Our First Post

O God, thy Sea is so great and my boat so small

 November 27, 2022, Baytowne Marina Sandestin Florida, We have arrived in Sandestin Florida which is a bit of a milestone for us on several fronts. We have now accomplished about half of The Great loop traveling 3485 miles of this 7,000-mile journey. We have traveled 85 days in the past 160 calendar days, we spent 8 days in Maine in September and 18 days in Colorado earlier this month. We have run the engines 495 hours, so we have averaged about 7 MPH over the Great Loop. We have consumed 1500 gallons of Diesel Fuel, so we are getting 2.3 miles per gallon.  We have traveled through 15 states and two countries.

 

Since we last posted we have traveled to Denver and arrived in time for Halloween and the week of Birthday’s. Bode turned 3 on the 2^nd of November. I turned 70 on the 4^th and Cameron’s Birthday was November 6^th, so three birthday cakes in one week was decadent. We also went up to the mountains and spent a few days with Ashley and we were able to catch up with several old friends and folks that we volunteered with at Beaver Creek. Then back to Denver for several days and we flew back to Mobile on Monday the 14^th. This was a wonderful break from the boat and a great time catching up with our family.

So here are some pictures from our Denver vacation.

 

 

 Ashley pulled off a surprise party in Edwards for me these are our fellow Red Coats

Bailey had a celebration on the big day

Get's no better than this 

Took in a DU Hockey game 

Had two days to kill back in Mobile and visited some more sites

 Wintzell's was a great Oyster Bar we frequented, what a record!!

 

 

Went to visit the USS Alabama 

One big Propeller 

We have had reservations in Sandestin for the month of December for several months as we wanted to take some time from the day to day traveling and planning and just relax and chill for a month. We have been on this trip for 5 months now and have two good friends from Maine who spend the winter here so it should be a great location to enjoy the Florida sun. We only had a three single day voyage to arrive in Sandestin, so we were able to take our time traveling East from Mobile.

So here is an outline of how we got from Mobile Alabama to Baytowne Marine, Florida:

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday November 17, 2022, Travel Day # 83 Dog River marina, Mobile AL to Homeport Marina Gulf Shores AL. Total Distance 37 Miles, Total Time 5 Hours. We arrived back on Her Idea Monday evening November 14, and the weather forecast was calling for high winds, so we were unable to depart Dog River until Thursday. We had met another couple from Bangor Maine while we were hanging out in Dog River Marina waiting for the weather window to open and it turns out they were also headed to Homeport Marina. So, we agreed to Buddy Boat with Water Witch across Mobile Bay and start down the Gulf Inland Water Way (GIWW). We had agreed to meet at 8 AM Thursday and make a final go no-go decision. After reviewing the forecast which suggested the and one-foot seas, winds were less than 10 knots with gusts not expected to be not more than 15 so felt it was a good travel day, and off we went.

Leaving Dog River is a three mile very tight channel that brings you back into the Mobile Shipping Channel. Cruising out of the Dog River Channel it sure got our attention seeing all the large ships, traveling up and down the very busy shipping channel. It had been a few weeks but when you get up close to 1200-foot tankers and container ships you sure feel small and vulnerable. Our trip across Mobile Bay was 21 miles in open water in the Gulf of Mexico which is a very large body of water. The Gulf is shallow, mostly 10 feet deep waves were less than two feet, so it was a smooth ride heading south down the bay. The wind was from the north so heading south it was a pleasant ride with the following sea. The last 6 miles of crossing Mobile Bay we had to turn East to enter the GIWW, so now the wind and waves were on our port beam which was not a comfortable ride at all. The good news was we had less than an hour on that tack until we got into the protection of the GIWW.  

The last ten miles of the trip was in the GIWW which neither of us had ever been on. The water is tidal and its salt water, but the tides are only 1 to 1.5 feet in fluctuation, which is minor compared to our Maine tides of almost 12 feet. The other interesting thing is they only have one high and one low tide per day in this area of the GIWW. So, the tides are much different than what we are used to in Maine.

