Ready to cross the Gulf!

Tomorrow morning we will make our only ocean crossing of the entire Great Loop trip. It should be okay, but you never know. I've been in the ocean before -- off of New Jersey -- but we could see land the entire time and could dodge into a harbor if the weather turned bad. And on the Great Lakes we could take refuge if needed as we cruised within sight of the shore. But many have asked all along, "Will you ever be out at sea?" Tomorrow will be the only time, where we are out a great distance from land and must either make it all the way, or turn back to our origin.

We are snuggly in a marina here in Carrabelle, FL. It's the last city on the Intracoastal Waterway before it ends and one must cross the "armpit" (bend) of Florida over to the Steinhatchee River, about 80 miles away. We need to make it before sundown not only for the light to see, but because a big storm is scheduled to arrive by sundown tomorrow. I'll hope the seas are calm enough (they're supposed to be) to travel at a faster rate than I usually do - about 9 to 10 mph. We will fill with fuel tomorrow morning at 7 am and then take off.

Now that I've built up all this suspense, I'll try to post a quick blog entry tomorrow night announcing how it went.

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland!! I always wondered whether I would pass through any bayou land or swampy areas on the trip that would remind me of the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In the past three days we have! Here is one of many examples of the little shanties we have seen in the wooded swamp land we've passed through. I have another photo farther along in this blog.

On the other hand, we've seen even more land with high-rise condos and stately homes. It's hard to believe the density of the condos. This picture is just one of hundreds we've seen lining the waterway.

To explain, the entire distance to here from Mobile, AL has been in an inside waterway called the Intracoastal Waterway. For the most part, it is separated from the Gulf of Mexico only by a thin strip of barrier islands. On both sides of the waterway are a constant supply of high-rise condos and estates

In two other instances, the waterway has been a canal dug through swamp land. One cut was 25 miles long, and the other 45 miles. THAT's where we saw the shanties and other scenery that looked like Pirates.

In one of the canal sections (yesterday) we kept flushing these birds along in front of us, much as cattle drivers would push the herd forward. As we'd get close, they'd fly forward and land again, and the process kept repeating almost the entire 25 miles. Most of the birds were pelicans, and it was fun watching them dive for fish and gulp them down as we got closer before they had to fly off in front again.

Ever since we reached the Gulf, we've also had tons of fun with the dolphin. They do love to play with boats, and ours is no exception. They swim alongside us, right behind the propeller, or they surf (and jump) in our wake. And so many of them!

Here is Bert driving the boat. It's been so cold this week that we've navigated from the downstairs helm a majority of the time. On several occasions we've done something I haven't done yet on Breaking Away - running the heater while underway, which requires the generator.

And yesterday was really foggy most of the day. Worst fog yet on the trip (other than a short spurt of it on the TN River one morning). We had to slow down and keep a sharp eye out. That's when your GPS chartplotter pays for itself since that's the only thing showing you where to go. I would have just stayed in port otherwise. (Yes, I know, you can use paper charts and a compass to run blind, but I wouldn't now that I'm spoiled with the Garmins!)

How about this sighting in Panama City?

Here is just one of hundreds of fancy estates lining the waterway. Multiple boats, big home, big view, big pocketbook.

Last night we anchored in California Bayou (the night before was Joe's Bayou). We grilled steaks in the calm evening with a full moon. When we went to bed it was totally calm. When we awoke this morning it was totally calm. What happened in between was anything but calm! A squall blew over in the middle of the night and was a doozy!! We were rockin and rollin as if in a hurricane. I couldn't sleep with the force of the wind, the pounding rain, and the waves bouncing us around. I'm glad the anchor held!!!

Here's another of the Pirates/Caribbean shanties from today. This one actually looks like the one on the ride.

Interestingly, we are about the only boat out here in these waters. We've seen only two other boats doing the Loop, and only about 10 other boats total in the three days we've been out. A few small fishermen, a couple large fishing boats, and a few sail boats. I think it's the wrong time of year for boating in general here, and most Loopers are ahead of us. Certainly, it's been too cold for outdoor activities.

Doesn't this look just like what a swamp is supposed to look like? In the final miles of today's 45-mile cut canal, this is what we saw. We expected to see alligators, but we didn't, no matter how many logs we at first thought might be! Lots of pelicans again today, and cormorants, a few eagles, hawks, and egrets, and...I'd need my sisters to identify the others.

After three long days of non-stop travel, we arrived here in Carrabelle at the end of the Intracoastal Waterway until it picks back up in Tarpon Springs, which is just north of Clearwater. Luckily there was an IGA grocery store right across the street, since we had already run low on a number of items.

In just the last three days, we've run 27 hours and 215 miles. On each of the days, once we started we never stopped all day. We're tired, yet tomorrow will be the longest yet. Then we'll get to rest for a day while the storm passes through on Friday. Can't wait to see what the unspoiled natural coast of FL will be like, up the Steinhatchee River.