November
11, 2013
Normal
routine….up at 4:30, motors started about 5:45, away from the marina at 6AM.
We will head out from Carrabelle around 3 or 4 PM and then hit Tarpon Springs at sunrise.
Boring morning. A few things to look at but not much. Dolphins are not too active, we see them, but they do not join us for frolic in the wake.
I
came up to pass a sailboat in the ICW and hailed him on the radio but received
no answer. I did transmit I was passing
on his port side in case he could hear me but not transmit. A minute later just as I was about to pass
him on the port side, he turns 90 degree to port right across my bow. I throttled back and it turned out okay….he
had started to run into shallow water and out of instinct he made a course
correction to get to some decent depth.
Good thing I was awake at the helm!
The
intracoastal waterway is a ditch for several miles. Very narrow and lots of debris. Beautiful sunny day with calm winds so it is
very pleasant.
Once we got Apalachicola Bay we got a sense of the conditions as it is a very large bay and exposed. The conditions we good. I called a couple of marinas in Carrabelle to see if any boats were leaving at that time and was told several had left at noon but none we heading out now. While we were crossing Apalachicola there were several birds that would fly just above the boat and search for fish. I can only assume the boat was creating a disturbance that would flush some sort of fish to the surface. The birds would dive aggressively to the water to catch their prey. It was very fun to watch.
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| work boat |
So
we were on our own. We arrived at “East
Pass” right on time at 4PM and turned out into the Gulf of Mexico.
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| East Pass leading out to the Gulf of Mexico |
We had 1 to 2 foot waves at the beginning,
nothing uncomfortable but a little rocky.
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| house on barrier island |
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| another barrier island house on the Gulf of Mexico |
After 20 miles or so I changed course and heading toward the “Big Bend”
to see if things would quiet down. At
7PM the waves had diminished to 1 foot or less so I changed course again to run
straight to Tarpon Springs. We had a very pretty sunset at sea!!
It was a beautiful night. Bright half moon until 1:30AM.
Very bright stars after
that. Some dolphins stopped by around
midnight to check us out. Trick and I
traded manning the helm every couple of hours to get some sleep. We met three or four boats coming the other
way. Everything was working
perfectly….the autopilot, the radar, the night vision camera, the chart
plotter, everything was spot on.
Speaking of spots, in the middle of the night I noticed the spot locator
was flashing red so I assumed it was having a battery issue and I changed
batteries.
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| Spot locator track. |
The
weather was just as nice as you could want.
Very comfortable temperature and a slight wind. It was really perfect.
Just
after it started getting light we started seeing crab pots. I had planned our course to stay out far
enough when it was dark to minimize the potential of the pesky pots and then
right on schedule they showed up once it was light enough for us to see them.
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| First light |
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| Sunrise |
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| Charter boat coming out of Tarpon Springs |
As
we neared Tarpon Springs right on schedule, I made contact with the dockmaster
at the Tarpon Springs City Marina and made arrangements to keep the boat there
for a month at a very reasonable price.
That taken care of, I made the decision we could still catch our Tuesday
flight out of Tampa at 12:15. That was
the original plan but we the delays along the way I was prepared to stay until
Sunday. We really had to rush to get
things set to leave but like everything else about this trip, things came
together perfectly.
Trick
and I made the flight with the help of a very fast cab driver. Nick, the dockmaster at Tarpon Springs was
very nice and very helpful. I will have
to do a little housekeeping when we get back in December because we left in
such a hurry.
On
the way to the airport I called Missy to let her know we were about to get on
an airplane at the last moment. She
relayed to me how the spot locator had quit working in the middle of the
night…when she noticed that she called the Coast Guard to see if they were
aware of any problems. A Petty Officer
assured her that things were just fine as the weather conditions were perfect
and there were no reports of any vessels in distress. He told her to call them back if she did not
hear from me by noon on Tuesday.
I
feel bad that I worried her but it could not have been too bad as she fell
asleep before I had changed batteries and got the locator up and running
again. I had also sent an email to Tom
Conrad with the Great Loop organization letting him know our plans along with a
link to my locator. I let him know we
had crossed without problems and thanked him for keeping an eye on us.
Again,
the night was perfect, with one exception….but Missy is NEVER going to go out
so far from shore on anything smaller than a cruise ship. It really is a satisfying experience to put
together a plan and equipment to make something happen that so few
experience. It is simple, really, and
experience mariners think nothing of such a journey. But to many inexperienced the fear of the
unknown serve as an obstacle. Too bad, they are missing out on a heck of an experience.
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| Tarpon Springs |
Bottom
line, we really do not have control of our lives. We can plan, prepare, procure, and set things
in motion with the best of intentions and goals. Things have a way of working out just the way
they were meant to. Does that mean we
have conquered anything? I personally
don’t think so. We have simply
participated in an opportunity that worked out well and I feel very grateful
for that.
Things
could have gone very wrong. If they had, we would have dealt with it. As it turned out, things were perfect. How does the
old Doris Day song go??? Que Sera Sera!! I am also reminded of the Serenity Prayer:
"Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."
I first came across the Serenity Prayer when I quit drinking 30 some years ago. I will also never forget that my father had that prayer written on the back of a used envelope that he had given me about that time. Funny thing is my dad did not have a religious bone in his body but he apparently thought that prayer had some worthwhile lesson for me. I agree.
I have I
dream of doing more things I haven’t done. I
set out to achieve new objectives. I don’t
always get there and I am perfectly okay with those events. Some of my goals turn out to become realities
and I am just as okay with that. I might
gain a little confidence to try an even bigger goal but I am constantly aware of
how much I do not and cannot control about life.
My
mantra is simply to make the best of every situation. I put forth my best effort I can. I seek the best in others. I am mindful of others and respect every
person as my brother and sister. We are all members of one big family on one
small little planet.
Life
is working out very well for me. I am
grateful and thankful for all of my blessings.
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| Sailboat in Tarpon Springs |
So
Trick and I are flying home and then Missy and Rachael and I will fly back to
Tampa early December, drive back to the boat and enjoy Florida. Rachael will fly back after
a week and then Missy and I will head to Key West with the boat. We expect to fly back to Minnesota mid January for the birth of our first Grandchild.....YEA!
That’s
all for this part of the journey, check back in a month and Aye Sea No Snow
will be on the move again.
