December 2004

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December 1, 2004
Location: New Orleans, LA to New Orleans, LA
Nautical Miles Traveled: 39.6

We left at 0830 this morning with the intention of heading back to the Industrial Canal and getting back on the ICW, but as we entered Lake Ponchartrain the winds were blowing 25 knots out of the north with seas of 3 feet. Aside from making only 2.5 knots of headway it was very rough. We decided to turn around and head back to the marina for another day and see if tomorrow’s weather will be any better. One of the things about cruising without a schedule is that we don’t have to go out when it’s rough if we don’t have to. The weather forecast for tomorrow is winds 10 to 15 knots out of the NE with the lake waters being rough again. We’re going to try again tomorrow morning at 0830, hopefully it will be a better and faster ride. We met some other boat owners across the dock from us this evening and enjoyed spending some time with them. David and Richard own a Catalina 30 and we enjoyed showing each other our boats and talking boat stuff. With it’s clean facilities, close services such as grocery stores and ease of entry the Orleans Marina gets 3.5 out of 5 anchors.

December 2, 2004
Location: New Orleans, LA to Gulfport, MS
Nautical Miles Traveled: 64.0

Woke up early this morning and headed out of the marina and into Lake Ponchartrain. The seas were much better today so we proceeded on to the Industrial Canal. David again took up position on the bowsprit and directed me through the maze of crab traps. When we approached the Seabrook Highway and Railroad bridges we waited almost 45 minutes because they wouldn’t call us back on the radio. Finally we called another nearby bridge and got the phone number. Once we called them with the cell phone the bridges opened and we entered the Industrial Canal. The ride down the canal was kind of boring as we went through two more bridges before making our turn east. At about 1000 we entered the ICW and proceeded east towards Rabbit Island. Our plan was to anchor at Rabbit Island then continue to Gulfport Mississippi the following day. We must have been making better time than I expected because we were at Rabbit Island at about 1330, so after a quick discussion we decided that there was enough time left in the day to continue on to Gulfport even though that would get us in after dark. The seas were a comfortable 2 feet in the gulf, but the winds were right on the nose so we ended up motoring the entire way to Gulfport. There was very little traffic in this part of the ICW, the entire day consisted of sharing watches at the helm and off time resting. For lunch today David made some basmati rice and dahl (Indian soup) which was very good.

An hour after the beautiful sunset we approached the Gulfport Channel. David went up on the bowsprit with the spot light and spotted the channel markers while I steered the boat and monitored the chartplotter. For our first night time approach in an unknown harbor, it was actually pretty easy. Just before we got to the Bert Jones Yacht Basin we called them on the VHF radio and they gave us directions to our assigned slip, where they eventually met us and helped us secure the boat. After stowing all the gear we walked across the marina to a local restaurant where David enjoyed his shrimp spaghetti and I had a cheeseburger. It looked like there was a lot to do in Gulfport, but we decided to go to bed early and leave the following morning for Dauphin Island Alabama while the weather was looking good. A plus for this yacht basin is that they only charged us $1.00/foot for our model length, not for our overall length. Our model length is 33’ but our overall length is 43’ and most marinas normally charge for the overall length so they can get more money. For it’s ease of entry and services, the Bert Jones Yacht Basin gets 3.5 out of 5 anchors. Maybe next time we’ll stay a bit longer to enjoy what Gulfport has to offer.

December 3, 2004
Location: Gulfport, MS to Dauphin Island, AL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 53.1

Before leaving Gulfport this morning we stopped by the fuel dock and topped off our fuel tank with 15 gallon of diesel. After filling up we departed the yacht basin at 0620 and made our way out of the Gulfport Channel. Soon we were back on the ICW headed east. The ICW here is so much different than the ICW before New Orleans. This portion of the ICW is in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but when we get to Mobile Bay Alabama the ICW will again cut through land near the coast.

The weather was good for the most part today, seas were 2 to 3 feet and the sky was partly sunny. Unfortunately the winds were again on the nose so we couldn’t sail, and they were blowing 15 to 20 knots so we were only averaging 5 knots or so. As we passed Biloxi we noticed a sailboat behind us and at around noon they slowly passed us. We briefly spoke with the man aboard Mariah and he too was headed to Dauphin Island and on to Florida. It was a typical day again, we enjoyed the many dolphins around us, red beans and rice for lunch, and a try at trolling for fish (no luck). By 1600 we were at Dauphin Island with the anchor set. While we sat in the cockpit we were treated once again to more playful dolphins in this scenic anchorage..

