Our First Post

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

 

 

January 19, 2023: Clearwater Marina, Clearwater FL: 

 

WE MADE IT!

 

 

Last Sunday afternoon we made the 180 Mile overnight crossing from Carrabelle Florida to Tarpon Springs Florida. What a night. One we will certainly never forget, and it was an uneventful, beautiful, LONG night, 21.5 hours in total. I’ll go into the highlights but in general we are so relieved to have this leg behind us. There are other challenging bodies of water we will need to cross; Delaware Bay is probably the 2^nd greatest challenge but that one will be in daylight.

 

 

As you may recall we were planning to cross with 16 other boats the night of the full moon on January 7^th, but we were unable to due to an engine issue and were delayed in Apalachicola for 5 nights. We had a great trip to Carrabelle and were planning to do the 4-day crossing, what they call The Big Bend. Two nights at a marina and 2 nights at anchor. However, we were stuck in Carrabelle from for 5 days waiting for the weather to calm down. We follow a weather guru who sends out daily notices about the ability to cross to Tarpon Springs (the Overnight) or to Stainhatchee (The Big Bend route).

 

Here is Eddy’s post from Sunday our crossing day.

 

Date & Time:	15 Jan 2023, 07:57:53
Title:	Daily Weather Wag Post Group: Weather Wag Created by: Eddy Johnsen Date & Time: 15 Jan 2023, 07:57:53 Title: Daily Weather Wag Post Message: Sunday, 15 January 2023 Ahoy Fellow Loopers! Congratulations! Your patience has paid off. The forecasted weather-window for Sunday-night / Monday (15th / 16th) has continued to improve and should provide a comfortable passage tonight. I would suggest delaying your departure from marker R-2 at East Pass until 4:00 just to give King Neptune a little more time to calm down. An 8-mph cruise should put you at marker R-4 at 11:00 Monday morning. Looking at the forecast for this coming week, I don’t see another weather-window developing until sometime after next Sunday (22nd) Be well, keep safe, and enjoy the journey! Eddy Johnsen Aboard M/V Spiritus, Grand Banks 36 Classic MVSpiritus@gmail.com

We had no interest in waiting another week in Carrabelle and there was no guarantee a week out that forecast would hold. A week in weather forecasting is a lifetime, right! That means if you moved on Sunday and Monday on the Big Bend route you would be stuck for at least the rest of the week on anchor in winds and waves something we REALLY didn’t want to do. Therefore, we put our big boy pants on and committed to the overnight crossing which was not our preference. I talked it up at the marina saying and I believed it was the best solution and found 3 other boats to travel with us. Shocking I could talk it up, as we were not going to do the crossing alone, we had to have at least one buddy boat, the more the better.

 

So rather than the planned Big Bend, we did the overnight detail below but let’s start where we left off, in Apalachicola, with a working alternator and a boat ready to travel.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday January 11, 2023, Travel Day # 88 The Icehouse, Apalachicola FL to The Moorings Carrabelle Fl: Total Distance 30 Miles, Total Time 4.5 Hours, Our mechanic Tim, showed up on Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM as agreed and he was done installing the belt tensioner by 9:00 and we were underway just after 9:30 AM. Tim was excellent. In fact, Tim even called me in the middle of the day to make sure things were working. He said if I had any issue he would drive to Carrabelle and work on the boat! Outstanding service. 

 

It was a great day to travel 60 degrees with very little wind and 1–2-foot seas. We spent the day in Apalachicola Bay which was a wide (7-miles) and long (25 -miles) body of water. The channel was only 150 feet wide like most of the Gulf Intercoastal Water Way (GIWW) so you really have to stay on your toes to not drift out of the channel.

 

There really was nothing to look at no homes or industry like the rest of the Eastern end of the GIWW , its mostly swamp and Cypris trees. The pictures I too will show the landscape, but I didn’t even take many because it doesn’t change.

 

We had reservations a C-Quarters Marina and when we pulled in we were in a terrible slip. Meredith was unable to get off the boat and they were unable to relocate us. We then made the decision to move to The Moorings, which was 3 times as expensive. However, not being able to get off the boat was unacceptable. The Moorings docks were excellent but a long way from the actual marina and the town. The next morning, I went back to C-Quarters and was able to find a slip that worked.. The Dockmaster, Kim, was not there when we arrived on Wednesday. Thursday she took great care of us, so we moved Her Idea and everything worked out great. There were 5 other loopers (we made 6) at C-Quarters and the location to everything in town was much better. Also, the Dockmaster Kim is excellent at helping with the weather forecasting, she is another very valuable resource and did I mention one third the price!

 

When we arrived on Wednesday Eddy the weather guru was predicting a 4–5-day delay until we could travel on either of the two routes, so we all ended up being stuck in Carrabelle for 5 days. Eddy was predicting only one good crossing window in the next 10 days. That is when it became apparent to us that the overnight crossing was in our best interest. The boats who were on the big bend route ahead of us were also stuck in their various locations for the same 5 days.

 No one was moving.

