The Gulf Crossing - Carrabelle to Clearwater

We began the day at 6 am, preparing for a 7 am departure from Carrabelle.  What is that saying???...Pink in morning, sailors warning??

Carrabelle Moorings sunrise Oct 7th 

We head into the Gulf.  We have never navigated these waters, and our brief introduction to the Gulf outside of Pensacola, has us a little leery.  Yesterday, the Apalachicola Bay was rough enough to question our decision to head into the Gulf of Mexico today.  But, the winds have changed; they are out of the north and are 5 mph or less.  This forecast of favorable Gulf travel weather is brief, only through Thursday evening.  We are told this is a go and the next opportunity to cross is not until Sunday at the earliest, so we rely on these weathered Floridian marina forecasters and head out with the much larger Andiamo. 

The Gulf weather looks not all that good!

Much to our surprise, the Gulf is actually fairly calm.  We are able to cross the passage at 24 mph.  There are a little rough areas, but in general, we had a smooth crossing.

Smooth Gulf Waters

And the dogs did fine!

It is kind of eerie not seeing land in any direction.  We did see multiple pods of dolphins and even heard a sonic boom we assume from  US Airforce  Jets, or, some city blew up 100 miles away. Other than that, the crossing was not that exciting, which is good! 

Clearwater Beach

After 160 miles, we arrive at Clearwater Beach Municipal Dock around 3 pm.

The boat next to us.  Wow...what a small world!

Our boating partner Andiamo decides to head south 60 more miles to Venice and take advantage of the calm waters.  We are ready to call it a day and head into Clearwater for the night, or two. So, we are on our own again, but have few miles left, so that is okay.

Sunset in Clearwater

A special thanks to all those who have been following us on the AIS and sent emails and texts congratulating us on crossing the Gulf.  We really appreciate it!  THANK YOU!!!

Apalachicola to Carrabelle

 Today we leave Apalachicola at 9 am. It was another rough night with wind and waves tossing and slapping the boat, so there was no need to set any alarm to wake for the day.

Apalachicola waterfront

Fishing boats at harbor

We enter Apalachicola Bay.  There is a small craft warning and the water has a moderate to rough chop.  We cross the bay running around 18 mph.  There are white caps and we see few other boats navigating the bay on this sunny, but choppy, day.

Choppy waters today

We cross under the St. George Island Bridge and are now in the St. George Sound.

Passing into St. George Sound

The water is a little calmer until we pass by the Gulf Inlet. This water is the roughest yet. We head north into the Carabelle River.

Carabelle River - happy to see smooth water

We arrive to our dock for the night at the Moorings of Carrabelle.

Moorings of Carrabelle Harbor

We fill up with diesel and water, making ourselves as heavy as possible, in preparation for our Gulf crossing early tomorrow morning. The wind tonight appears to have diminished and the water is no longer slapping our hull. We cross our fingers and say some prayers that this weather pattern holds until we reach safe harbor tomorrow in Clearwater. We have approximately 160 miles to travel. We will make the crossing with Andiamo, who we have been with since Panama City

Engine check - We are good to go!

.

Panama City to Apalachicola

Yesterday we spent the day at Panama City.  As the marine forecast for a gulf crossing does not look possible until Thursday, we are in no hurry to proceed east.  We took the time off from the water and rented a car from Enterprise (they are not happy people) to buy groceries, stop at the pharmacy, and take a trip to Panama City Beach. This renowned spring break town is a ghost town in early November.  We stop for lunch at a great outdoor mall. It was wonderful  to shop at stores that do not sell bait and oil. I was thrilled!

Pier Park Outdoor Mall in Panama City Beach

A variety of stores

Okay...I guess he had enough shopping! Time to leave.

We arrive "home" to the boat and cook dinner and watch football.  Unfortunately, the bay is choppy, and again we rock and hear the slap of water.  So, another night not so peaceful.  The next day at 9:30 we leave Panama City and head to Apalachicola.  The weather forecast for the Gulf is not too promising, but if the window of opportunity presents itself for a cross on Thursday, we want to take it. We enter back into East Bay.  It has a moderate chop, but we all do fine.

East Bay

Leaving East Bay, we enter the Gulf County Canal.  The water smooths out.  This leads to Lake Wimico.  It is a beautiful 5 mile body of water, but very shallow.  We hit five feet of water within the channel.

Shallow Lake Wimico

Within this waterway, somewhere, we pass into the eastern time zone.  So our journey today, took longer than we thought it would!  From Lake Wimico, we enter the Apalachicola River and arrive at Apalachicola Marina. It is a bare bones dock, but has electric and water.

Apalachicola Dock

We venture into the town.  It is a true old Florida fishing town with unique stores, restaurants, and a charming quaintness all of its own.  I love it!

A nautical store...now he wants to shop!

Just outside the marina....hmm.. Where is "dad'  Dan??

We are all tied up for the night, but the wind is blowing and the waves are slapping.  Another great night I suppose.  Tomorrow we will leave for Carrabelle.  This is our last stop before we cross the Gulf.  We will travel along with the 70' Neptune yacht docked in front of us.

Crazy 8 and  Andiamo

Hopefully the wind and surf will calm.  Tomorrow we continue on.

Roger out from Crazy 8

Sandestin to Panama City

Finally, on Saturday, the sun reappears. Unfortunately, it is still windy, the water slaps our hull loudly, and our boat rocks nonstop.  Friday and Saturday night are again horrible conditions for sleep.  On Saturday, we take advantage of the laundry facility, watch football (Yeah Bucks and Boo IU ), and go on a dinghy tour of the marina.

Buster and Bailey go on the tour with us.

Big Yachts! Emiril Lagasse  has a yacht here too...but no invitation for dinner unfortunately!

So tempting to the dogs.

On our last night at Baytowne, we went into the village, which is an area within the resort boasting a multitude of shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed dinner at Hammerheads and then checked out Rum Runners and their dueling piano bar. 

With The Beatles and Billy Joel dominating the play list, we wish our friends Cici and Tom were here with us!

Today we leave Sandestin and Baytowne Marina and navigate back into the Choctawhatchee Bay.  

Rare moment in which the admiral is at the helm.

There is quite a chop today, but the dogs handle it okay with a little help from Dramamine.  From the Choctawhatchee Bay, we enter a narrow segment of the Inter Coastal Waterway, flanked on both sides by sand dunes.

Inter coastal Waterway

This narrow waterway section of the ICW leads to West Bay, another large body of water which is not as choppy as the Choctawhatchee Bay. Approximately 58 miles later, we arrive at Panama City Marina, in historic downtown Panama City.  This marina seems well protected from the choppy waters of the bay and we hope we can finally get a good nights sleep.

Another day has passed. Sunset now at 5:00.