Dauphin Island is in the Gulf of Mexico just south of Mobile Bay and is a very popular place during the summer time. It was an early French settlement and was first called Massacre Island due to the numerous human skeletons that were discovered when the French first arrived at the island. Today it is a scenic summer destination and a bird sanctuary. Fort Gaines, a Confederate fort used to defend the entrance to Mobile Bay, is also located here. The anchorage here provides very easy access to the white sand beaches either by dingy or swimming. Though we did not make a shore excursion here to check out the sites and services available we rated this anchorage 3.5 out of 5 anchors because of it’s beauty, access and excellent holding.

December 4, 2004
Location: Dauphin Island, AL to Orange Beach, AL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 36.5

After checking all the engine’s bodily fluids we weighed anchor and departed Dauphin Island at 0645. As we entered the ICW bound for Mobile Bay it became apparent that today would be a long day. The currents and winds were not in our favor today so our speed remained an average of 4.3 knots, very slow going. On the up side it was quite warm today with mostly sunny skies(okay, the company was good to). As we traveled through Mobile Bay I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of commercial traffic as we only saw a few shrimp boats and no big ships at all. After a couple hours the ICW changed from the open waters of Mobile Bay into a beautiful tree lined river (ditch). This was one of the most spectacular parts of the ICW we have seen so far. Both sides were lined with tall pine trees, white sand beaches, houses and parks. As we got closer to Orange Beach it also became on of the saddest parts of the ICW as the devastation of hurricane Ivan could not be ignored. Many houses along the ICW were without roofs, boat yards filled with damaged beyond repair and almost all the marinas no longer existed. I was here two and a half years ago and it was amazing now with the absence of boats in this area.

We continued at a leisurely pace winding eastward, eventually turning off the ICW at Gulf Shores and headed north into Ingram’s Bayou. The bayou here very well protected from the winds with water depths of 8 to 9 feet. It took some extra effort pay attention to navigating in the bayou as the scenery here provides a great distraction. There were no other boats anchored here so we anchored right in the middle of this small bayou, and after setting the bow anchor we decided to drop a stern anchor to keep the boat from swinging to keep us from swinging into the very close banks of the bayou in the event of wind or tide changes.

About a half hour after setting the anchor and resting I noticed another sailboat coming into Ingram’s Bayou. It was a Kadey Krogan 38 named Dorian. They pulled along side and we spoke for about 20 minutes. They were headed to New Orleans from Florida. After some chit chat they proceeded further up the bayou to anchor and we went back to the hard work of doing nothing. Actually, we turned on the television and just zoned out for a while. Just before sunset there was a knock on the boat, it was the guy from Dorian. He had caught a huge red fish just hours earlier and asked if we wanted some. We love fish so there was no hesitation in accepting the offer and he handed us about four pounds of fresh red fish. For dinner we had baked fish and it was sooo good! Before going to bed I decided to go out on deck and check our position, things looked good. While I was on deck I kept hearing weird noises like grunting or huffing and puffing. Since it was pretty dark outside and I wanted to make sure the wolf wasn’t going to blow down our house I went below and grabbed our spotlight. I thought it might have been wild boars or something along the shore line but couldn’t see anything but birds. Well, after a while I finally saw what was making the noises, and it wasn’t along the shore line it was in the water. In this little bayou with 9 feet of water was a pod of dolphin swimming all around us. It was quite a site to watch the dolphin swim slowly in concert and occasionally blowing air out of their blow hole (this was the strange noise that I had heard). After watching the dolphin for a bit the weight of my eye lids was too much to bear and off to bed it was. When I went down below David was already sound asleep, confirmed by the loud noises emanating from his throat.

December 5, 2004 - The forecast for today called for a 100% chance for rain, and rain it did. All day. We spent the day in the boat and watched TV, read, napped, ate, and looked at charts for our trip to Pensacola. We saw s/v Dorian heading out of the anchor early this morning, we hope they have a dry ride to Biloxi. When we listened to the weather forecast yesterday they were calling for rain not only today but the next few days as well so we had thought we would be here close to a week. When we listened to the forecast this afternoon they said tomorrow’s chance of rain was only 20% so it looks like we’ll try to get to Destin tomorrow.

