From the Florida Panhandle to “The Crossing”

 November 13 to November 15^th

 

We pushed forward for 3 days straight across the Florida Panhandle, from Pensacola to where we are tonight in Carrabelle, FL.  This is the place where people wait for good weather so that they can cross through the Gulf of Mexico to get to the west coast of Florida.  

 

When we left Pensacola, the water was so smooth – just like glass.  I had put together some homemade split pea soup and it cooked all day in the crock-pot.  The cabin smelled wonderful.  We went about 65 miles and traveled with 2 other boats, our Canadian friends on Barefoot Shoes, and another Canadian couple in a Grand Banks 36 called Falkor—these people have done the Great Loop 3 times!!!  Unbelievable!  We all put our hooks down (anchored) near a bridge.  We invited everyone over to our boat to share our soup.  I made a chopped salad and Gayle brought homemade biscuits.  Rae made some delicious stir fry vegetables and chocolate cake.  It was a pretty healthy dinner, and very enjoyable company.

 

Roger pulled up the anchor at 6 a.m. the next morning and off we went.  The anchor was loaded with that awful black mud we have encountered too frequently on this trip already!  Other than cleaning the mud off the anchor chain, it was a beautiful day.  There were so many dolphins off the bow of our boat.  They were swimming along with us for miles.  It was a thrill to watch!  We stopped for fuel around noon near Panama City.  We usually don’t stop in the middle of the day, but one of the other boats needed to fuel up.  

 

I took advantage of the unexpected stop and phoned my doctor to prescribe an antibiotic for a problem I was having.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to see a doctor for 4 more days, so I was lucky it worked out.  The owner of the marina drove me to the pharmacy and by nighttime I was feeling a little better.  Definitely my mind was at ease.  But we had a schedule to keep and if we didn’t push on, we might miss the weather window to cross over the Gulf.  There were no marinas on this stretch and last night’s anchorage wasn’t all that friendly.  It was a narrow finger off the intracoastal waterway.  There was no chance of taking Louie ashore because we were surrounded on three sides by Florida swamp.   And we were introduced to the no-see-ums.  We stayed inside and watched a DVD.  In bed at 8:30 p.m. (can you believe this?), but wide-awake at 4:30 a.m.  

 

Anchor was up and we were on our way by 6 a.m. for the final miles on the Panhandle.  We went 65 miles today and the Intracoastal was winding and narrow and shallow for a long time in the morning.  It was swamp and on both shores for a long time.  Very boring.  And then we heard gunshots from the shore.  We were worried that someone was shooting at the Canadian boats behind us!  But it was a hunter.  More dolphins swam along with us and we saw a huge turtle, but I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough before he dove under.  We pulled into a marina in Carrabelle, FL for the night.  Roger was looking forward to his beer tonight.  We did over 190 miles in 3 days.  And now we need to prepare ourselves to go 190 miles in 24 hours, overnight, NONSTOP.   

 

The weather is going to be good enough to cross the Gulf tomorrow.  So we will press on.  We will leave around 10 a.m. and travel with the 2 boats we’ve been with.  I’ll go to the grocery store in the morning and pick up some Diet Mountain Dew.  I’m scared that I won’t be able to stay awake during my shifts at the helm.  (Remember I slept 9 hours during Tropical Storm Ida!).  We are going to alternate every 2 hours. 

 

Our son Heath is in the Coast Guard in St. Petersburg and he assured me that “in terms of open ocean, this is the most populated area with fishing vessels and recreational boats.”  BUT there is no cell phone service and no internet once we leave Carrabelle until we arrive in Clearwater 24 hours later.  There are no marinas to pull into and no anchorages.  Only ocean.  We will have radio communication, but that is only good for about a 12-mile range.  Do I sound nervous?  I am.  I just want to get it over with and get to Clearwater, where we will plant ourselves for 2 months!  

 

Thank God for Autopilot.  Roger will set the compass heading for our departure from Carrabelle and we will go in a straight line all the way to Clearwater.  We’ll just have to keep an eye on any other boats around us and the autopilot should follow the sailing line on our Chartplotter.  Soooooooo, wish us luck.  Especially wish Roger luck that I can stay awake for my watch every time!