Day 14 Bringing Dusty Weather home June 10

We didn't move the boat today. Our friends Danny and Nancy picked us up at the marina and took us to run all our errands. I got oil and filters for the boat and after lunch I changed the oil, and checked all the fluids, belts, hoses, etc. The Isuzu diesel engine uses two large oil filters and holds 4 gallons of oil. This, and the conservative oil change schedule of the previous owner, are surely the main reasons the engine still runs so well. It starts instantly, doesn't smoke or use any oil, and hasn't missed a beat since we left Ft. Pierce almost 2 weeks ago.

The Lady of the Lake greets you at the entrance to Barber Marina.

An Alabama State Trooper boat at Barber Marina.

Our plan is leave here tomorrow morning and cross Mobile Bay, getting north of the City and into the protected waters of the Mobile River before anchoring for the night. That will put us about 200 miles, or 4 days, from Demopolis. So, barring any delays, our trip will end around Monday of next week.

Glenda says:

We had a quiet night at Barber Marina until about 5:15 am when someone's car alarm went off.  But that was ok because we lots to do.  I took Daisy for a walk and then put in some laundry.  Our friends Danny and Nancy had kindly offered to take us to breakfast and let us pick up some supplies.  I have developed cellulitis in my thumb and was a little afraid to go another week without antibiotics so we even made a stop at an urgent care center and got that taken care of.  Once again God placed someone in just the right spot at just the right time.  Breakfast at the Summerdale diner was delicious and it was great to be able to catch up with old friends.  

We were also excited to be able to give them a tour of the boat!

After they left I finished laundry and relaxed.

As I was reading below deck I heard a strange sound, I quickly looked out the porthole and caught sight of a dolphin cruising around the empty slip beside us.  From that perspective I almost felt I was in the water with him.  Even now as I write this we can hear the sound of the blowhole so we know it is back we just can't see him.   The breeze on the cockpit feels wonderful.  The stars are beautiful.  Tomorrow we will get across Mobile Bay.

Day 13 Bringing Dusty Weather home June 9--Tuesday

Today was relatively short, only 61 miles, and the weather was drizzly and cool most of the day. As we cruised by Pensacola and headed for Alabama waters, we passed the tow boat Marathon, pushing a barge loaded with huge spools of cable. We had seen Marathon before in the Gulf Shores area where we've fished for many years. Another familiar tow, Saint Padre Pio, was in the area, as we heard his Captain on the radio, but never saw him.

It felt good to see Ono Island and realize that Glenda and I had actually done it- we'd brought a 36' boat from Ft. Pierce, through the Okechobee Waterway, across the Gulf at the big bend, and through the ICW to Alabama! I felt very proud!

This one raises lots of questions!

Then we got to Barber Marina in Elberta, and my ego popped like a nickel balloon at a kid's birthday party. I needed to back the boat into a slip. I had never backed this boat into a slip. I'd backed OUT of a slip, but that's easy. I always avoided backing any boat into a slip if I could, but today I had face my fears and do it. We puttered slowly through the marina until I found the perfect slip - one with empty slips on both sides of it. At least if I hit something, it wouldn't be another boat. I kicked the diesel in and out of gear, barely moving, until we were even with the slip, and then turned the wheel and gave just a little forward throttle to get the bow to swing around and line up with the slip. So far so good. Now reverse gear to stop the boat. Perfect. Then it happened. I looked in front of me and saw a young man and a girl about 10 or 12 years old, working on their boat in another slip. The man quickly turned his head when I looked at him, but the girl was grinning and watching intently - waiting for me to mess up. Novice boaters attract onlookers when they try to dock their boat. It's sort of like that "smell of fear" thing that Marlin Perkins talked about in the 60s on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I was thinking about that when I realized that Glenda was screaming at me as the right rear corner of the boat headed directly toward the corner of the dock. No real damage done - just a black mark on the boat from the rubber at the dock corner. I distinctly heard the giggle of a young girl, but I didn't look.

Tomorrow we will do some boat maintanence and grocery shopping, as well as visiting some friends, and Thursday we will cross Mobile Bay and enter the river system. I feel almost home.

Glenda says:

Well here we are back in Alabama.  We left Montevallo 2 weeks ago today.  I've only looked at Fox News 2 or 3 times.  😛 Life on the boat seems to put life in a better perspective.  We slept well at the Ft Walton dock last night.  Just a couple of times I was awakened by the boat swaying because of the wake of a tug.  We walked back down a couple of blocks to a Waffle House for breakfast.  It started to rain just as we arrived and quit raining just as we finished our breakfast.  Perfect timing!  We got away from the dock before 8.  The weather alerts were coming in for severe weather that was affecting Mobile and would be affecting all the Florida panhandle.  We decided to tough it out.  We watched the radar carefully all morning.  It was amazing to me to see all the red and yellow headed toward us and then just before it got to us it would fall apart and weakened into just rain.  We made it across all the larger bays with no problems.  So the weather was the main topic of interest today but we still enjoyed the sights.  I got a good shot of this navy jet out of Pensacola.