So we’ve been on the move now for almost a month, and yes, it is everything we thought it would be and more. We are so proud of ourselves to have made it this far on our own and are excited for what lays ahead of us. One of the biggest adjustments that I personally have had to make is getting used to all the free time. There is no hurry to get things done (most things anyway), and priorities have certainly changed. I spend more time reading guide books, looking over charts and listening to the weather. I’m surprised that I don’t worry about the things I thought I would like anchoring. I thought I would be concerned about dragging anchor and waking up someplace we shouldn’t be, but I don’t worry much about it and can (do) sleep well throughout the night. Even when the wind is blowing 25 to 30 knots. Every time we stop for the night we pride ourselves for having made it one more day. We’re excited to get to St. Petersburg to see our friends Dan and Jamie, even more excited to see where our journeys will take us. So far it has been a dream come true seeing new places, meeting great people and knowing that we can actually do this. Anyway, enough rambling. Dinner tonight was, you guessed it, more red fish. We seasoned it and cooked it in the skillet and served with rice.

December 6, 2004
Location: Orange Beach, AL to Big Lagoon near Pensacola, FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 18.6

It only took 15 minutes to raise both the stern and bow anchor this morning, we’re getting much faster. The first time we had to raise two anchors was in Taylor’s Bayou and it took us 45 minutes. We left Ingram’s Bayou at the crack of dawn with the tide and made an easy 6 knots towards Pensacola. As we proceeded further east the intensity of damage from Hurricane Ivan increased, what we saw in Alabama paled in comparison to Florida. Boats still lay on the beaches, houses without walls or roofs, entire condominium complexes near total destruction. It was also apparent that there was a lot of rebuilding going on too.

We listened closely to the weather channel and it sounded like the waters in the gulf were a bit rough at 4-6 feet, but we decided to continue out the Caucus Channel at Pensacola to see if we could make it to Destin. Well, it didn’t take long to decide to turn around. It was very rough out there, and with the swells coming from the south they would have been directly on our beam. This would have made for a very rolly and uncomfortable ride. We knew this area of the gulf had absolutely no marinas left after the hurricane so we back tracked to Big Lagoon and set our bow anchor just off the beach at Smith’s Point. What an absolutely beautiful anchorage, I think we both sat in awe for some time just admiring awesome surroundings. Two hundred feet in front of us was the white sand beaches with the Gulf of Mexico only 400 feet on the other side. Behind us the shores of Florida lined with tall pine trees. The winds were blowing 15 knots and the roar of the Gulf echoed in the air. We have had the fortune of anchoring in many beautiful places but this is one of my favorites so far. I could really stay here an extended period of time.

Well, today we only traveled for 3 1/2 hours so we had the rest of the day to play! I dropped the dingy into the water and David lowered the outboard motor to me. We left Bruadair at anchor and motored to the beach in front of us. The white sand beaches here are also known as sugar beaches because the sand is white and very fine just like sugar. After landing the dingy on the beach we walked the short distance to the Gulf of Mexico side, glad we didn’t go out today as it was pretty rough looking. While walking back to the dingy we noticed another sailboat coming from the west and watched while it anchored near us in Big Lagoon. We took the dingy and went over and introduced ourselves to Shawn and Lynne on their Shannon 39 Tarifa. They were headed to North Carolina to sell their boat after cruising for three years. They had just bought a home in the mountains there and sounded eager to get moved in. We also found out from them that the small white buoy on the other side of our boat wasn’t really a buoy, it was actually the top 2 feet of a mast. Evidently there was a sailboat that sunk there from Hurricane Ivan. Glad we didn’t anchor there, but it also made me realize that traveling this area outside of the navigation markers could potentially be dangerous, there was no way to know where sunk boats were and I would not want to see what would have happened if we ran over one.

After visiting with Shawn and Lynne we dingied over to another beach where there were still boats on the beach. It was amazing to see these large boats so high on the sand dunes, I can’t even imagine what it took to get them there. Anyway, we walked along this part of the beach for a short bit then headed back to Bruadair for the rest of the evening. It was really neat being in the dingy in two or three feet of water, we could easily see the bottom and occasionally while drifting a flounder would swim by beneath us. Back on the boat for some rest and relaxation. Dinner tonight consisted of roasted pork tenderloin and asparagus.

