or guesstimate issued a small craft caution with a front due through our area this morning with 15-20 knot winds with 3-4 foot seas. We had an impromptu Captain’s Meeting at 6am with lots of coffee and decided to stay put. The red sky in the morning sunrise was taken as an omen that we made the right decision.

We had a very interesting and information discussion with Charlie Norwood, the owner of Sea Hag Marina. He explained how the crab pot lines are arranged along LORAN lines and so are not as haphazard as they appeared to us. The crabbers do not want to lose their lines and pots anymore that we want to run afoul and tangle our props. We also discussed the real advantage of a single engine boat with a keel that protects the prop and even more protection if you also have cutters. He said that he’s seen more prop damage from boaters having their own dock lines get tangled in their own prop when docking.

Let’s talk about the real marauders of FL. They are more feared than the pirates of old and more voracious than any shark. I am talking about the saber tooth sand gnat, also known as “no see ums”, which are hungry beasts that swarm around sunrise, sunset and all day on cloudy days, tearing off bits of flesh and pieces of ears, ankles and neck until they finally overtake their prey and drive them crazy with itching.

The Legend of Steinhatchee claims that so many early settlers were overcome by the even more lethal version of the beast, gave their blood in this effort and that Deadman’s Bay is named after them. This fierce little predator has been beaten back a bit by pesticides and bug sprays but it has never met a competitor that it hasn’t whipped.

Bob is a particularly tasty target for these critters and we now call him a “bug magnet.” He is in desperate need of an antidote. The $85 dollar Buzz-Off shirt is not it, nor is Deep Woods Off which is an aphrodisiac to them. We have checked with the locals and found out that rum Painkillers is the only known remedy, or in a pinch, drink a lot of beer and don’t bathe.

Decisions…Decisions (12-4-08)

We arose again at 5:30 am fully expecting to do Part II of the Gulf crossing. NOAA issued a forecast for south to southeast winds at 10-15 knots with 2-3 foot seas. This was similar to yesterday’s forecast but we actually experienced 3-4 foot seas for half the trip. A charter fishing captain met with all the Loopers this morning, and said that in his opinion, it would “ be rough out there today because as the coast turns eastward, you will lose the protection from land.”

What forecast to believe??? Each Looper couple had to evaluate the information based on their own experience and knowledge and decide for themselves. 2 boats, Gulf Cart and Freedom’s Turn, decided to go; Highlander, Golden Lily and Baby Grand, decided to stay as Friday’s forecast looked better.

Bob and I always enjoy a lay day and took off this morning to explore Steinhatchee. It has a colorful history as it was initially Seminole territory, was colonized by Spain in the 1500’s and was a pirate area from 1500 to 1800’s and was known as Deadman’s Bay. The name was gentrified to Steinhatchee which means “river of man.” It has supported logging, sponging by Greek divers in the 1940’s, and now is known more for small scale commercial fishing.

We have been very pleased with the Sea Hag Marina. You cannot beat the price of $.56 per foot with Boat US discount and tax plus $5 for utilities for a floating dock. The staff is very helpful, restrooms are clean, a gulf cart is available to do errands and they have a nice patio area for 5pm Captain’s Meetings.

Crossing the Gulf Part I (12-3-08)

5 Looper couples (Gulf Cart, Golden Lily, Highlander, Freedom’s Turn and Baby Grand) were up at 5:30 to consult all the weather and navigational aids (NOAA, both maritime and aviation, on XM; Looper emails from those who have recently crossed, and local knowledge). At 6:30, we met with Buddy, harbormaster at Carrabelle, who has unique local information and forecasts. With today’s forecasted East wind, his recommendation was that if we avoided going directly across to Steinhatchee and stayed more in the shallower waters initially going towards Buoy 26, we would have less wind and waves.

We decided to go for it as the odds looked more in our favor and headed out at 6:45. It did start out initially pretty calm as this sunrise picture shows and we hoped to have these calm seas for the whole day, but by 9:30 we were rockin’ and rollin’ with 2-3 foot bow waves. We thought that we were back on Lake Superior as the Gulf was churning the same green color. It was so comforting to be with a Looper flotilla through these waters. We kept up a steady chatter on Channel 68 checking in with each other, warning of obstacles, and getting weather updates.

