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!

Chirpie

This beautiful little swalow tail came into our lives for a while. We were about 60 miles from land so he was a long way from wherever he started from. We first noticed him soaring around our foredeck. He settled on the lifelines but we didn't have the camera out and we thought we had missed our opportunity for a picture. He came back and rested on our dingy which is stored folded and in it's bag on the front of the cabin. Then he came back and sat on the lifelines then onto David's lap! He flew away again but then we figured it was worth pulling the camera out. Next, he came and rested on my arm. We were shocked at how unafraid he seemed. He sat on my arm for quite some time, just resting. We tried to offer him some water in a bottle cap and cracker crumbs and ground up nuts but he wasn't interested. After a while, he flew inside the cabin and rested on top or our table which stores up against the bulkhead. Again, he flew out of the companion way and flew off. He sang us beautiful songs and had the most fibrant colors. His top feathers were a gorgeous blue-black and his breast was a shiny shade of rust. When he came back we decided he was our mascot and David named him Chirpie. At dusk, he flew back to his perch on top of the table and we tried not to disturb him. Sadly, when it was light enough, David checked on him and he had died in the night. Apparently he was too worn out from being blown around. We gave him a burial at sea and bid him farewell.

Blog Maintenance

I found the way to allow you to be notified by email of any new posts. Just add your email address in the box at the left. Sorry I didn't know about that earlier. Also, if you want to see a picture larger, all you have to do is click on it to enlarge. I have resized them all for the internet so it shouldn't take too long. Also, our traveling companions also have a blog if you want to see the trip from a different perspective. http://westonsgosouth.blogspot.com/

Apalachicola to Carabelle

We left about 9am in hopes of beating the forecasted rain. You can see we sailed near but managed to escape with only some drops. The weather cleared about 2 and we pulled in to a great marina, C Quarters. The manager is a super hard worker and very friendly. We started off getting fuel and pumping out our head (potty) and she was right there getting it all together. We settled in close to the building so not a long walk to get a load of laundry done or take a shower. There is an IGA grocery store and Ace hardware directly across the street so I made a quick run to resupply at least a bit of the things on our list. We have a weather window that looks good all the way from here to Tarpon Springs for the next several days so we plan on an early departure to cross tomorrow. We hope to be across and in a slip by Saturday afternoon. Keep the prayers and good wishes coming!!! Approaching St. George's Island bridge

What do you do with your old oyster shells? Pile 'em high.

Oystermen tonging for oysters,

Trip to Apalachicola

Our time in Apalachicola was basically waiting for weather. I didn't have a great connection at Scipio Creek so I didn't try to download pictures. Below are some of the shots from St. Andrew's YC to Scipio Creek. Lake Wimico is always a favorite for us and it didn't disappoint this time either. None of us were thrilled with the marina but a big part was how spoiled we've been a other marinas. They just weren't geared to transient boaters. The showers were poor, the store was poor and the food made Suz and I sick so we won't be staying there again but it was a place to wait out the storm. Gulls waiting to greet us, hoping we had fish.

House on the river along the ICW

Old railroad swing bridge, now permanently open

Not as neat and clean as our Miss Martha

Baby osprey in the next

Sanctuary at Scipio Creek Marina

Apalachicola River joining the ICW

In Apalachicola

We made it to Scipio Creek Marina safe and sound. There wasn't any sailing today but it was still nice. It seemed like every bend in the river changed the direction the wind was coming from! We saw an eagle and felt special until Suz told us about seeing two eagles hunting and a river otter. I guess we'll have to pay more attention! We'll be here for a few days waiting on a weather window to cross. We don't mind a few waves but 8feet and thunderstorms doesn't sound like fun. I'll add more pictures tomorrow.

Our First Days Out

Port St. Joe Marina

Port Inn, home of a great breakfast buffet

Tied up at the dock in Port St. Joe

Watch out for the barge!

Steaming down the ICW.

We left the yacht club in stealth mode. David wanted no fanfare or farewells. He didn't want anything to delay the trip one more minute. We traveled the 60 miles to the St. Andrew's Yacht Club in Panama City in good time. It was a great sail and the new jib is now my favorite improvement. We could sail close hauled with 15 knots of wind and still have an easy helm and only about 15 degrees of heel. Bottom line, that means it was very easy to steer and not so leaned over that you can't do anything but sit still. We motored through the ditch (Intercoastal WaterWay or ICW) then sailed almost to the Hathaway bridge. From there it was a combination of motoring and sailing. We saw so much wildlife along the shores. The eagles and osprey nest in the taller trees and fish. We arrived late but Suz and Sam were waiting on us to help with the dock lines and share a celebratory toddy at finally being off on the adventure.

Next morning, we took the ICW to Port St. Joe. Again, we had a wonderful sail with only the last 6 miles being a motor. The engine smokes but we just try to ignore it. It runs well and doesn't burn oil and we know there is really nothing else we can do at this point to make it better.

We were joined for dinner on Sunday night by Theresa and Ernie. They drove out from Ft. Walton to bring cheer and good wishes. Theresa wasn't going to let us sneak out of town and I'm glad she didn't.

We've spent the last two days here and I'm waiting on the decision of leave for Appalachicola or stay another day. The weather is unsettled and there is no reason to be miserable. The guys are checking weather report now. Decision just in....We go!