December 7, 2004 - Tried to sleep in late but it didn’t work. After our morning coffee I jumped in the dingy and went to the beach. Did some walking around and soaked in the surroundings. As I was walking along the beach in the water I was amazed at the size of the clams, huge! They were about 6 to 8 inches across, much bigger than the clams I was used to seeing. After a while I took the dingy over to where one of the marinas used to be behind us. After finding a place to tie the dingy up I asked a lady where the nearest convenience store was (wanted to get some chips to snack on as we were running out). She said it was two blocks up and offered me a ride, I accepted. She drove me around what used to be the neighborhood telling me about the houses that were leveled, where the boat yard and restaurant used to be and showed me the piles of debris that were waiting to be removed. All I can say is that I’m glad we were not around when Ivan came through. So we made it to the convenience store and she was kind enough to wait while I bought some snacks then drove me back to where the dingy was.

The rest of the day was spend trying my luck at fishing (no luck), watching movies and of course sampling our new snacks. The weather report looks good for tomorrow so we’re getting the boat ready for an early departure before heading off to bed. Though there is currently a lack of services along this part of the gulf Big Lagoon gets 4 out of 5 anchors. It is absolutely a beautiful anchorage and to date on of our favorites.

December 8, 2004
Location: Big Lagoon near Pensacola, FL to Destin FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 50.1

After listening to the weather reports (all sounded good) the anchor was weighed and we were on our way to Destin. As we exited through the Caucus Channel into the Gulf of Mexico it became apparent that we would probably have a slightly uncomfortable ride, and we did. The winds were right on the nose so we couldn’t sail and the 4’ swells were hitting us on the beam so we rolled a lot the entire trip. It was a typical day again, sausage and eggs for breakfast, lots of dolphins and occasionally we would see the water boiling with lots of fish feeding. I tried trolling again but still no luck, guess I need to switch lures or figure out some other method. Actually it was good that we didn’t catch a fish today because with the rolling motion of the boat it really would not have been easy to clean a fish.

Though the winds were on the nose we were able to make real good speed and averaged 5.8 knots. Shortly after we had set our course in the gulf we noticed that Tarifa, the sailboat we net in Big Lagoon, was behind us and catching up. They were also headed to Destin. David did most of the helm work today while I stayed below and checked charts, cruising guides and took a couple of cat naps. As we got closer to Destin I called a couple of the marinas there to see what their rates were, and at $1.75/foot (times 45’) we decided to plan on anchoring.

At 1500 we made our way into Destin and it is not my favorite harbor to enter. The waters are very shallow and even inside the markers there was as little as 3’ of water. We touched bottom a couple of times while inside the marked channel, guess there was a reason the rest of the boats were going in the harbor on the outside of the markers. We had planned on fueling up in Destin but once inside the harbor we noticed the diesel prices were $2.69/gallon, that’s a dollar more than we were accustomed to paying so after some quick calculations we decided that we had enough diesel to get us to Panama City, our next stop. So we proceeded further into this small harbor and found a good place to anchor.

Destin Harbor is actually pretty nice once inside, very well protected and a good holding ground. After setting the anchor we deployed the dingy and went over to see Shawn and Lynne on Tarifa, they had anchored behind us. After visiting a few minutes we went dingied to the convenience store so I could restock my diet Coke supply, then went back over to Tarifa. We spent a couple hours visiting, sampling wonderful snacks and talking about where Shawn and Lynne had been. They were kind enough to share with us an abundance of their knowledge. While were were there I was still rolling really bad. We had spent 8 hours in the gulf rolling the entire way and I guess my head just got used to it because once we were sitting still at anchor my head was just spinning, bad. It took many hours for my head to settle down but it was so intense I thought we were in a really bad storm being tossed about. My head eventually settled down once we got back to our boat and had dinner (chicken noodle soup). David was lucky, he didn’t have the spins at all.

So as the normal routine goes we checked the weather forecast after dinner and it looks like we’ll be here a few days. The seas out in the gulf are forecast to be a rough 5 to 7 feet with winds to 30 knots and scattered rain. Well, since we are not on a specific time constraint to be anywhere we’ve decided to hang out a few days until the seas calm down.