I took lots of photos of historic Ft Pickens and the beautiful lighthouse near the Pensacola air museum.

We had a little fun with Daisy after we arrived at the marina.

I drove a good bit today and feel a little bit more secure in home territory but I think Tom is dreaming if he thinks I'll ever learn to dock this thing. 

Look -- she's backed into that slip!

 The clear starry nights are amazing!  I don't know how anybody can ever look up and still say there is no God.  

Day 12 June 8 Bringing Dusty Weather a Home

We put in a full day today - about 12 1/2 hours.

I was proud of myself for getting up so early, until I noticed several oyster fishermen already at work. Their day had started long before mine, and they were working much harder than I would today.

There were lots of dolphin today, and although lots of them swam in our bow wake, they didn't stay there near as long as the ones yesterday did. They would swim toward the boat, and if Glenda or I hurried to the bow, we could watch them for just a minute, then they were gone.

When we entered St. Andrews Bay, we started seeing commercial boats for the first time of the whole trip. As we got near Panama City, we saw a HUGE cargo ship, the "Star Laguna" coming around the point toward us. After it was safely past us, I looked up its registration info and found that it was from Norway, and its length was 204 meters and beam was 32 meters. Gross tonnage was 50,000 tons + !

You would not want to get in his way.

The Star Laguna. The very large tug in front gives you some perspective of the size.

We called the Ft. Walton City Managers office and got permission to stay at the city docks. We stayed there once before on the KnotSoFast several years ago. The docks are part of a City park, and within walking distance of a Publix.

Tomorrow we cross the FL/AL line and be back in our home State.😄

 

Glenda says:

Another nice mix of open water and narrow intercostal waterway.  We enjoyed the fun of more dolphins and all the wonderful water birds that are so fun to watch.  

We got away early, about 5:45 and did not pull into Ft Walton city docks until after six, so my comments may be tainted by feeling so tired.  We made a brief stop at Panama City docks for ice and a potty break for Daisy.  I drove a good bit today and Tom laid down in the pilothouse for a few minutes.  The water on the large Chocowhatcee bay was choppy but still quite comfortable.  I'm afraid knotsofast would have had trouble with it.  I was able to catch sight of a couple of military jets this morning and that's always impressive.  Docking is still intimidating to me and I'm still fearful I'm gonna end up in the water when I'm trying to get on and off the boat (remember I'm really tired right now.). We walked a couple of blocks over to Publix and got chicken wings for dinner.  As we hurried back through the traffic with our packages I told Tom I was still looking for the romance in boating, so far it has been a lot of hard work (remember I'm really tired right now.). The wings were good, the breeze feels nice and Tom took the garbage away for me.  Now let's see if he'll take Daisy off to potty one more time😜

Day 11 Bringing Dusty Weather home Sunday June 7

We both slept like rocks last night. I guess it's time to admit that I'm too old to stay up all night. 

We grabbed a bag of ice at the marina and untied this morning about 7:30. Within a few minutes we were passing between the familiar day markers of the ICW. After the long night crossing the Gulf, being in the ICW made me feel closer to home. We are having a blast, but truthfully, we miss the grandkids. One or more of them have been with us on almost every boat trip we've taken over the last five years, and I can't wait for them to take a ride with me on this "new" boat.

Early this morning we were joined by a pair of dolphins on our bow, who swam with us for over a mile before they were replaced by a pair with a young one, then those were joined by another pair. This show lasted about 30 minutes, and was repeated on a smaller scale, several times during the day.

As we got into the "river" section West of Lake Wimico, a swallow-tailed kite circled in front of the boat over and over. They are at the top of the list when it comes to beauty and aerial ability. Glenda got some video of it, but it was too fast for her to get a still shot.  Everywhere we looked, there were osprey with young chicks in their nest.

We were checked today by a very profession pair of officers from the Florida Wildlife and Conservation department who pulled alongside us to check our Florida registration - which, of course, we don't have. I explained that it was a recent purchase and we were taking her to Alabama, and a quick check of the bill of sale got a "You're good to go" from them.

We are back on central time, and anchored in a cove in East Bay, just off the ICW for the night.

The view from our back porch tonight!!

