The after Crossing slowdown

Sunday December 26^th

Windy and Cold this morning.

We took the “Loop Bus” to get an idea of the downtown area here in St. Petersburg. MSC – It costs only 25¢ (10¢ for us old farts). It was so cheap that I threw in a quarter for the two of us (big spender – eh!). At least I did when I had no dimes. This bus runs from the Pier in to the waterfront area and then around the St. Petersburg Bayfront commercial area. The Pier is a huge long pier that reaches out in to the bay and has an inverted pyramid building on it with restaurants, shops and an Aquarium. 

We got off the bus at the Salvador Dali Museum. This is an excellent museum. The collection is really comprehensive, covering his art from the time he was 14 until he stopped painting. Besides the paintings there were many photographs taken while he was working. A docent gave free tours throughout the day.

Monday December 27^th

Cool and cloudy

Carole went to the Museum of Fine Art which was a short walk from the Marina Dock, While I spent the afternoon trying to install the Radio/CD Player.

Tuesday, December 28^th

A short walk took us to the Chihuly Exhibit.For those not familiar with his work, he is an amazing glass artist. It is blown glass, much of it in very large scale. We had seen him working at the Glass House in Tacoma, however this exhibit is only his glass and is much larger than the Tacoma Exhibit. We were really impressed and pleased that we got to see it. The exhibit is a permanent museum, designed and built specifically for this collection. We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum but could take pictures of the pieces for sale in the gift shop. The prices for these were from $4500 to $9000 each. These pieces  are about salad bowl size. The work in the Museum was all 5 to 10 times larger and even more intricate

These are all blown Glass - no paint or enamel.




Wednesday, December 29^th

One of the carriages for hire

We decided not to leave tomorrow. There is a First Night Celebration with fireworks so we will stay on to New Years Day.

We went to visit the History Museum (another very short walk). It was a comprehensive exhibit of the history of St. Petersburg and featured a replica of the first airplane to fly a scheduled passenger service in the world.

On the way back to the boat there was a flock of White Ibis feeding on the lawn oblivious to the people, bicycles, and horse carriages going by.

 Thursday, December 30^th

How would you like to clean up after these guys

We moved the boat into a slip since the Transient Dock was sold out for New Years Eve. In the afternoon we went to the Pier and visited the Aquarium. It is small and quite well done. We also watched the Pelicans getting fed. There is a vendor selling Fish to feed them.

Friday, December 31^st

It has finally warmed up to Tee shirt weather again.

I worked some more on the Radio/CD Player and Carole did a Major Cleaning.

I had to take a bus out to town (a different 10¢ bus) to buy a part. At a traffic light I looked out of the bus door and on the ground near the curb was a cattle egret with a small lizard in its beak.

Jim and Roni (Le Bateau) came for dinner and to watch the 9:00 pm fireworks. The company was good, the fireworks only fair.

After they left we took Annie for a walk through the crowds and the celebration. Lot's of food and trinket vendors and lots of people trying to pet Annie. It was quite crowded. We watched an African Dance troupe perform for a while. Annie was a bit nervous around all of the crowds (and lots of other dogs) but she was quite well behaved and calmed down after a bit. We joined the dock party on our dock about 11:30 and at midnight we watched the fireworks. This show was first class. A really fine show.

Saturday, January 1^st

Another warm day – yea!

We went to the local farm market this morning. Not much in the way of farm goods and little of it was local. Lot's of food, handicrafts, art, flower, and plant (orchid) vendors, and a band playing the two step with folks dancing. We bought the most expensive fish ever (except for the one Carole caught in Canada). It was a black Grouper with a fillet taken off one side. At 2 ½ lbs. It cost $46.00. It was good when we grilled it for dinner, but a tad pricey.

I finally got the Radio/CD player installed and working. A broken speaker wire stumped me for a while, but once that was solved it worked fine. I still need to finish the trim.

Last Thursday Carole had a cap fall off a tooth. We called around but it seems that all of the Dentists take the week between Christmas and New Years off. At first we thought we would move on and find someone further South. Today we decided to stay through Monday and get it taken care of here. So we are staying for a few more days.

Sunday, January 2

About 60º F, Cloudy, some light rain early.