December 9, 2004 - Went for a long dingy ride this morning throughout the harbor, and found a good place to land the dingy so we could go walk into Destin. Ended up walking a couple of miles to West Marine then to Golden Coral for lunch. Back to the dingy then to Bruadair. Yep, a typical day just piddling around, it’s a rough life cruising. After dark I heard a large boat outside so I took a look to see what was going on. There was a Coast Guard boat with a Morgan 41 sailboat tied along side, the Coast Guard evidently towed the Morgan in and was helping them anchor before letting go of the tow lines. Watched a bit more television and off to bed.

December 10, 2004 - After breakfast I took the dingy to shore to dispose of our garbage. Dealing with garbage on a boat is not at all like when we lived on land, or even in a marina. Most people don’t think about dealing with garbage because you just bag it up and take it outside to the garbage can. Not on a cruising boat. We bag up our garbage and toss it either in the cockpit or dingy. If there is a town nearby like here in Destin we take the dingy to shore and try to find a garbage can. In a place like this they’re pretty easy to find, but when we’re in places like Ingram’s Bayou or Big Lagoon we have to hold onto our garbage for a while. David has become really efficient in compacting garbage so we can now fit more into a small bag.

On my way back from dropping off the garbage I stopped by Wind Child, the Morgan 41 that was towed in last night. Evidently they missed the marker coming into the channel yesterday and ran aground on the beach. With the boat laying on their side they were taking on water and sand but fortunately the Coast Guard was able to pull them off the beach and bring them into the harbor. They were shaken up but in very good spirits. They came down from Indiana and were on their way to Florida but it looks like they’ll be here a while to get some repairs done. After I left Wind Child I headed back to Bruadair but was quickly stopped by the Coast Guard for a boarding inspection. They tied my dingy alongside their boat and asked the normal inspection questions. After producing the dingy’s registration, a life jacket and a flashlight they quickly filled out the paperwork and I was able to continue on to Bruadair.

December 11, 2004 - Went ashore today to get some groceries but found out that the nearest grocery store was about 4 miles away. I wasn’t that motivated today so I went to a nearby convenience store and bought just a few basic necessities. Spent the afternoon going over charts to Panama City and Port Saint Joe, our next two stops. After reviewing charts and guide books I uploaded all the necessary waypoints to our chartplotter. Rest of the day was just another typical day in the life of two meandering cruisers. Though the harbor here at Destin is well protected with a good holding ground with many amenities nearby, I only rated it at 2.5 out of 5 anchors due to it’s hard to navigate and dangerous entrance.

December 12, 2004
Location: Destin, FL to St.. Joseph’s Bay, FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 80.3

We left Destin this morning at 0600, and though the anchorage is wonderful I will never come back here. While we navigated out of the channel between the markers as we should have we ran aground a half dozen times. We’ve scraped along the bottom before and it was never really a concern as the bottom was always a soft mud, but here it was hard sand and I was not happy about it at all.

Once we were safely in the Gulf of Mexico we set a rhumb line course for Panama City. The waters was very comfortable and I’m glad we waited to leave today. It was only 2 to 3 feet but the winds were once again on the nose, we we motored. When we left Destin there was an incredible tide behind us and we were actually able to maintain 3.5 knots with the engine idling. After we were in the safe waters of the gulf we increased the engine to our cruising RPM of 2000 and were able to maintain almost 6.5 knots for the better part of the day.

At 1300 as we approached Panama City we decided bypass this port and continue on to Port Saint Joe at St. Joseph’s Bay. Though we knew our arrival wouldn’t be until after dark we couldn’t pass up these ideal water and weather conditions as well as the great speed we’ve been able to maintain. This change in plans also put us ahead two days plus any foul weather we would have had to wait out. Since we had another six or seven ours to go I tossed out the trolling line for the better part of the afternoon. My fishing luck has not yet changed (really haven't to do something about that).