Not even a mile on the GIWW we overtook (both of us eastbound) a tow with 3 barges and a half hour later we passed another tow with a barge headed west bound. We were unsure if the waterway would have tows and barges, but it didn’t take us long to know that we were not done with them. The GIWW was very well protected from the wind and there were no waves to deal with, therefore the last leg of the journey was very pleasant.  

We arrived at Homeport Marina and settled into our slip and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon. Our friends from Navigator whom we had last seen a month ago when we anchored out at the Tensaw River were also at the marina, so it was great to catch up with them again. We also went to dinner with Marko and Karen on Friday, they had a car in the marina as they are spending a month getting some boat projects done and a little R&R. Homeport is also home to LULU’s restaurant which is owned and run by Jimmy Buffett’s sister Lulu Buffett. Pretty cool place

 

Track

Heading out Dog River Channel looking at the traffic on The Mobile Shipping Channel 

Mobile Shipping Channel

Dredge on Mobile Bay Channel 

Dredge on the GIWW

West Bound tow coming at us passing on The One,  Water Witch in the lead

East Bound Tow passing on The Two

Mobile Shipping Channel

 

 

Sunday November 20, 2022, Travel Day #84, Homeport Marina Gulf Shores AL, to Pensacola Yacht Club Pensacola FL.: Total Distance Traveled: 33 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 5.0 Hours:  We spent three days at Homeport enjoying all the area had to offer and hanging with Karen and Marko, but we started our voyage to Pensacola on Sunday morning. Ashley was flying into Pensacola on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving and a week with us on Her Idea, so we wanted to get to Pensacola and get settled in for only our second guest (The Georges were our first on the Erie Canal). We traveled alone to Pensacola, and it was a most enjoyable ride. The GIWW is mostly a narrow channel however every 10 miles or so it opens into a lake or large bay. The channel in the waterway is very well marked and navigation has been extremely easy. One always has the same challenge and that is you must stay in the channel, if you do, you avoid the shoals. The banks of the waterway are full of homes, condominiums, parks, marinas, and very varying degrees of nice and not so nice neighborhoods.  It was only a 35-mile day, so we departed around 9 AM and were tied up to the dock by 3 PM.

 

We stayed at the Pensacola Yacht Club which was wonderful. The docks and amenities were some of the best we enjoyed on our trip. The dockmaster was not available on Sundays but I had talked with him several times and with his excellent communication we were able to find our assigned dockage and with Meredith great counsel we had a smooth landing. It’s always challenging to land without help on the docks as Meredith must get off the swim platform and as I mentioned before, I can’t see the swim platform from the helm, our headphones are invaluable in those situations. WE very much enjoyed our time in Pensacola, neither of us had ever been there and it is a very fun town, with lots to do. 

Track

Some homes along the GIWW

Pensacola Pictures

Entrance to Pensacola Yacht Club 

Tow going by us at night at  the The Pensacola Yacht Club

Sunset from Her Idea at PYC
 

 

 Boat & Houses Directly across from us at PYC 

 

Friday November 25, 2022, Travel Day # 85, Pensacola Yacht Club to Baytowne Marina Sandestin FL:  Total Distance Traveled: 60 Miles, Total Time Traveled: 8 Hours. We had originally planned to travel on Thanksgiving, but we made a great decision to stay right at the Yacht Club and enjoy a leisure morning watching the Macy Parade, have a turkey dinner which Meredith and Ashley did an amazing job preparing, and finished the day with watching the Pats game. Outside of final result of that game, it was a perfect day and was most memorable.  The Yacht Club is located on the North End of Pensacola Bay which is about a 10 mile deep and 10 mile wide so a fair size piece of water. We had to cross the Bay first thing so we were paying attention to the winds which were blowing north-easterly which would make for a lumpy ride. The winds had been strong but the forecast for Friday showed the winds and waves would be down and changing to southerly which would be on the nose which is best for us. Not great for fuel consumption but it is the most comfortable tack.