Hung out on the boat, did a little cleaning (very little) and started the trim for the Radio/CD player. Mostly I watched Football. The Eagles Game was a late game and not being shown locally. Carole convinced me to find a bar that would be able to show the game. We walked in to town and found a bar that had the NFL Package and they agreed to show the game on one of the sets. The rest of the TV's were showing the Bears/Packers Game whose outcome was of concern to the local fans. Right next to our set was one of the speakers for the rest of the bar, so we were hearing one game and watching a different one. It was really weird to say the least. Watching a back run through the line while we hear over the speaker: “It's a long pass …...” or even worse we are watching the referee explaining a ruling and we hear: “ Are your hemorrhoids causing you to miss out on …....” as a commercial airs on the house channel. On the plus side we got to watch 3 games at once.

After the game we went across the street and had a good sushi dinner.

Monday, January 3^rd

Carole was able to get an afternoon appointment at a dentist four blocks away. Everything turned out well. The dentist was able to cement the crown back on and we are good to go tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 4^th 2011

Cool (60º F), overcast, calm

St. Petersburg Harbor

I watched an Osprey with a fish land on top of a nearby sailboat mast and start to eat it. Sure glad I was not on that boat.

We are on the move again! We were enjoying St. Pete so much that we were afraid we might plant roots there! Well not really, It was a nice layover however.

An easy trip to Sarasota. We anchored off a park and took the dinghy to shore with Annie. O'Leary's Bar at the beach is dog friendly so we stopped for beer and wings. Report: Crispy – 2, Taste – 4, Hot -3, Meaty – 4, total -13

When we got back to the boat there was an egret on the swim platform. Of course Annie did her job and chased it away. No, she did not try to jump off the dinghy only barked at it.

The front goes by.

We watched a cold front pass over us. A really sharp cloud line headed west and the setting sun came out for a really pretty sunset.

Wednesday, January 5^th 2011

Clear and warm, Light wind.

We went to the Ringling Art and Circus Museum this afternoon. It is on the Ringling Estate which was given to the state of Florida before he died. It is now part of Florida State University. The estate consisted of the art museum, circus museum and their winter mansion. A second circus museum has been added. The art museum housed their extensive art collection in 21 galleries arranged by era and all of them surrounding a huge courtyard filled with sculpture.

The mansion built about 1924 has all of their furnishings including 17^th Tapestries and a player pipe organ. We did not have enough time to take the tour so only saw the first floor.

The miniature circus museum was outstanding. It cover 3800 sq. ft. and at 1/2” to 1' scale it depicts a full tented 3 ring circus from the railyard where the cars are unloaded to all of the tents for preparation, dressing, stabling, eating, and performing. It was created over a 50 year period by one man – on his own. He donated it and installed it here in 2005. Explanations and photographs detail all of the various sections of the circus, from feeding 1500 people a day, putting on a show or two, and moving to another city for a show the next day.

The circus arrives

Overlook from the second floor

The mess tent.
Each person had an assigned seat and they were Served on china.

Even the Men's room. (There was also a Ladies.)

Dining room in the Ringling's Railroad Car

 The circus museum has memorabilia, as well as the Ringling's restored railroad car and many old circus wagons that have been restored.

It was a really fascinating afternoon.

 
Thursday, January 6^th 2011

Overcast and pouring rain in the morning. It was raining so hard that Annie decided she didn't need to pee this morning and turned around went back to the boat before we got off the dock. I, on the other hand, walked four blocks to the barbershop. Naturally the rain stopped when I arrived.

We started out about 11:00 after it cleared up a bit. It was cloudy, windy and cold all day.

We did have dolphins adopt us a second time. One swam in our bow wave for about ten minutes and treated me to a leap that cleared the bow rail. Another swam alongside for about 5 minutes. Annie has become a dolphin watch dog. Whenever one gets close and blows she runs off the flybridge and barks at it. She apparently can smell them. On the flybridge she hears them, but on deck she is constantly checking the air for smells.

We anchored near Englewood Beach off Lemon Bay. Wind was blowing 10-15 knots and I had to run the dinghy about ¾ mile to find a place to get Annie to shore. The surrounding islands are all mangrove swamps with no landing place. The town side is all private houses. I found a small marina and the first person I asked about tying up the dinghy said: “Sure”. Turns out he is a looper that stopped there to visit his mother.

It was pretty windy (15-20 mph.), but we had a comfortable night.

This dolphin was drafting us for a while

Friday, January 7^th 2011

It was calm, cold and clear this morning. Not as cold as I expected. It was comfortable taking Annie to shore although when we got to the dock it was low tide, so that I had to lift Annie up to the dock. We walked in to town and passed two parks with “No Animals Allowed” signs so we had to walk along the streets. One of the parks was along the dunes and I understand the need to keep dogs away from nesting birds, but the other park had concrete facing the water and really there was no need to keep dogs out.