Bob and I have been cruising in these protected waters too long and forgot to really batten down everything. When the waves increased to 3-4 feet, our secondary anchor on our bow pulpit broke away and Bob had to go forward to secure it. Our dinghy also started to shift and more lines were needed. We won’t make those same mistakes again. Even the pelicans were having a hard time just flapping their giant wings and not able to get airborne again after snagging a catch.

The faster Looper boats, Golden Lily and Freedom’s Turn, reported back to us in the afternoon that they had sighted land and the seas were calmer. This was welcome news to we slow trawlers 90 minutes back. However, the new menace was the dreaded crab pots which lay in rows scattered throughout the shallower waters. These yellow and red crab pot markers look pretty innocent and colorful but their underwater lines can reach out and grab propellers and bring even the biggest boat to an abrupt halt. We did not want to be a casualty.

We made it to the Sea Hag Marina at Steinhatchee by 5:15 which left just enough time to thoroughly wash down our salt-encrusted teak boat and go out to dinner at Fiddlers to celebrate our adventure. Dinner was quite good but some entrees were a little too salty or maybe we were just permeated with salt from today’s Gulf emersion.

Carrabelle 12-2-08

A little later start today but it is only 30 miles over to Carrabelle. Another cold front has come through and it was 43 degrees this morning. It is certainly possible that we Northern Loopers are still bringing the cold fronts with us. The silver lining is that this pattern of showers, cold fronts, high winds, then high pressure and low winds is predictable and can lead to a weather window to cross the Gulf.

This was an easy journey today following the red and green buoys over to Carrabelle. Apalachicola Bay is a prime fishing area and here is a picture of a shrimp boat looking like an antebellum Miss with a hoop skirt. Oystering is big here and there were 30 small boats here all raking up the oyster treasure. We did see about 3 pods of dolphins this morning, but just as I would ready the camera, poof, they were gone. I am trying not to take it personally.

We passed Dog Island on our way to Carrabelle and had a chance to survey our route out to the Gulf. We went to the fuel dock at Moorings Marina and Buddy helped us in. He is so knowledgeable about the area and the right conditions to cross the Gulf. More Loopers are coming in this afternoon and we will meet up with them and discuss strategies. Buddy will meet with all of at 6:30am tomorrow and give us his recommendation.

Meanwhile, I got to do a less glamorous task of cleaning the bilge. We have had a lot of rain and did not put the cover on the windlass and had a little extra water in the bilge. The pump handles most of it, but not all, so that’s where I come in.

We did a quick walking tour around Carrabelle and one of its distinctions is having the “smallest police station”. It was fully functioning in the 1960’s and a credit to their lack of crime. However, vandals found it an easy target for illegal calls and one tourist even tried to load it in their truck. So much for progress.

St. George Island 12-1-08

We have 25 knots of wind and cannot go to Carrabelle, so what do we do? We went online and found a car rental deal at the local small airport and booked it for today. We would rather spend money exploring a new area than going out to dinner—it’s about the same cost.

We had read about the volunteer effort to save the St. George Lighthouse and had to see it. A group of volunteers salvaged the 22,000 bricks when the 3rd version toppled over, got grants totaling $525,000, solicited private funds and rebuilt it in a safer central location. It is a work of art patterned after the original but with 92 new wood steps, brass details and reinforcements, it will hopefully survive in this fourth revival.

St. George Island State Park is another barrier Gulf island that has been preserved in its natural state. Like the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, it offers bay and Gulf views but St. George has a more remote feel. I walked for 6 miles on a deserted beach, made firm by low tide, overnight rain and hard packed shells. It was a red flag day of 25 knots and my footprints were vacuumed by the strong west winds. I treasure times like this.

The internet is great and we were able to find out that the local health dept was offering flu shots today so we got that done too. With a little grocery shopping, we are topped off for the next 2 weeks. On to Carrabelle and crossing the Gulf if the sea gods allow.

