From Carabelle to Clearwater

Sanctuary crossing the gulf as seen from Mariah

Tourist area to the max.

Condos run to the water all along the water.

Mariah looking good under full sail.

Fair wind and a friendly seas

Left Carabelle at 9:30 in the morning planning to cross to Tarpon Springs. The weather was forecast to be steady winds at 15 knots out of the Southwest. The waves were predicted to be 4-6 feet but laying down in the afternoon so we thought we'd tough it out and go. Turns out the winds were perfect for a reach and very steady. The waves were only 3-5 which was very manageable for us. We made the best speed for the most consistent distance ever. In the first 12 hours, we covered over 73 miles. The winds died down and the waves did as well. We didn't have to turn the engine on until about 2 in the morning. Unfortunately when we did run it, it was smoking worse than ever and wouldn't maintain a steady purr above 2500 rpm. Above that, it would run all over the place and sounded awful. It put a real damper on the rest of the trip but at least we made it in.

The Westons also had their share of issues. Poor Suz, really suffers from seasickness. She had so many different remedies that had been recommended but they only worked for the first few hours. Not good in a 27 hour trip. She is a real trooper and still stood her watches but I can only imagine how horrible it was. On top of that, their instruments are acting up and they had no autohelm for the entire trip. It is extremely tiring to have to maintain a heading and constantly handle the wheel in strong winds. David calls the autohelm our 3rd crew member that never gets tired. Again, I can only imagine how hard the trip was for them.

We had a super nice surprise once we neared the Clearwater Pass. We received a call from our friends CeCe and Craig Stoldts telling us they were in Clearwater and would meed us at the yacht club. CeCe is grew up in Clearwater and knows the area well. They were a super sight to see. They helped us get into a slip then treated us to lunch at one of their favorite spots. Then to be even more hospitable, they took us parts shopping to see if we can resolve some our problems. On top of that Craig offered to help troubleshoot Mariah's instrument problems. The 4 cruisers came back from lunch and promptly went to sleep! We woke up long enough to clean the salt spray off the boat, eat a light snack and go back to sleep!

The three guys spent the morning with their heads buried in the manuals and the bowels of the boat. They determined a list of questions for RayMarine in the morning when they open. David dove on our boat found big wad of seaweed wrapped around the prop. He and Sam took it for a test run and it ran better but still smokes too much. Our list of questions also await shops being open tomorrow. If we spend the rest of our time allotted getting our problems resolved, it has still been a good trip. I hope I still think that in a few days!