The waterway was very calm. Dolphins continued to adopt us as we traveled. We also saw many pairs of Osprey building nests – tis the season. Carole saw a flock of pink birds fly by yesterday. Probably Roseate Spoonbills.

It was an easy trip up Charlotte Harbor and we docked at Burnt Store Marina by 1:30. I met up with the marina manager who was really surprised when she saw our home address. Not only was it in Mullica Hill but that we also live on Ferrell Rd. - actually right across the street from her sister-in-law. I knew that before we stopped here. We had learned that a while back. She and her husband had a boat at Greg's Neck Boatyard about 20 years ago and we had briefly met back then. While talking with our neighbor we learned about their relation. We learned that she was the marina manager from another looper that kept a boat at Greg's Neck back then also. It was great talking with her.

We also got in touch with another looper that now lives down here. We will go out to dinner with them tomorrow.

Meanwhile Carole has found an art class that she might want to take.

MSC- We got a weekend car rental from Enterprise for $9.95 a day.

Saturday, January 8^th 2011 – Beautiful, clear, mild morning.

The heron on the bow.

I watched a small fishing boat heading out and sitting on the outboard was a Snowy Egret. Carole thought it might be a pet until it flew to the bow. It was looking for a handout from the bait tank.

We went to Punta Gorda (the marina is nearly 10 miles out of town) to check out the class Carole was interested in. She signed up for the class. It is once a week for 6 weeks, so we will be staying in the area until February 15^th.

We will probably visit several anchorages this week and will take a slip for a month starting next week. I can use the time to do some cleaning and minor repairs I have been putting off. Maybe I will do some fishing also.

We had dinner with Pam and Bob from Mint Julep. They have moved here from Kentucky after finishing the loop. A great evening with friends.

Tomorrow there is a large juried art show in Cape Coral.

Sunday, January 9^th

A really good art festival. There were about 300 artists showing and they did a good job. There were some very innovative artists.

Tomorrow we will work on a plan for the next month.

Monday, January 10^th 2011 – Warm and Breezy

I saw several Manatees on the walk this morning. Annie barked at them. They could have cared less.

Carole is getting ready for her class tomorrow and we went to town to pick up some art supplies.

Planning will wait for another day.

Tuesday, January 11^th 2011 – It's a ONE-der-Full Day 1/11/11

Carole started class this morning. I went out to investigate possible marinas for the next month. I wound up talking to a number of loopers that we had met much earlier in the trip. I did find out that Ft. Myers seemed to be the place to go. We will need a car no matter where we stay so that will add to the cost. We can use the car to visit the area while we are here.

We will be staying at Burnt Store for a few more days as it is getting cold again. We'll probably get underway again on Friday.

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

The birds and wildlife have changed since we got down here. We are seeing few Great Blue Herons and a lot of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, Small Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, White Ibis, and Pelicans. I also saw several Wood Storks along the highway as well as a wild boar and an armadillo. 

In the evening when the small fishing boats go by there is almost always an egret sitting on it and two Pelicans swimming behind. At the launch ramp there was another Snowy Egret, a Small Blue Heron, and a Great Egret waiting for the leftover bait handout.

Wednesday, January12th 2011 – Cold (46º F) and Windy

I don't know where the day went. I sat around and watched the day go by. I must finally be on Island time.

We were invited to the Yacht Club for a pot luck Happy Hour. It has apparently gotten out of hand and turned in to an almost Pot Luck Dinner. There were wings, Pulled Pork, Hot dips, cold dips, mini hot dogs, and more. The people we met were really nice. With property value so depressed in price it would be a good place to buy if it were not 10 miles from the nearest store.

Thursday, January 13^th 2011 – Very Cold (37º F) and windy

There is something wrong with this picture -walking in a winter jacket, gloves and a knit cap with Palm Trees swaying in the wind. I suppose I shouldn't complain. Florida is the only state in the union with no snow today.

Spent the day messing about the boat and getting ready to get underway tomorrow.

Friday, January 14^th 2011 – Cold (41ºF) and calm

We waited until it warmed a bit before getting underway. It is almost what we expected Florida to be like. We had a very short travel day – about 2 hours to Pelican Bay.

It warmed up a bit and after feeling our way in to Pelican Bay we dropped anchor in 6' of water off of a State Park Dock.

Looking north to the inlet

We took Annie in the dinghy to the park. The park has a free tram and lots of walking trails. We took the tram to the Gulf Side of the island and walked along the gulf for about a mile. The trail was inland from the beach behind the dune. Annie was not allowed on the beach so we stayed on the trail until it ended on the beach at the North end of the island. Annie once again confirmed that sand is great to roll in. She jumped in to the surf (the waves were small) and then rolled in the sand on the beach. The trees and shrubs are very different than anything we have seen so far. Palms, pines, oaks, sea grapes, mangroves, prickly pear cactus, and many shrubs we could not identify.