Fortunately, we were at a marina and in a small town with a great pub, an IGA and an Ace hardware store, all one needs when you are looping. Oh, and I also got a haircut, it was a great little town however, we didn’t want to spend another week or more there.

 As I write this on January 19^th, Eddy is still predicting there will not be another night crossing in January and the two boats who took the Big Bend were stuck on anchor for two nights and made the long ride to Tarpon Springs yesterday and arrive in the dark last night, after a miserable passage. Therefore, we did made the right call. Eddy’s forecast from yesterday

 

Group:	Weather Wag
Created by:	Eddy Johnsen
Date & Time:	18 Jan 2023, 07:09:24
Title:	Daily Weather Wag Post
Message:	Wednesday, 18 January 2023 Ahoy Fellow Loopers! Unfortunately, I am the bearer of bad news for those of you who are anticipating a good weather-window anytime soon. A look at the forecast sites this morning indicate it may be February before an overnight crossing of the Gulf will be advisable. The long-range forecast for the rest of January MAY accommodate those who are willing to travel the Big Bend route. However, there will NOT be three consecutive days with favorable conditions in which to do this route. It will have to be done “piecemeal”. The earliest opportunity to make the Carrabelle to Steinhatchee run MAY be Saturday (21st).  Keep safe and enjoy the journey! Eddy Johnsen  Aboard M/V Spiritus, Grand Banks 36 Classic MVSpiritus@gmail.com

 

 Carrabelle 

 

 

Classic Soda Fountain in a drug store

GIWW Buoys, a lot smaller than the ones we have on the Maine Coast and made of Styrofoam 

 

 Crossing Apalachicola Bay 

Sunset at C Quarters

  

Sunday, January 16,2023 Travel Day # 89-90 C Quarters Marina, Carrabelle Fl to Mar Marina Tarpon Springs FL.  Total Distance 180 Miles, Total Time 21 Hours

When we arrived in Carrabelle 5 of the 6 loopers were planning (us included) to do the Big Bend route. However, by Saturday night we had a confirmation of 4 boats to do the overnight crossing all departing from Carrabelle and another looper who was departing from Apalachicola that morning was going to meet us off Dog Island the last barrier island before you get into the Gulf. We had agreed to meet Latitude at 3 PM, which was 8 miles from our marina, so we departed C Quarters at 1:45 PM. As we approached Dog Island sure enough Latitude was waiting for us and she joined the flotilla and the 5 of us headed out into the gulf. Visibility was unlimited, very little wind 5 knots and the seas under 1 foot, just perfect conditions (as Eddy predicted) for our crossing.

 

Now one thing we were concerned about was the temperature. We awoke on Sunday morning. It was 30 degrees 30! In fact, we had an outside faucet freeze on us that night. So our reality is, we can only drive the boat from the top side which is really outside and so we were anticipating a very cold passage and luckily it never dropped below 40 Sunday night, not that 40 is warm, but it’s not 30!

 

The reason you depart late in the afternoon is so that you arrive 30 miles off the coast of Florida at sunrise. That gives you one hour of cruising ( 7 AM – 8 AM) while being blinded by the sun, as the sun is right in your eyes until you get into the “Crab Pots mine field”. Twenty miles offshore the water drops from 40 feet to 8 feet and that is where the crab pots are in the shallow water. The last 3 hours you spend dodging crab pots.

Now I figured heck I know lobster pots no big deal! However, unlike lobster traps crab pots are connected so there is a line from one to the other which you can’t cross (they don’t use sinking lines) or you risk getting tangled. We have Prop Cutters (that are designed to cut the pot lies so the lines don’t wrap around your prop)  but that doesn’t mean you can’t get tangled in the lines and many of us have! So, when you see one buoy you must figure out where that one is in relationship to the rest of the string and what direction they are lined up in. However, that’s not the worst aspect, that would be the darn things are only the size of a cantaloupe, and they are black and some white. Maine lobster buoys are bright: red, green, orange, yellow, not Crab pot buoys, they are small and blend into the water, insane!

Therefore, you don’t want to arrive in the Crab Pot Mine Field until the sun is up at least until 8 AM, which we were able to do.

 

So the crossing overall was amazing, certainly scary and I’ll be honest the anxiety of doing it kept me up at night , actually that not true, I fall asleep fine but once I wake at 3-4 AM,  I couldn’t get it out of my mind so could not sleep. (probable oversharing here!) The worry is if something goes wrong (and we have had plenty of stuff go wrong, right?) you are so far from help. The entire trip you are 45 miles from the Florida coast and 950 miles to the coast of Mexico (not that that is an option)! At midnight we were halfway across to 90 miles from  Tarpon Springs and 90 miles from Carrabelle, that is in the middle of nowhere for sure. The great news is everything worked just great we didn’t have any problems all my batteries behaved, thank you Lord! 