Glenda says:

Wow! What a difference a little rest makes.  We got away from the marina about 7:30 this morning.  We got officially on the intercostal water way and made good time.  I found a radio station playing good old gospel music.  I heard "How Beautiful Heaven must be" and as I look out over God's wondrous creation, even as damaged as it is by our sin, it is hard to imagine how beautiful heaven will be in its perfection.

We saw this picturesque light house in St. Mark sound.  Today has been a mix of wide blue waters and narrow widing river with cypress trees. We went through Lake Winico and up the Jackson river.  We bought a new fan for the pilot house and are glad we did since there is not as much of a breeze on the ICW at times.  I spent much of my time looking for alligators, but no luck.  

Daisy update:  she has now decided that it is ok to poop or pee anywhere on the boat.  I think we are taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

Days 9 and 10 Bringing Dusty Weather Home June 5-6

From Tarpon Springs to Carrabelle, FL there is no ICW or any other connected inland waterway, so to transit the "big bend" you have to go out into the Gulf. There are two basic methods for doing this; one is to take a straight path which is about 160 miles of open water. On a slow boat that means driving all night and all day. The second method is to boat shorter day trips, stopping at intervals along the way and anchoring at night in inland waters. This route takes longer, but avoids the overnighter and keeps you a little closer to shore. We had decided on option 2, and planned to stop at Cedar Key, Steinhatchee, and Carrabelle.  

This FL Wildlife & Conservation boat looked more like a battleship!

We pulled anchor early and arrived outside Cedar Key early in the afternoon, only to be greeted by ominous looking thunderstorms onshore. We quickly decided to switch plans and head across the Gulf for Carrabelle. We had to travel another 30 minutes to get close enough to shore to send a text message to our son, so our family would know about our altered plans. Then we headed for Carrabelle, a 105 miles to the Northwest. The daylight hours were fun as the weather was perfect. However, after dark electrical storms surrounded us and made for a long, long, miserable night. By the time we got tied up at the marina in Carrabelle, I felt like I needed about a two day nap! A fishing tournament at the marina provided entertainment in the evening as everyone brought their trophies to be weighed.

It's good to have the Gulf crossing behind us, and we are looking forward to the rest of the trip.

Glenda says:

So here we go.  We got up Friday morning and were on our way by a little after 6am.  The water was perfect!!! The entertainment for the day were the numerous flying fish.  They looked like little ski doos scooting across the water.  Multiple Dolphins decided to play with us for a while, riding along in the bow wake and occasionally tilting their heads and looking at me as I stood on the bow and watched. Without human training their gracefully coreagraphed dance with each other and with us was perfect.  Just doing what God made them to do!  

We arrived before 3 at Cedar Key and were watching with concern as thunderstorms appeared to be building onshore.  We decided this was the time with the water so calm and the breeze so nice just to do the overnight and get on across the gulf.  Common sense told us thunderstorms usually move north east so rather than anchor and fight storms we moved further out into the calm blue skies of the gulf and left the inland thunderstorms behind ( or so we thought.) For the rest of the day the weather was perfect!  The water was perfect!  We made about 30 easy miles before dark.  The sunset was beautiful.  We could see the thunderstorms in the far distance near the shoreline and I imagined a moonlight boat ride across the gulf, looking at the stars and smooching.  

This was going to be great.  I decided to lay down about 9:30 so I could take a turn at the wheel later in the night.  By 11 I was awakened by rolling waves and Tom yelling for me to batten down the hatches.  I quickly assumed my post to assist the captain.  It was really strange, there were stars directly above us but all around us were dark ominous clouds filled with lightening but we did not hear thunder. 

 The wind was tossing the waves on all sides.  It was like being in the middle of a washing machine.  I offered words of assurance and confidence as Tom clung to the wheel.  By 1:30 am I knew it would not be helpful for Tom if I started throwing up on him, so I'm ashamed to say I deserted him.  I stumbled down to the cabin with Daisy and threw myself in the bed.  Where I stayed trying to keep my stomach inside my body until almost dawn.  We never got any rain or thunder, just the wind and waves and that continued all the way until 9 or so this morning(Saturday.) We arrived in Carrabelle around 11 with Tom having no sleep and me having very little.  We are at C Quarters marina.  We had an excellent lunch at The Fisherman's Wife restaurant.