Fantastic Sunset and a really pleasant night.

One thing that has made it really enjoyable that I had not given much thought is that there have been no bugs. I mean none! No flies, no mosquitoes, no bees, no butterflies, no spiders – nothing. This is both in the wilderness areas as well as the populated places. Very strange and very welcome.

Sunset on Pelican Bay

Saturday, January 15^th

Still cold this morning, but 50º F is easier to take than 35 or 40º F. When I took Annie in for her morning constitutional I inadvertently made the first of two poor decisions. I tied the dinghy up inside the main dock instead of the dinghy dock. Coming back from the walk I was about to get into the dinghy when a large (~50') trawler was coming in to the inside of the dock.. I thought I would give them a hand – poor decision #2. 
Some days it just doesn't pay to be a good Samaritan. They were struggling to get the boat close to the dock as the wind was blowing them away from the dock. I was finally able to get their bow line and was told to tie it off. I did and the line promptly fell off the boat. It had not been tied properly. I coiled the line and threw the end with the loop back to the boat and tied my end to the cleat on the dock again. 
At this point I could see that it was going to take a while so I let Annie get out of the dinghy and on to the dock which proved to be a good decision. The captain was going back and forth trying to get closer to the dock. His wife was trying to get the stern line over to me but could not throw it far enough. They were having trouble communicating because all of the side curtains were closed. The captain walked away from the helm to say something to his wife and left the throttles in forward. The boat hit a dock piling and tore up his teak toe rail along with the hull to deck joint. He also rammed our dinghy under the dock – good thing Annie was not on board. It put a hole in the dinghy also. It was fairly small – he gave me a repair kit he thought was new (it wasn't) and wound up giving me cash instead. I pumped up the dinghy and made it back to the boat before it deflated.

We were underway only 10 minutes after our hoped for departure time.

I started the dinghy repair underway. I did have repair parts on board. It was only a short day to Tarpon Bay and the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. By 4:00 the dinghy was ready to go again.

Today should be called “Adventures with Annie”. To get her ashore I had to take the dinghy across a shoal by rowing and then motored it ½ mile across Tarpon Bay. When I got to the dock and beach I was told it was a private commercial dock and beach and I could not land there. The ramp attendant was very sympathetic and was calling the manager for permission when Annie took things in to her own hand and jumped ashore. I then heard over the loudspeakers: “Get that dog on a leash and clean up after it!” while she was peeing on the beach. At that point we were allowed ashore. I talked to the people on shore and they showed me where I could bring Annie ashore in the morning.

As I was leaving he beach I proceeded to break the shearpin on the outboard. After watching me struggle with the replacement the ramp attendant invited me back in and loaned me some tools. Fifteen minutes later we were on our way again.

It has been a very dinghy dinghy day.

It seems that when it rains it pours. Especially when a waterline fitting fails while the generator is running. I heard a strange sound when I went to fill my wine glass. The line going to the faucet in the forward head pulled loose and the pump was spraying water all over the forward head and emptying our water tank into the bilge. I refastened it, but it needs a permanent repair.

Meanwhile it was lucky, that I was doing my usual and putting ice in my wine when I noticed that the propane to the refrigerator was off and the alarm had shut it off. I think we are out of Propane also.

No water, No propane, I know we are headed to Ft. Myers a day early.

To put the icing on the day's cake, the forward bilge pump switch had stopped working, so the water tank contents were now in the bilge. The bilge filled with water, wet the propane detector and the propane alarm kept going off – we are not out of propane after all. After hand pumping about 50 gallons of water into a bucket and dumping it over the side, I finally got the bilge pump running and emptied the last hundred gallons out of the bilge. I could not get the sensor working so I shut off the propane, disconnected the sensor and sat down at 11:30 with a glass of rum.

Tomorrow is another day.

Sunday, January 16^th 2011 - cool and overcast

Walking Annie this morning was going to be tough. It was low tide and the shoal I rowed over yesterday was going to be so shallow that I would have to get out and drag the dinghy across. I would then have to motor 1 ¼ miles to the nearest beach I was allowed to use. So, combined with no water, and the propane system down we decided to head straight for Ft. Myers. Annie was going to have to hold it for about 4 more hours.

Part of our Dolphin Escort

The trip up the Calusahatchee River was easy and with our dolphin escort an enjoyable one.