 

We had a wonderful sunset at 6 PM and the sky stayed bright until 7:30 just a beautiful dusk. We were aware in advance but at sunset they launched a rocket from Cape Canaveral, which was cool to see. We were unable to see the rocket itself, just the contrail of smoke but very cool. Once dusk disappeared it was dark, very dark, inside of a pocket dark. It took us a half hour to get our eyes to adjust to the darkness very discombobulating. However, the stars were amazing, think about being 40 square miles away from any light and the star show was amazing. Then at 1 AM the moon rose it was a half moon, and suddenly this brilliant red blaze just lifted in front of us. That was so breathtaking and so welcomed because we now had a moonlight! Then at 7 AM we had a magnificent sunrise just stunning! Those were the 5 highlights, Rocket Launch, sunset, the stars, the moonrise, and the sunrise all unobstructed views.  This is the stuff that has made this trip so special and amazing, we are truly blessed. WE didn’t want to do the overnight and it turned out to be a true highlight, you just never know what is around the next turn, certainly something you were not aware of.  

 

 

The 5 boats we traveled with, we all stayed in the same position all night. We were the 4^th boat in line, and we had one boat off our starboard side which worked well for us. We had three boats’ lights to follow and one buddy boat to starboard.   We occasionally chatted with the other boats. However, when you talked on the radio the person off watch was awaken so we kept it pretty radio silent. We did two hour shifts one of us would drive and one would lay down on the bench next to the captain’s chair. Meredith had made two meals for us so all we had to do is heat them up, which was great. We had two cups of coffee and were able to stay awake when we were on watch, and it worked great. I have an amazing Admiral, I’m one lucky guy, we make a great team!  

 

At Sunrise we were about 30 miles offshore and we were able to cruise into Tarpon Springs at 10:30 AM. We got tied up and had a beer for breakfast, might have been one of the better beers on the trip, certainly a great accomplishment. We cleaned up the boat and had lunch and took an hours nap and washed the boat down. One of the things we got use to in the rivers and lakes is fresh water. Now back in salt water we must wash the spray off the boat, or the salt just hardens on the hull. We ate dinner and watch the beginning of the Bucs game (hopefully Brady’s last one) and went to bed at 9 PM and didn’t get up until 9 AM!  I haven’t slept that long since college, which was the last time I pulled an all-nighter! 12 hours sleep and not an anxious moment. I felt like a new man, what a difference it is to have this crossing behind us. It was a really intimidating trip that turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience

 

 

C-Quarters in Carrabelle 

Launch from Cape Canaveral Rocket (have to look closely)

The Flotilla 

Sunset

Dusk 

Moonrise

Sunrise 

Land Ho

                                                Crab Pot Buoys 

Breakfast of Champions

 

Wednesday, January 18,2023 Travel Day # 91 Mar Marina Tarpon Springs FL.  To Clearwater Municipal Marina, Clearwater FL Total Distance 22 Miles, Total Time 3 Hours

Tarpon Springs was a wonderful landing spot for our overnight crossing. We arrived  Monday chilled Monday and then on Tuesday were able to check out the town. We have a good friend Marci Acquaviva who recently purchased a home here and I think she made a great decision. I will include some pictures but Tarpon Springs claim to fame is the sponges that they harvest. We ate lunch at Rusty Bellies which was amazing. The Great Loop have Harbor Hosts in most towns who provide fellow loopers  with advice on what to do in town and in Tarpon Springs the Harbor Host is a legend Herb Senton. Herb has been a wise elder for me for the past two years and has been an amazing resource for me. Herb recommended Rusty Bellies as the best seafood in town, and it did not disappoint.

My guess is we will be Harbor Hosts going forward in Kennebunk, as there is a DownEast loop that folks do. 

 

So, onto our travel day.

We only had a short run to Clearwater so we left Tarpon Springs at 10 AM and spent 3 hours cruising down the ICW 22 mile and it was a perfect day. The ICW is well marked and is 200 yards wide and navigation is simple. We arrived in Clearwater early in the afternoon and tied up. We had lunch and then cleaned the boat. We are staying at the Clearwater Municipal Marina at Clearwater Beach and are just 1/4 mile from the beach.  We went for a great 2 hour walk on the beach, then came back to the boat so I could work on this blog (this blog is SOOO much more than I expected) then went out for a very nice dinner and came back to the boat, so I could spend the rest of the night finishing this!  Meredith read! No cribbage tonight, and if you don’t play you don’t lose!

 

The very best thing is we are still so relaxed, and enjoying the adventure, having “The Crossing” behind us is such a relief. I’ll get off my soap box, The Crossing is behind us, enough is enough.

 

 

 

Tarpon Springs 

Rusty Bellies

Great Idea!

My Ballerina 

Sponge Boats 

                           Cruising to Clearwater

We will be spending the month of February in Stuart, another month of R&R. 

We have 2 weeks to get there, which is only 300 miles. We are planning to spend two weeks getting to Stuart and we have several great stops planned which include the Sarasota and Venice Yacht Clubs. Then we have to travel through Fort Myers which will be spooky ( Ian wiped out the marinas there)  and then crossing Lake Okeechobee. We are so excited for this next journey and we will hopefully be hooking up with several friends that live in this area.

 

 

Fair winds and thanks for all your prayers (I know, I said I was done with the crossing) but just wanted to thank you all, amen!