Apalachicola 11-30-08

Rain..rain..rain but that does not stop these intrepid Loopers from exploring. Apalachicola is a town steeped in history and charm. It has undergone feast to famine cycles so many times from cotton, lumber, salt, fish and oysters (90% of FL oysters are still from here) and now to tourism. There are a number of Victorian houses, B&B’s, and interesting galleries, shops and restaurants. Fresh fish and oysters are readily available and we went to Papa Joe’s for our fill. The chocolate mousse cake at Café con Leche is not to be missed. There was a musician at Gibson House playing jazz alto sax which added a sultry dimension to this rainy afternoon.

There are a number of museums to be explored. We toured the Orman House which is part of the FL Park system now and received a $300,000 grant for restoration. It has had a colorful history with Thomas Orman, the original owner and transplant from Syracuse NY, mirroring the town cycles of fortune and misfortune in the 1800’s. At 6’7”, he was a robust man who regularly had a breakfast of eggs, ham, grits, biscuits and 2 dozen oysters at the dining room pictured above. His last descendant, Miz Andrews, lived into her 90’s and kept a horse in the parlor and a shotgun under her bed.

We also toured the Gorrie Museum which featured the ice machine invention by the venerable Dr. John Gorrie. This is the antecedent to modern refrigeration and air conditioning which he developed to help the suffering of patients afflicted with various fevers. We had wanted to tour the Maritime Museum but it was closed so we headed to the 2nd best—the Tin Shed which features all sorts of nautical bric-a-brac.

Lest you think that we are all play and no work, Bob changed the impeller which sorely needed it. He also tested the long distance capabilities of the Ham radio and made contact with the maritime Ham network in Toronto, Canada. We will need this when we go to the Bahamas to get weather and make any emergency calls.

Pushing East to Apalachicola 11-29-08

It takes about 6 Loopers 5 minutes to figure out what day it is and now that we have crossed into the Eastern Time zone, add 5 more minutes. I wake up in the morning to the familiar surroundings of my v-berth bed, but I have to lie there awhile and ask myself, “Where am I?” I would definitely need more time and a little coaching to pass even a Mini-Mental Status exam these days. I like that about cruising life—everything is different practically every day except for your boat and your partner and I would not trade either of these.

We are off to Apalachicola today and hope to get there before major rain is expected. Our trusty "Intercoastal Waterway Chartbook" directs us through long narrow sections with very interesting descriptions of the adjoining land masses—the impenetrable swamp, cypress swamp, low swampy area, bayou and marsh. I can not tell you what the differences are but all have a subtle beauty and quietness as we proceeded almost alone for the whole morning. Questions that I cannot answer: "if the swamp is so impenetrable, how did they get a house there; what is the story behind the chair; how shallow is that island"? I think that these are the proverbial FL swamplands that are for sale to naive investors.

We then entered Lake Wimico which is very shallow (1-3 feet) off the narrow buoyed channel. This was made a bit more interesting by increasing winds and tidal flow so we had to be very vigilant to stay within the markers. There is anxiety with cruising, and in these situations, we do a rehearsal for the worse case scenario, i.e. “What would we do if our engine cut out right here and we are blown into the shallows in this really remote area?”

We arrived at the Water Street Marina at noon. We chose this marina as it is close to town and they have floating docks. However, at extreme low tide which is today, there is only 4’6” of depth at this marina which discouraged other Looper boat with deeper keels, "Golden Lily" and "Highlander", from coming in.

The forecasted rain did materialize but we were able to get a picture of palm trees with Christmas evergreen decorations in front of Water Street Hotel and Marina. The Yule Log lighting ceremony was cancelled but Santa did arrive by shrimp boat yesterday so Christmas is on.

We did tour the Raney House in the rain. It is another example of Greek revival architecture during the antebellum period and gives a glimpse of life in the mid 1800's. We plan to tour more historical areas tomorrow, rain or shine.

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park 11-28-08

One of the advantages of staying in an area an extra few days is the opportunity to really explore. Our gracious host, Ray Whitney, offered us the use of his Toyota so that we could drive 20 miles to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park which is situated between the Gulf and St. Joseph Bay. It is the crown jewel in the FL park system and offers a sweeping landscape of towering dunes and untamed wilderness.