 

We had gone to bed planning to depart at 8 AM and I got up at 6:30 and rechecked all the forecasts and felt it was a good travel day. I got the crew up at 7:30 and as we were getting ready to depart the fog rolled in thick. We hadn’t planned on that! There was another boat from Vermont Selah Way who we had not met but they were headed in the same direction I discovered as we were both untying, so we agreed to buddy boat at least across Pensacola Bay. This is   Selah Way third loop and had done this same track in the past, so I was happy to follow them across Pensacola Bay.

It was wonderful to have Ashley aboard as she sat out on the bow and kept an eye out for any boats or obstacles. We had ½ mile visibility, so it was fine, just a bit nerve wracking. When we left port we had several dolphins follow us, riding our bow waves. I’ll include some great pictures that Ashley took of them. We crossed The Bay without instance and headed back into the GIWW and had about 50 miles to go to the marina.  Selah Way was traveling about 7 knots and we would not get to Baytowne until after the docks closed at 4 PM, so we thanked them for the guidance across The Bay, but we wanted to pick it up to 9 MPH which allowed us to get to the marina by 3 PM, which would allow us an hour’s cushion.

 

We still had fog all day and we had a few showers during the later part of the ride but overall, it was a good travel day. Once again the GIWW was mostly narrow 500 – 1,000 yards wide in most place with a very well-marked channel. I’ll include pictures of the waterway, but the journey was very similar to our first two legs. On the north side is the mainland and on the south side are barrier islands and long beautiful beaches. The forecast was to have sunny days over the weekend, so our strategy was to travel on Friday on the cloudy day and get to enjoy the sun in Sandestin, was an excellent choice. I’ m working on the blog and Meredith and Ashley are at the beach.

 It was great to arrive here at the Marina and we had time to clean the boat up and get settled into the slip then met our friends, The McNamara’s and The Bonney /Thivierge family (this is going to shock you all, I know) at The Marina Bar and Grill, which is right at the end of our dock. I have only gone by it 4 times and have stopped by for a refreshment 3 times. I think this is going to be a great hangout for us.

 

Track

Thanksgiving Day  

All from this one little oven, well done ladies!

The chef's

The Dolphins following us out of the Bay

Heading across Pensacola Bay

Heading out in the Fog from PYC

Fellow Looper took this picture of us passing by their marina and sent it to us

This is our slip for the month at Baytowne Marina Sandestin FL 

So, this is our last post for a month.

 

We are planning to depart on January 2^nd, I already know a New Year’s Day departure wouldn’t be pretty, so we booked our departure for the 2^nd of January. We have 3-4 days travel from here to Carrabelle FL. This is where we will cross the Gulf of Mexico. We will wait out the weather in Carrabelle prior to crossing the Gulf of Mexico and end up in Tarpon Springs just north of Tampa. This is either the most or second most challenging / difficult crossing on the loop. It is between this Gulf Crossing or running offshore up the New Jersey coast in May. The Gulf Crossing is the only overnight crossing required

 

We have two ways to cross Tarpon Springs a 20-hour overnight crossing of 180 miles, which is the most common crossing, or 4 shorter days with journeys of 80 Miles, and three days, each at 50 miles, but all are done in the daylight. The big crossing requires one very good weather window, the latter requires 4 good weather days and to get 4 days in a row is very unlikely. Folks are waiting this out right now and when they go several boats cross together. They have only had 3 crossing days since November 1^st and the next is expected to be next Monday night.

 

We are planning to do the 4-daylight crossing which requires a minimum of two night at anchor and four great days, but not sure 20+ hours overnight crossing is in our comfort zone. So, we will keep an eye on the weather, and if it looks good any time after Christmas we will move early but that is a long time from now.

 

Thanks for all your encouragement, this undertaking has been a lot more challenging than we envisioned, however, it has been the most amazing adventure we have ever undertaken. It’s a whole new world, every day, something new, something different, the overall experience, the friends we have met, the places we have seen are unforgettable, memories that will last a lifetime.

We are so lucky and blessed to be on this adventure.

 

Fair Winds and Happy Holidays, more to come in 2023.