We arrived at St. Joseph’s Bay just as the sun was setting but wasn’t concerned about navigating into the channel after dark. The channel here is well marked and there is also good water depth in the bay outside of the channel. We were originally planning on staying at the marina here but as we approached the shoreline after dark we could not locate the marina. After a few minutes it was decided that we go under the bridge and into the Gulf County Canal. I maintained the slowest speed possible because it was incredibly dark here, no moon light, no city lights, just pitch black darkness. It was challenging trying to navigate in a narrow canal and not being able to see the shore line. Fortunately we only had to go a half mile into the canal when we saw a very long commercial pier next to a fish plant. There was a lot of empty space along this dock so we motored up to the very end and tied off. It may not have been the most ideal place to dock knowing that we could have gotten kicked off (we didn’t), but it was free (we like free). Today was our longest day both in time and milage. We made 80.3 nautical miles in 12.4 hours. It was also the best average speed we’ve had on this trip as well, 6.5 knots. After a quick dinner it was off to bed. Couldn't rate this fairly as it’s not really a normal place for a pleasure boat to stay.

December 13, 2004
Location: St. Joseph’s Bay, FL to Apalachacola, FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 25.7

Had a good nights sleep last night, needed it after the long day. Knowing that today was going to be a short day we decided to sleep in a extra hour, then we were off towards Apalachacola. We went up the canal about four miles before turning east on the ICW, there was a lot of current against us so we were only making about 4.5 knots, but it was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. This was the first day in a long time we didn’t see any dolphins but we did see quite a few bald eagles. There isn’t much civilization along this part of the ICW though White City did look like it would be an interesting place to stay, and we’ve heard that it’s free to stay at the docks there.

Once we passed through Lake Wimico we finally picked up a strong current in our favor and we were making a fast 7 knots. As we approached Apalachacola I tried to slow the boat down because a lot of the navigation buoys were missing but with the current I could only slow to 5.5 knots. When we finally reached Apalachacola I continued past the docks then turned around, this allowed me to go into the current so I could slow the boat down considerably which allowed me better maneuverability of Bruadair. We tied up to the fuel dock and took on 41 gallons of diesel. I’m glad we waited to fuel up here as it was only $1.72/gallon where as in Destin diesel was $2.69/gallon. I’ve learned on this trip that fueling up in a commercial port is much cheaper than fueling up in a resort/recreational port. After fueling up I was going to call the local marinas here to find a place to stay but we were out of our service area. David and I headed back into the office of the fuel dock and inquired about the marinas, he suggested the Deep Water Marina one block behind him, and he offered to let us keep the boat on the fuel dock while we walked to the marina to check availability. Well, they had one slip available so we headed back to the boat and took it to the marina. While we were docking the boat we ran aground about half way into the slip but with the bottom being real soft mud I decided to just power into the slip. We made it about 2/3 of the way in and tied up, hooked up the shore power cord and had lunch. I had contemplated finding another marina with a better slip but the winds were now blowing out of the north at 30 knots so we decided to just stay put.

After a quick rest it was time for a well needed hot shower. The shower facility here was quite interesting, the building looked like an outhouse. It was built of rough lumber (lots of open knots in the wood) and on stilts about four feet above the ground. Once inside there was a nice bench to put a shower bag, and behind the half wall was the shower head. It was the first time I took a shower while admiring the beauty of the marina and marsh lands around us through the knot holes and cracks in the walls. Oh, and the breeze coming through the building was efficient in helping accelerate the drying process.

When David and I were done with our showers we decided to walk into town and see the sites. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch (small portions at tourist prices), David had the scallops while I enjoyed the flounder. It appeared that Apalachacola was a nice town to walk through, but after lunch we were just too tired to do much of anything else so it was back to the boat for a nap. After getting some rest we watched television for a bit including the weather forecast. We were forecast with winds 30 to 35 knots and temperatures down to 23^of for the rest of the week so we decided to stay a few days with plans on leaving on Thursday. Stayed up late watching movies before going to bed.

December 14-15, 2004 - Apalachacola is a beautiful historic little town with it’s restored Victorian mansions and homes, preserved buildings from an era gone by and tranquil lanes. There are many bed and breakfast places, lots of restaurants and for those who love to shop there are plenty of antique and gift stores to choose from. During one of our walks we went to the John Gorrie Memorial Park, a small but very well landscaped park. His grave is also here at the park as well as a museum in his honor. Dr. John Gorrie practiced medicine here in the mid 1800s when yellow fever was rampant. While trying to find a way to cool the rooms of his yellow fever patients Gorrie invented the first artificial ice machine and refrigeration. Unfortunately he died before realizing the impact that this invention would have.

