Gulf Crossing

Aye Sea No Snow has ventured out 

in to the Gulf of Mexico to where it 

Could See No Land!

Melissa and I would like to have the boat home in St. Paul this winter so that means a long voyage north.  To get into the river system (TennTom Waterway) we need to motor up the Gulf to Mobile AL.  The area of Florida that turns into the Panhandle is referred to as the "Big Bend".  The waters near shore are very shallow and prohibit cruising close to shore.  In places, one must be 25 to 30 miles off shore to find water deep enough to transit.

Who can tell me what kind of bird this is?

Unless a boater is intentionally visiting each little community, the logical route is to "cross" the Gulf from Clearwater/Tarpon Springs to Carrabelle/Apalachicola.  The crossing is about 140 miles.  Aye Sea No Snow cruises best at about 8 knots.  She will go faster but the fuel mileage suffers considerably.  This time of year there is 13 hours of daylight in Florida.  At 8 knots the crossing takes 18 hours.  It is mandatory to finish in daylight to a location one if not familiar with.  Leaving in daylight is also  prudent. Crossing the Gulf at night is not a problem.

I fed this little guy some leftovers on the dock.

Trick and I waited for a weather window for a decent crossing and headed out about 1PM on Easter Sunday.  The wind and waves were very favorable at the start.  The forecast was for improving conditions.  The wind and waves actually picked up but the were head on to the boat so it was not a problem.

We picked up a buddy boat in Tarpon Springs.  Bud and Phillys had just purchased a new 36 foot American Tug in Stuart Florida.  The were on their way home to Pensacola.  They had not crossed the Gulf before so they decided to follow (like I know what I am doing?????).  It was nice to have lights at our stern all night.

We motored out of Tarpon Springs in heavy traffic.  A ton of boaters were taking advantage of the nice day.  We even spotted some young people that were cruising by topless.  Once we went through the cut into the Gulf we set the autopilot on Carrabelle and settled in for a long night.  We had a beautiful sunset about 8:00 PM.  The moon was set to rise at 10:30 so it was very dark for a while.

About 10PM I notice a low flying aircraft coming right at us from our starboard (right side).  It was a Coast Guard helicopter.  It light us up with it's super bright spot light and made a low pass.  The it circled around and called us on the radio.  Turns out they were looking for an overdue boat and asked if we had seen anybody.  Very cool conversation with the Coast Guard.  Nice to know they are out there when silly boaters get into trouble.

Only 100 miles left to go!!!  Heading of 320 at 8.6 knots with arrival time estimated at 4:21 A.M . on the chart-plotter.

We gazed at the stars for a while and then the moon came up and we could see the horizon again.  It was a very uneventful night the rest of the way in water up to 80 feet deep.  With ten miles to go I slowed down a little bit to let the sun come up so we could see the channel into Carrabelle.  Our buddy boat friends headed off to Apalachicola as we ducked into the marina.

Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

Trick and I stayed up all night and we were beat. The boat was filthy with salt from the spray out on the Gulf so even though I was dog tired I washed the boat while Trick put things away and then we hit the bunk.  Very nice people here at C Quarters Marina and weather just as super.

Sunrise as we approach Carrabelle

My sister Bobbie followed us on the Spot Locator during the night as did Melissa.  It was fun to make the trip and nice to have people "watching" to make sure we were safe. This experience helps me with my confidence in motoring about.  I am now ready for a Gulf Crossing or a trip to the Dry Tortugas.

I am doing a little boat maintenance and recharging the "old" batteries before we head out again tomorrow.  We should be in Panama City tomorrow night, Mobil on Thursday, and then Demopolis AL sometime next weekend where I will leave the boat for a couple of months so I can get home to the family.