We are now here for a month. I really do not expect to write much as this is now a sightseeing tour of the West Coast of Florida from a rental car. If there is anything worth writing about I will.

I think we will enjoy the warm air and Sunshine for awhile.

TTFN

The Jump

Sunday & Monday, December 12^th & 13^th

Ft. Walton Beach, FL - Cold and Windy.

Spent Sunday working around the boat and watching football. Carole is installing some material on the shelf at the front of the cabin to water protect it. When the there is heavy condensation on the windows the water drips on to the shelf and it is ruining the wood. She also started making the Christmas Cards.

Short finger piers at The Boat Boatyard & Marina

The cold and wind are expected through Monday and the cold to be here through Tuesday. On Monday we borrowed the truck to go to the local Publix Market. Spent the rest of the day doing minor stuff while waiting for the wind to die.

Guinea Fowl Admiring themselves in a mirror

Walking Annie here is a minor adventure. I never know where the birds will be waiting for us. There are 4 different paths we can take to get Annie where we can walk. Three end up going to a sidewalk along a busy highway and then to a small park. The fourth path is across a pedestrian drawbridge to a church parking lot. The church does not mind us walking the dog there – but Sunday morning it did not seem like the best idea. I did manage to pick the path with the least birds occasionally and sometimes I even missed stepping in the bird poop.

Ate on board Monday. Using the stove helped heat the cabin. With the temperature expected to go in to the 20's (F) the boat's heater needs all the help we can give it.

Tuesday, December 14^th

The heater was losing ground all night. The cabin temperature fell to 57ºF with the thermostat set for 72ºF. Outside it was 27ºF and windy from 11:00pm on.

The ducks were swimming in a hole in an icy pond.

Once again I was wishy-washy this morning. The plan was to leave at 10:00am and anchor for the night about 25 miles away. The thought of taking Annie to shore in 27ºF temperatures had me leaning towards staying another night. A further look at the weather changed my mind. The wind was going to pick up again from the one direction where there is no protection in the anchorage and the next day looked like a bad travel day. After arguing back and forth with myself – Carole and I decided to go. The generator can run the heater and Annie's morning walk will be a short one.

Travelling with the flybridge closed and the sun shining in is very pleasant. We should arrive at the anchorage about 2:30 or 3:00 which will give me daylight to get Annie to shore.

I bet that this area is really nice when it is warmer.

Taking Annie to shore proved easy. There was a boat ramp I could use to beach the dinghy and get on land without getting my feet wet. We are anchored along the approach road to the Choctawhatchee Bridge. We are well protected from the NW wind. Not any other boats – I guess it is too cold for them – me too, but we are kind of stuck with the weather we have. We will probably run the generator all night – a first for us – but it is still supposed to drop in to the 20's tonight. Hopefully the heater will keep up.

Carole has cooked a great dinner, easily the best of the trip.

Wednesday, December 15^th

The generator and heater did well. Temperature in the cabin dropped a bit, outside it only fell to 34ºF, and inside it was 66ºF.

Taking Annie in to shore was a different story. The wind shifted in to the East during the night and there was a light chop in the anchorage. Going to shore with the wind behind us was easy, and Annie had a good run. Coming back I had to fight the wind to get the dinghy off the ramp and in to water deep enough to lower the outboard and start it before getting blown back on to the ramp again. Then we motored in to the wind and chop. Getting sprayed with water when it is 36ºF outside is not high on my list of fun things to do.

Annie pretending to be a figurehead

We raised anchor at 8:00 and headed east again. About ½ of the trip today is through a land cut locally called the “The Canyon”. It is about a 17 mile long channel dug out of the sand on the Southern Shore of Florida's Gulf Coast. Instead of rock walls this “canyon” has sand walls, an interesting change.

We arrived at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City early and took a walk through the area.

Sand Wall Canyon

The highlight of the St. Andrews stop was dinner at Hunt's Oyster Bar. The place was small and crowded. The Appalachicola Oysters exceeded their hype. They were excellent, and at $4.95 a dozen they were not the cheapest in town but were far cheaper than anywhere else I have ever eaten them. Hunt's came recommended and it did not disappoint us. I had alligator and it and the fried okra were also wonderful. Carole had a fish and shrimp dinner that she really liked. This was one of the top restaurants this trip.

Thursday, December 16^th

Overcast and mild this morning with 15 to 20 knot winds called for, we decided to wait until tomorrow to leave for Port St. Joe. I think this was the first warm day since Tennessee. Although it rained part of the day it was pleasant. I actually could wear a Tee shirt in the afternoon.