While we waited in Apalachacola for a good weather window we spent time walking around the historic town seeing some of the sites. One of our walks took us about five miles north of town where we bought some knit hats at the dollar store. It was a great walk along the shoreline of Apalachacola Bay. We also stopped at the Piggly Wiggly and bought some groceries. I didn’t think we bought that much but after walking a couple of miles back to the boat it felt like we had purchased everything in the store, the bags kept getting heavier and heavier. We finally found the public library with internet access and were able to send some e-mails and check a few other things. The weather forecast showed Thursday and Friday to have lower winds but the temperatures were also forecast to be in the mid 20’s to mid 40’s. After some discussion we decided that we would shoot for a Thursday departure despite the cold temperatures as there would only be a two day window with winds less than 25 knots.

December 16, 2004 - Got up early this morning, disconnected and stowed the shore power cord and untied the dock lines, but when we tried to motor out of the slip we were hard aground. I tried everything I could but the boat wouldn’t budge so we retied the boat and connected our shore power cord back up. When the office opened I told them we would be spending another night because we couldn’t get out of the slip. They were apologetic saying that there is normally more depth in the slip and told us there wouldn’t be any charge for tonight (remember, free is always good!). So we went to the library and checked e-mails and weather again, tomorrow still looks good. The rest of today was spent eating, walking and watching television. When the tide was high enough we pulled the boat out of the slip about 12 feet and retied all the lines, I felt that this should get us out of the big hump below us to allow us to finally leave in the morning. Oh, and it was cold today, about 28 degrees this morning and in the mid 40’s most of the day and tomorrow’s supposed to be just as cold.

December 17-18, 2004
Location: Apalachacola, FL to St. Petersburg, FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 199.1

It was cold this morning when we left, very cold. It was in the high 20s so we were bundled up in long johns, pants and sweaters and foul weather gear. I thought that maybe we were transported by aliens to the Great Lakes but when I stuck my head out the hatch were were still in Florida, didn’t know it got this cold here. Well, we were able to get out of our slip this morning and were excited to be headed to St. Petersburg. As we motored down the river and through Apalachacola Bay we were able to make pretty good speed as we were going out with the tide, we were averaging 6.5 knots. The bay is pretty shallow averaging about 10 feet with many shoal areas so we were cautious to stay in the channel. The forecast for today was for North winds at 5 to 10 knots with seas 2 to 4 feet. Evidently the forecasters have been slacking because it was blowing a steady 20 knots in the bay. We took a short cut into the Gulf of Mexico by going through the narrow and shallow Government’s Cut and once in the gulf we decided that the forecasters needed to look for another line of work. The winds had now picked up to a steady 25 knots or so and the seas were 6 to 8 feet. Since we had come this far David and I decided to continue on to St. Petersburg rather than turn around. If we had gone back to Apalachacola we would have had to wait another week for the next good weather window.

After exiting Government’s cut we set our course and raised the staysail. With the winds gusting to over 30 knots we decided not to put out any more sail and the staysail did a great job in keeping us from rolling in the swells. We stayed tethered to the boat at all times during this trip with our harnesses. Traffic was light with only a few fish/shrimp boats off on the horizon. We were excited about this trip as it was our first overnight trip, it would have been nice though if it wasn’t so rough. At about 1500 we started our watches of three hours on and three hours off, David took the first watch while I went down below and slept. Throughout the rest of the evening and night we took turns sleeping and keeping watch and finally at around 0200 the seas and winds started to subside, by sunrise the winds were 15 to 20 and seas 2 to 4 feet, much better. Throughout the night we saw the lights of shrimp boats out on the horizon and confirmed their positions on our radar. Depth perception can be deceiving at night but we were able to check distances with the radar.

At around 0900 we had land in our sites and were excited to be only a short distance from seeing our friends in St. Petersburg. During most of the night and morning we had been listening to the Coast Guard broadcast information about a sailboat that was taking on water after running aground at the entrance to Tampa Bay, and as we entered the bay we saw the salvage operations of this sailboat take place. It was a sad sight to see but is a reminder that things like this can happen.

