End of Month 1

Here I am at the end of the first full month of cruising the Great Loop. I am in Venice, Florida. I'm spending a second night here because I spent part of yesterday and all of today visiting my cousin Randy and his family. They live about half an hour away from where I'm docked. More on that later. More on my stop in Gulfport, later.
I just wanted to get it on record that I've completed my first month, not without troubles, but a great month nonetheless. What I want to say is that I've cruised 580.5 statute miles in my first month out. I'm really pleased with that. I'm under budget for fuel, boat maintenance, and my miscellaneous category. I'm way over for food and marinas. But, all in all, everything worked.
The surprise bonuses had to do with meeting friends in Gulfport and family in Venice.
I'll be back later with a recap of the month and a better entry for the last several days of cruising.

Tarpon Springs

I wound up spending an extra night in the Skeleton Key Marina. Nice, inexpensive, and well sheltered. It was a good place to stay to avoid the high winds on the Gulf.
I got a reasonably early start and made for Turtle Cove Marina in Tarpon Springs.
Turtle Cove was a nice, but odd, marina. It has huge boat storage facilities. The Bull's are constantly putting boats in and taking boats out. The facilities are really nice. But, the restrooms/showers are at least a quarter mile walk. I had to go out of a locked gate to walk down the street to get back in through a locked gate. The oddity continues. There is a Tiki Bar, closed. There is a really comfy looking lounge area, closed. Nice pool with water fountains, nobody there. Perhaps is the off season, I don't know. I did spend a nice afternoon there. Had a shower. Got good WiFi.
I walked into town for dinner. It's a nice little town, full of Greek heritage. Apparently it comes from the sponge divers that emigrated here from Greece. I found a restaurant that I thought looked good, Costa's. I had tzatziki and warm pita. I followed that up with some avgolemono and for dinner - bakaliaros with skordalia. I also had a couple of retsinas to help wash it down. It was really fun.
I walked back to the marina, got on the boat, and had a really nice night's sleep.

Open Water Cruising

I must say that I can't wait to get back onto the Intracoastal Waterway. Since leaving Carrabelle, I've been out in the Gulf. The water has been fairly rough on several occasions. It has also been smooth as a pond. But, there have been precious few good places to anchor out. As a result I've been spending more time in marinas than I wanted to.
After leaving Sea Hag Marina, I cruised for a fairly long day to an anchorage called the Northwest Passage. On the map it looked like a nice area protected by an island. Nope. It was out in open water and anything close to the island was in very shallow water. So, while it was a good secure anchorage, it was a bumpy night. I did have a fairly good night's sleep, though.
I got up early and had breakfast. I did my engine prestart checks and was underway fairly early. The water was rough, but not too bad. I cruised along slowly and made it to Twin Rivers Marina. I had called them earlier to request a slip for the night. Even though I arrived at closing time, they were nice enough to fuel me up, sell me a couple of beers, and get me tied up for the night. I had a shower in a fairly nasty shower room, but it felt good to get clean.
The Twin Rivers Marina is on the Crystal River. It has a really gorgeous entry channel. It's a fairly long, but really enjoyable passage in and out. Here's a 30 second clip of the cruise on the entry channel. I probably should have stayed to enjoy the scenery and the manatees, but I'm still hurrying along to try to get northbound before hurricane season.
On leaving Twin Rivers, I made plans to get to the Hernando Beach Marina. My GPS doesn't give me an arrival estimate until I am underway. For some reason I miscalculated the distance. My arrival time was after 8p. I don't want to cruise into the unknown after dark (good thing, too). I made up my mind to find an anchorage for the night and not attempt Hernando Beach. I found a place on the GPS, out of the way of any big boats, but still out in the middle of nowhere. I anchored for the night, but the boat rocked all night long. I slept, but not well.
Again, I was up and out fairly early. Everything started well, but then the winds picked up and the waves got really big. I was sort of afraid of running out of fuel. As a result, I donned my life vest and hooked my portable radio onto the waist strap. Had my engine quit, I might have been in real trouble.
I eventually made it to the vicinity of Hernando Beach, but en route I discovered that the marina didn't have pump out services. I really needed a pump out as Twin Rivers didn't have one either. I altered course to get to Sterling Marina. I had a hard time finding the place. The GPS showed watered channels all the way through the area. But, roads had been put in that cut the channels off. Surprise, surprise! I finally got to Sterling and got fueled up and pumped out. I then had to sail about 3 miles around the channels to get to Hernando Beach Marina, which was only about 200 yards away from where I was.
I got to Hernando Beach Marina and tied up for the night. The guys working the front desk were really nice. I asked about shopping and restaurants. There is a restaurant on the premises and a Walmart about 5 miles away. I called the Walmart to refill one of prescriptions and got an Uber to take me there and back. I got a bunch of provisions. Then, I treated myself to dinner at the Tropical Grille. Fish tacos! With blackened grouper!
While having dinner, I planned out today's cruise (4/23/2017). Since there are so few anchorages, I had to hit another marina. So, here I am at Skeleton Key. