Thursday, December 28, 2006

 

Map: First Leg of the Journey, 2006

After an outstanding, frantic, fun Christmas with family, Bob and I are getting antsy to get back on the boat again. However, a January 11th dental appointment has us grounded in Huntsville, AL, with Second Wind waiting patiently for our return to Carrabelle, FL. We've heard from several folks that the boat is resting safely at the Moorings Marina.

This map shows how far we've traveled since we first motored out of Alred's Marina in Guntersville, AL, on October 13th, 2006. So far we've covered 766 miles of the approximately 6,000 miles involved in the Great Loop journey. After taking several breaks -- mainly the Fall Rendevous and the holidays -- we plan to pick up the pace
from this point forward.

Out next challenge will be crossing the Gulf to get further south into Florida. We are still debating the merits of (1) taking the Big Bend route, which is shallower and takes longer or (2) cutting across the Gulf, which takes about 12 hours and entails cruising in the dark. Each way has merits and challenges. We are favoring the Big Bend route, but much will depend on the weather at the time we actually head out.

Friday, December 15, 2006

 

We Made it to Carrabelle, Florida!

Sunday, December 10: After a leisurely Sunday morning, we left Port St. Joe at 11 a.m., dodging crab pots and fishing boats. Passing the colorful fleets of large shrimp boats in the Port St Joe cut, our mouths began to water for fresh seafood, especially the oysters we knew would be in store during the next few days. We made our way down the long ICW cut to the open waters of Apalachee Bay. The water was bumpy, but not too uncomfortable, despite my trepidation about forecasted “moderate chop on inland waters.” We soon would be meeting brother Jim and Martha Stagg in Carrabelle for a few days of exploring “Florida’s Forgotten Coast.


Emerging from the protected waters behind St. George Island, we passed the inlet we will later take to cross open Gulf waters into Florida’s Big Bend and points south. Liz took photos as we entered the shallow river into Carrabelle around 4 p.m. The Moorings in Carrabelle is the largest marina in an area that has become a haven for boats waiting to cross the open Gulf in one long day/night or who, like us, choose to take the more leisurely Big Bend route into southern Florida. By the time we were tied up and settled at the dock, Jim and Martha arrived in their “Westie” camper/van. During the next few days, the four of us explored the area, shopping in unique gift shops and sating ourselves on fresh seafood.


 

Exploring Florida’s Forgotten Coast


Monday – Wednesday, December 11-13, 2006: Bob and I, along with brother Jim and Martha, spent Monday in Apalachicola, west of Carrabelle on Hwy 98, relishing succulent oysters on the half-shell at Boss Oysters. Caroline’s Restaurant also served a really delicious seafood lunch on the waterfront. For our nature fix, Martha and I walked the white sandy beach and looked for shells. On Tuesday, we explored the area to the east of Carrabelle, truly Florida’s Forgotten Coast. What a delight to see miles of undeveloped land and uncrowded coastal waters. Our first stop was a state park on Bald Point, a lovely natural area. Then we discovered the outstanding Ochlockonee River State Park, between the Dead River and the Ochlockonee River. The park was almost deserted, but the grounds included a delightful swimming area and great views of the surrounding rivers and marshes. On our way back to the marina, heading west on Hwy 98, we again ate delicious fresh seafood at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Panacea, FL. Bright and early Wednesday morning, we loaded all our shopping “finds” and dirty laundry into the Westie and headed home for the holidays by way of Fairhope. Second Wind will spend Christmas and New Year’s at the Moorings in Carrabelle. In Fairhope, after another fabulous Famous Fly Creek Fish Sandwich at the Fly Creek Café, Bob and I picked up our car from Eastern Shore Marina. We arrived home to Huntsville by 8:30 p.m., successfully ending another leg of our Great Loop adventure.

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Saturday, December 09, 2006

 

Panama City, FL, to Port St. Joe

Saturday, December 09, 2006: The frigid weather arrived yesterday with record lows in the 20’s. We stayed on the boat all morning, venturing out in the afternoon to walk around the downtown Panama City area. Although it was really cold, we ambled on down to a marine supply store, an art gallery, and some shops. Everything was lovely, all decorated for Christmas. It wasn’t a bit crowded, and I actually finished my Christmas shopping. We ate dinner at the highly recommended Bayou Joe’s. The owner told us that this was the first marina in Panama City, built in 1940. I probably ate here with my parents as a child.

Saturday morning was a bit warmer so we cranked the engines and headed out again. The cruise across the East Bay zigzagged quite a bit, but it was a pretty comfortable ride. Several dolphins joined us as we cruised along, always a treat. While we were on the ICW cut, Bob actually spotted a bald eagle, which landed on a nearby tree. Cool! We are now at Port St. Joe Marina, a friendly place with clean, convenient facilities. The weather is supposed to be improving even more, so tomorrow we plan to make our final run before Christmas to Carrabelle, FL.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

 

Ft. Walton Beach, FL, to Panama City, FL



Thursday, December 07, 2006: The weather forecast looked grim for the next few days, but Bob woke me at 6:30 a.m. with the news that if we left right away, we should be able to get ahead of the winter blast that was to bring several days of strong winds and high seas. So off we went rocking and rolling on Choctawhatchee Bay, white caps and all. Actually it wasn’t too bad, not nearly as dire as the forecasts predicted for later in the afternoon. The Intercoastal Waterway cut was actually smooth as glass, and we enjoyed seeing a couple of dolphins feeding. With Christmas carols playing from our new IPOD speaker, we cruised on down the ICW to St. Andrews Bay and Panama City. By noon we were safely tied up at Panama City Marina. The boat behind us is covered with Christmas lights; what a treat. Tomorrow we will explore Panama City.

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Mobile Bay, AL to Ft. Walton Beach, FL





Wednesday, December 6, 2006: WooHoo, we’re back on the boat! Our goal is to travel as far down the Florida coast as possible before the Christmas holidays. Strong winds and high seas delayed the start of this leg of the journey, but we were mighty happy to be heading out of Mobile Bay toward Florida this morning. Bob’s long hours of chart planning paid off. We were able to bypass our original destination, Pensacola, and travel a total of 110 miles in ~8 hours, arriving in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida by 4 p.m. We passed new waterfront construction everywhere, mostly huge condominium complexes. When we drove by the new LuLu’s Restaurant (Jimmy Buffet’s sister), it was too early for lunch so we didn’t stop. Dolphins joined us occasionally, but they thought it was a bit cold to do much frolicking. The sugar-white dunes were a delight to see, along with the chock-to-block waterfront houses. The Shalimar Marina, our home for the night, provided us with a cool courtesy car, a renovated Volkswagon Rabbit convertible, which got us to the highly recommended Giuseppe’s seafood restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious as advertised.


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