We had to try Peg Leg's Oyster Bar & Saloon for an appetizer this evening. This is the bar that had really cheap oysters - $2.95 a dozen on the half shell. The oysters were very good, but not quite the same as at Hunt's (at least Carole thought so and I noticed it also). I am not sure why since they all came from the same water. The place only opened a week ago and seems really promising. If we were staying another night I expect we might try it for dinner. Carole had bought fresh shrimp at the dock and they are what is for dinner tonight.

Friday, December 17^th

Low fog, calm, and mild this morning (65ºF). This is what we came south for. No long underwear, not even a jacket – WOW will wonders never cease!

Of course the warmer temperature has consequences, namely fog. When we left there was a layer of fog on the water about 3 or 4 feet thick. As we left St. Andrews Bay and headed up to the waterway it thickened to about 25 tho 30 feet. Coming around Redfish Point we encountered a freighter coming out. Radar picked it up first and then we could see the bridge and the antennas above the fog. We turned right to avoid it and it kept turning toward us. A radio call confirmed it was turning to head out to the inlet. We were able to go farther right and pass it before we ran aground.

Fog was going in and out constantly. Sometimes we had 50 Ft. visibility and at others we had 2 miles visibility. Fortunately we were in pretty open water and had no problems for a while.

Fog Strings

Fog Hill

The fog cleared up about 10:15 although we did run into some strange isolated clumps of fog. We were seeing strings of fog along the waterway and in one spot we saw what looked liked a hill of fog maybe a quarter mile around and 500 feet high in the middle of the bay.

Dolphins off the Bow

Dolphins stayed with us until we entered the canal cut, and pelicans, loons and cormorants were there the entire trip. I saw a Dolphin leap clear for the first time this trip. We also saw several Bald Eagles in the canal cut.

We arrived at Port St. Joe Marina about 4:00 o'clock – We are now back on Eastern time. There are two other loopers here and so cocktails at 5:30. A fourth couple (looper dropouts) were also there. They had left Michigan four years ago and when they arrived in Port St. Joe they liked it so much they stayed. We all went to Provision for an excellent meal. We had seared Ahi Tuna with artichokes over angel hair pasta.

The other loopers are leaving their boats here for Christmas and driving to Sarasota by car. So we will head for Apalachicola on our own tomorrow.

Saturday, December 18^th

We had planned to start late today so we could get some shopping done in the morning. A 9-9:30 start was the plan, but fog pushed it back a bit and we finally got underway about 10:30. Cooler today but much more tolerable than last week. It is about 55ºF, overcast with some light fog hanging around.

Lots of Bald Eagles around this morning. We have seen about 10 so far, mostly immature.

We arrived in Apalachicola after a short encounter with a sand bar about 3 o'clock. Randy and Barb on Lazy Dolphin were waiting on the dock to give us a hand tying up. Water Street Hotel Marina is more Hotel than it is Marina. Only about a dozen slips and check in is at the hotel lobby.

Several hours later Le Bateau pulled in with Jim, Roni, and Kelly aboard. Jim is a high school classmate of Carole's who is also on the loop. They have been in touch on and off and we have crossed wakes several times but never met up. Apalachicola Oysters are really good – but I have already said that. I had them steamed tonight.

Wing Report for Boss's Oyster House: Crispy 3, Taste 4, Heat 3, Meaty 2, total 12 – not bad for an Oyster House.

Morning at Water Street Hotel & Marina

Sunday, December 19^th

Overcast and windy today so we all decided to hang out another day. We went out for breakfast and had Oyster Cakes (like crab cakes only with oysters) and eggs – pretty good.

We walked in town and found several shops open. One shop has an actual working soda fountain, with stools and syrup dispensers – they even make “phosphates” whatever they are.

Le Bateau has satellite dish and subscribes to the NFL package so we were able to watch much of the Eagles game. The local channels (which we could not get anyway) were carrying the Tampa Bay Game. The Eagles game was really a bummer until the last 8 minutes. When the score was 31 – 10 Giants I said to Jim: “This game is over”. Several minutes later I said: “let's take a look at the game to see if they decided to play.” We switched to the Eagles game just as they scored on a long breakaway run. The ensuing kickoff was a perfectly executed “Onsides Kick” and they proceeded to score two more touchdowns to tie the score. When the Giants had to punt with 9 seconds left in the game we were preparing to watch overtime. However the punt was returned for a touchdown with no time left in the game and the Eagles won.

We went out for dinner again for another really good meal (and yes I had steamed Oysters again)at Caroline's where we had eaten our breakfast. There were only 3 restaurants open out of about 15 in walking distance.