On the bay side, we explored the nature trails, peeked in on nesting birds and were surrounded by the quiet subtle mood of nature that was so nicely captured by the passing red kayak. The Gulf side offered a wilder side with rough surf, seagulls flying and kids playing on the beach. To have such different experiences in the same afternoon was memorable.

This area offers 2 campgrounds and modern cabins for rent and would be well worth a visit on the way to southern FL.

It Does Not Get Better Than This (Port St. Joe) 11-27-08

This part of Florida is dubbed the “Forgotten Coastline” but we will never forget our time here. Port St. Joe (PSJ) deserves a full page spread in the Destination section of “The Waterway Guide.” We almost didn’t come here but got a recommendation from fellow Looper, Madison Groves on “Joy@Sea” and we are so glad that we visited. Looper rate is $.75 per foot--that is a deal!

Port St. Joe Marina has certainly earned its title as “Florida’s friendliest marina.” P SJ Yacht Club Commodore, Ray Whitney, greeted us warmly when we arrived, offered us his car and he and his lovely wife, Patsy, fellow boaters, Jim and Rita, and visiting friends, Luke and Mary from Chicago, took us out for Thanksgiving dinner at Tindell Air Force Base. We felt so at home with them.

We also met Rudy and Jill who built their 34’ wooden trawler, “Briny Bug”, over a 4 year period and took it cruising up to Lake Eire. Fellow boaters lent Bob some tools he did not have so he could do some engine maintenance. We have not had any mechanical problems so far which is a testament to Bob's preventative maintenance program, the sturdy 135 Ford Lehman engine and some luck. Everyone we met is working on their next cruising plan—these are our kind of people.

The area is favored with spectacular beaches—St. Joseph Peninsula State Park was voted America’s #1 ranked beach in 2002. Port St. Joe was a mill town as late as 2000 and it is to be commended for reinventing so successfully as a tourist destination. Local residents who have transplanted here all talk about the beauty of the area, the amenties available and the charming 1950’s small town feel.

We will be back.

Swampland on the Way to Port St. Joe (11-25-08)

We only have 45 mile trip today to Port St. Joe. I am a little tired from all the nightly adventures that I describe in “Tales from the Sea.” The overnight rain has cleared the air and we head east into a clear sunny sky.

Today’s trip is similar to yesterday as we will traverse larger bays ( East Bay and Big Cove) and snake through narrow connecting channels (Wetappo and Gulf) which makes the journey very interesting. The harder part on the larger bays is finding the red and green channel markers when the sun is in your eyes but the rest is easy. We had company this morning from the powerboat “Rita” who welcomed us to the area and told us that we had 2 dolphins swimming in our stern wake. They were beautiful and fast and again eluded my camera lens.

Another Looper boat, “Lady Margaret”, a beautiful hand-built wood trawler, is 5 miles ahead of us. We hailed them to ask about their plans to cross the Gulf. This is our new preoccupation and any boater who has ever crossed has definite opinions about when and how to cross: “Take the overnight from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs (170 miles) as you will not have the problem of your rudder getting fouled in crab pots….. No, don’t do that, take the multi-day Rim Route from Carrabelle to Steinhatchee (70 miles) and then along the coast to Crystal River then Tarpon Springs. There are crab pots but it’s safer than doing an overnight sail and being far off shore….. Be mindful of when there is a high pressure system over Texas….. Anchor at the east side of Dog Island not Carrabelle as you get ahead by 5 miles….. No, leaving from the north side of Dog Island is safer …….. Just leave from Carabelle at 0 dark 30 and head out East Pass at first light......"

The water turns brown as we head into the Wetappo narrow channel and the land is swampy but very interesting. Fishing is great here but we are also finding more debris. Is that an alligator or a tree limb? We are surprised to find that we have 4 bars on the cell phone in this remote area.

One decision we have made is to spend a few days in the Port St. Joe Marina and not to push on for a Gulf crossing on Thanksgiving. The old Peggy and Bob would have pushed it; the new, relaxed versions have learned a thing or two about enjoying the moment. We decided to make the stop here as other Loopers recommended it, it bills itself as “the Gulf Coast’s Friendliest Marina” and the town has a good grocery store, restaurants, movie store and walking areas.

Happy Thanksgiving!