Day 8 June 4--bringing Dusty Weather home

Boating is all about being flexible. We put off our plan to get to Cedar Key today, and instead spent the day in Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs is just about the neatest town I've ever seen, and I'm glad we took the time to stop there! Originally settled by Greek sea sponge harvesters, the main attraction is now tourism, and although sponges are still harvested and sold, there seem to be as many tour boats as fishing boats along the waterfront. Gift shops and Greek restaurants spilled out onto the sidewalks and pitchmen (and ladies), vied for the attention of every person walking by, trying to fill their shops or tour boats or restaurants with tourist. It was hard not to think you were in a thriving Greek fishing village instead of Florida. 

At the City Marina, which is minimal as far as amenities go, we were greeted by Mick, who helped us tie up and advised us about the tides for today. Mick and Mike work at the marina, and you will never meet two nicer or more helpful guys! Mike drove me to West Marine and came back to pick me up, then helped me load the new anchor and chain onto the boat. To top it all off, there was not charge for the day dockage! 

As I write this, we are anchored out in the same spot as we were last night, which is OK because we have a georgous view of the key and sandbar, fish and Dolphins all around us, and a pretty sunset. And if the moon is as bright tonight as last night, we will have to stay up awhile just to sit and stare at it.

So.... Tomorrow we head out into the Gulf for Cedar Key, where we will anchor out again.

Glenda says:

After much review, research and communication we decided better to be safe than sorry.  So instead of continuing our northward track home we turned east to Tarpon Springs to buy a new anchor and chain.  Tarpon Springs is unique water front city with a very strong Greek heritage.  As we motored in on our way to the city docks I began to feel like I was entering an old Greek fishing village.  The employees were very helpful and soon Tom and I were dodging traffic for a mile to get to the marine supply place. They did not have what we needed.  At that point I quit onTom.  I said you do whatever you need to do I'm gonna explore the waterfront.  

What I found was very touristy but in a charming sort of way.  The shops were owned by descendants of the original Greek settlers and more often than not Greek was what I heard spoken.  I was unaware that sponges were the main thing harvested from the sea here for many years.

By the time I returned with a birthday present for my daughter-in-law, Tom had been successful with his search  and was almost finished putting the new anchor on.  We got some lunch and then set out back to scenic site we were anchored in last night.  

Daisy update:  Daisy successfully used the piece of carpet I brought for her to potty on! 

Day 7. June 3, 2015

I hated to give up such a beautiful travel day, but we were both tired and needed to do some prep before we headed offshore to Cedar Key, so we pulled anchor this morning and moved a couple miles N to " Marker 1 Marina", in Dunedin, and paid a discounted rate to use their facilities for the day. We cleaned out trash, filled the water tanks, washed clothes, walked to the dollar store, Publix, and Walgreens for supplies, and then ate a nice lunch at Frenchy's Outpost. Just before leaving the marina, we filled the ice chests.

We didn't have to wait on the Dunedin-Honeymoon Island bridge. I called them on the VHF and the bridge worker said he had already seen me coming and would have it open by the time we got there!

A pleasurable 2 hour ride brought us to the end of this section of the ICW. We have three days of travel in the Gulf of Mexico (returning to inland anchorages each night) before we get to Carrabelle, where the ICW starts again.

Our only "exciting" occurrence today was when our anchor chain broke and left our anchor on the bottom of the sea floor. Close inspection revealed several links in the chain that were severely rusted - to the point of breaking when the boat put too much pressure on them. Fortunately, Clyde, the former owner, had included a backup anchor and rode with the boat. 

Lots of dolphin and big fish today!

Glenda says:

Got up this morning and left our anchorage near Dunedin city docks and moved up to Marker one marina.  We decided to spend the day there and get some chores done.  I watched these two birds compete for the same fishing spot most of the day.

We spent a very nice day; doing laundry, filling the water tanks, buying a new pair of sunglasses for me at walgreens ( I think I'll just stick with cheap ones) and getting supplies at the local Publix and dollar general.  Daisy was quite pleased to be able to take 2 walks.  Though actually the second time she was more interested in chasing lizards that taking care of business.  After a nice late lunch at a local restaurant of fried shrimp we finished everything and headed off to the anchorage for the night.  We are just north of Anclote key at scenic gulf harbor sand bar.  On our way we saw lots of dophins and several very large fish.  I have video but I don't know how to down load it just yet.  

This beautiful sailboat was off in the distance.  My imagination could get carried away thinking about the way things looked here 200 years 

We arrived at our anchorage around 5 and started to set the anchor.  Then came our next challenge, the anchor chain broke and the anchor is somewhere down there! ( with my costa del Mars)

At that moment it really put the loss of my sun glasses in perspective.  But as anyone around water knows you have to always be prepared.  My captain simply tied on the spare anchor and here we sit safe and sound on the cockpit watching the sun go down over the Gulf of Mexico.  On again I say "ain't God good?"