Tomorrow looks good to go to Carrabelle.

Monday, December 20th

Clear and Cold (37ºF) this morning, but almost no wind. We left along with Lazy Dolphin about 9:30. Roni (on Le Bateau) was catching a plane for home in St. Petersburg to get ready for Christmas so Le Bateau is staying in in Apalachicola another day.

Tonging for Oysters in Apalachicola Bay

We caught the last outgoing current and were doing 9.2 mph down Apalachicola Bay. The current disappeared as we turned East up the bay and shortly turned in our favor again, so we were making better than 7 mph even in to a 10 mph wind. As we entered St. George Bay we caught the current from East Pass which slowed us again.

We arrived at C-Quarters Marina about 2:00pm where we got lots of help docking in a cross wind and current. The marina is a gathering place for locals plus a number of boats that were heading south and liked the place so they stayed for a month or two. There were three other loopers there also – all of us looking for a weather window to make the 24 hour crossing.

A dockside Meeting Me, Randy, and Andrew

We had a number of dockside meetings. We would meet and then go back and check all of the weather sites. Consult with the synopsis by Tom Conrad, the AGLCA member who really studies the weather in the crossing area – He lives right in the area, and then we would meet again. We all decided that tomorrow looks like the best shot to make the crossing for a while.

Another dockside meeting - probably planning their boat bombing runs

We had originally wanted to take the shoreline route around the panhandle to the isthmus. This is only a 13 hour crossing, but further information from those who have been there convinced us to take the straight shot to Clearwater. The coast route is very shallow and in the winter the prevailing wind makes the area even shallower. So prudence wins and we will take “The Jump” The biggest problem I see will be Annie. Can she make it 26 hours with out a bathroom break? Or will she finally break down and use the Astroturf on the back deck.?

Tuesday & Wednesday, December 21st  & 22nd

Got up last night and took a look at the moon in eclipse. I only stayed up for a couple of minutes. It was cold and we have along trip ahead.

Tom Conrad's prediction this morning looks even better than yesterday. So off to “The Jump” we go.

Things started relatively calm with only a very slight chop and maybe ½ ft. waves. After an hour out we are seeing steady 1 Ft. waves with an occasional 2 footer.

We left at 11:00 am so we would make the approach to Clearwater after 10:00 in the morning. We have been told, with a lot of other confirmation that from 20 miles out the crab pots are horrible. So we want the sun to be high in the sky when we get there and not have the sun in our face.

Last year I claimed that fresh water lakes were boring and that in salt water there were at least turtles and dolphins to watch for. Well this piece of water – the Gulf of Mexico – is also boring. The only thing we are seeing is the other boats crossing with us.

After talking with Lazy Dolphin on the radio we decided to change course and head for Tarpon Springs. Not only is it about 15 miles less open water, but we can get Greek food there! There is a large Greek Community in Tarpon Springs that was started by the Sponge Diving industry. But first we have 125 more miles to go – we have already gone about 50 miles.

Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

Two other slightly faster boats, Freedom and Jenny Jo caught up and passed us during daylight. They eventually will have to slow up since they will be arriving before daylight.

Although we rocked a bit with the waves it was pretty comfortable through night. Carole and I took three hour watches. The temperature stayed about 61ºF all night. The wind shifted from south to Southwest during the night and the waves fell to less than 1 Ft. by morning. All four boats stayed in touch during the night and checked in hourly with each other. Plus we called with any other commentary (relevant or not) whenever we felt like it. It was reassuring to talk to another boat out there and it helped stay awake. We also had a full moon all night which was very pleasant.

Sunrise on the Gulf

In the morning we arrived at the Crab Pot Line just after dawn and with the flat water we had no problems avoiding the pots even with the sun in our eyes.

Tarpon Springs Dockside Greeter - A Snowy Egret

At 10:00am we were back in the ICW and at 11:30 we were tied up in Tarpon Springs. Annie's 25 ½ hour ordeal was over. I think we had more of an ordeal worrying about her than she did. She seemed to not mind the trip at all. At the beginning the waves seemed to upset her and then she went to sleep and stayed that way almost all the rest of the trip. Although she did not eat or drink the entire trip, she rarely eats underway anyway. We thought that maybe she was not happy at one point and then she got up and followed Carole in to the cabin, something she only does when she is feeling comfortable with the boat and the motion. All in all she did very well. And Yes when we arrived and she got off to take a short walk, she jumped right back on the boat as if nothing had happened.