As we entered Tampa Bay through the Egmont Channel we were greeted by a lot of dolphins. The bay here is much different than Galveston Bay in that there is plenty of water depth outside the channels and the water is much cleaner. Our friends Dan and Jamie had left Kemah earlier this year and we were headed to the same marina. Jamie was in Ecuador visiting family for the holidays but we knew Dan was at the marina. As much as we wanted to surprise Dan we had to call to find out what slip we would be pulling into. When David called him to get the slip information Dan asked when we would be leaving Apalachacola, he was very surprised to know that we were only an hour away. Dan gave us directions to the slip and said he would be at the end of the dock to greet us. At 1630 as we pulled into the Marina there he was, waving his Texas flag with a sign that said ‘Hot Showers, Hot Food’. I took Bruadair down the fairway and pulled her into the slip where there were three guys besides Dan to help take our dock lines. One of the guys demanded we take our boat out of the slip and try again because no boat was allowed to pull into the slip with such perfection and grace, I didn’t listen to him but accepted the compliment. Actually I was surprised because I did do a good job bringing Bruadair into the slip even though people were watching and I was exhausted.

Once the boat was secured we spent an hour visiting and catching up with Dan, then it was off for a well needed hot shower and some rest. Dan treated us to pizza for dinner and we stayed late talking. It was nice to be in St. Pete and great to be with old friends. David and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the way Bruadair handled on the 34 hour trip from Apalachacola. Despite the 6 to 8 feet seas Bruadair remained very comfortable and surprisingly dry. Though the decks were somewhat wet the cockpit stayed completely dry. It is a wonderful feeling to have crossed 180 miles of water with our first overnight on this boat in the conditions we had with no problems. It would have been nicer to have warmer weather, it takes a while to peel off layers of clothes when one needs to use the head. I’m sure we’ll find the warmer weather soon enough. By the way, we’re giving The Harborage Marina 4.5 anchors out of 5 no only for it’s clean and beautiful marina and friendly staff, but the people here on C dock with us are the tops. They have a great sense of humor and are fun to be with. There are also some wonderful restaurants, stores and a grocery store within walking distance.

December 19-29, 2004
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0

For the past 10 days we’ve really been enjoying our stay here at the Harborage Marina. Dan took us for a tour through St. Pete and it is a beautiful city filled with numerous parks, great architecture and lots of waterfront views. The city is also surprisingly clean. Downtown is filled with all sorts of stores and a huge abundance of restaurants including Thai, Cuban, Italian and Japanese. I could easily see why people like it here and can see St. Pete as being a contention for as a place to settle down sometime down the road.

We’ve taken advantage of Dan’s offer to drive us around have made trips to the store for various things and gone out for a couple of meals. We’ve also taken this time to wash the boat, get laundry done (lots of laundry!) got a few projects out of the way. The people here on the dock are all wonderful. Every Wednesday at 6pm everyone gathers with their chairs in front of our boat with their favorite beverage and or food for a few hours. They call it whiney Wednesday, not sure if it’s because most everyone drinks wine or if it’s because their whining about the week, probably both. Brian made some great gumbo and rice and it was a great way to meet everyone on the dock.

Christmas morning came early for us. At 3 in the morning I laid in bed awake listening to the wind howling and the boat rocking. Finally at 4am I decided to get dressed and take a look outside and was amazed at all the wind blowing. Turned on the wind instrument to see that the wind blowing a steady 50 knots and gusting to 60 knots. David had already been awake so he joined me outside. With the winds so strong the boat was just bouncing all around in the slip so we decided to double up on the dock lines, tied down the wind generator and went to check on Dan’s boat (he was away visiting his family). Brian and Deb were out on the their boat as one of their dock lines had broke and Steve was checking on his boat. After getting all the boats secured we stayed on the dock and talked for a while. Everyone was amazed with this wind storm and it lasted for about four hours. Later in the day we went with our neighbors Brian and Deb to Tarpon Springs where we met our other neighbors Kristal and Rick (they sailed up there a few days earlier). After enjoying appetizers on their boat we went to a very nice Greek restaurant, Papas. The food was awesome! David had a seafood pasta dish and I enjoyed the rack of lamb. It was a great way to spend Christmas Day with good food and new friends.

Jamie returned from Ecuador on the 29th so we visited for a short bit. David and I made a quick provisioning trip as we were planning on going to Desoto Point in the Manatee River for a week to ring in the new year. We were going to meet two other boats, Kristal and Rick on Anthem and Rick and Sharon on Toi Boat, their 66 foot Cheoy Lee trawler. Others from the dock were planning on being there a few days later.