Tarpon Springs has a really large Greek Community as I mentioned before. Although it was originally started by Sponge Divers I think that all of them have quit the sponge diving and opened restaurants. This is definitely a tourist town. The souvenir shops which alternate with the Greek Restaurants and clothing shops all feature lots of Sponges of all sizes and varieties. The shops all either have a free sponge diving museum and film or they are “World Famous”. We never did see any museums or film so I can not comment on them – although that usually doesn't stop me. There are also a number of tour boats that go out and demonstrate the sponge diving industry.

We took a walk through town, then and had lunch at – what else – a Greek Restaurant before going back to the boat and taking a nap. Even though Annie got plenty of sleep during the crossing Carole and I did not.

Pelican piling cap

There were pelicans on top of every piling. At first I thought that they were decorations until one moved.

In the evening we went out for – yes – Greek Food! We went back to Mama's where we had lunch as they had the best selection of dishes we were looking for, lamb, octopus and Retsina.

Diversion

I now feel compelled to introduce a new Super Hero. Not that the world really needs another one. I will call him “Mister Super Cheap”. Picture a large hand squeezing a dollar bill until coins drop out of it. A logo will be forthcoming at some point. Until then he will be marked as MSC. His purpose in my musings is not as a penny pincher (or I would have called him PP), but to highlight the less expensive or bargain places we have found.

End Diversion

MSC – Mama's had four double lamb chops for $19.95 with salad and a side. They were excellent. So was my grilled octopus at $11.95. The Retsina however was much too refined for a Greek wine.

Thursday, December 23^rd

We slept like logs last night. We were going to leave the dock at 8:30, but I did not wake up until 8:00. It was clear and cool this morning with a 10-12 mph wind. Instead of leaving quickly we took some time to rinse the salt off the boat, so we started out about 10:00.

When we left the Anclote River we ran in to 2' waves. They were from the back so it was not a problem. After about 3 miles the current changed in our favor (we crossed an inlet) and with the wind and current in the same direction the waves subsided. We entered into the ICW behind the islands and the waves disappeared completely.

We can tell we are in S. Florida. The buildings are crowded close to the waterway and most are more than two stories high. The west coast looks much like the east coast of Florida. We are also seeing more boaters than we have recently.

We anchored for the night in a basin beside the Welch Causeway Bridge. There is a dock here that we can use to tie up the dinghy so I can get Annie to shore. It belongs to a McDonald's. There is an outdoor patio at the head of the dock. Local liveaboard boaters use the patio as a meeting place. The boaters offered some advice as to where to anchor, and also mentioned that the McDonald manager usually let boaters stay overnight. Since we were already anchored I thanked them and moved on. The best anchoring spot was taken up by an old decrepit dinghy. The boaters told us that it belonged to a boat that was semi-permanently kept anchored in that spot and it had gone out for a day sail. We had found a spot nearby the dinghy that would be fine for the night. We were headed for the market that was in the same parking lot as the McDonald's. It was a very handy anchorage. Easy to get to shore and shopping close by.

We ate on board and and had a good night's sleep.

Friday, December 24^th

Cold, clear, and Windy, the wind was about 12mph out of the North.

A short day and easy trip to St. Petersburg today. The marina is clean and pretty modern. There is a park nearby where Annie can run in the morning.

We took a walk through the downtown area and had lunch. We went to Messineo's at the advice of another boater we met on the dock. Messineo's is an upscale deli and made some very good Panninis.

I had an Eggplant and Brie Panini which was quite good. We also made a stop at the supermarket to buy a chicken to roast for Christmas Dinner tomorrow.

Saturday, December 25^th Merry Christmas!

Started out the morning trying to figure out where to install the CD/Radio player I got for Carole. It was originally a birthday present that got delayed until Christmas. Finding a spot for it was difficult. We finally decided on a location on the forward salon bulkhead, and as I was cutting a hole for it I found a second bulkhead behind the first and then found a the side of a cabinet behind that.

I was saved from further work by a call from Jim, Carole's High School Classmate, with an invitation to Christmas dinner. Carole had not started the chicken so we accepted. It turned out we were going to dinner at his wife Roni's sister's home with a very large extended family.

View from the balcony

We had a great time. A wonderful dinner with really great company. The house was what I would expect a Florida home t look like. Open balconies inside overlooking the living room with arched doorways. Outside was a covered second story balcony overlooking the pool and the dock. Everyone (about thirty of them) was easy to talk to with some interesting stories. The two turkeys and two cottage hams were only a part of the great food – there was way more than could be finished.

It was a wonderful day!

The last long sea trip is over and we can now enjoy the waterway and South Florida if it ever gets warm again.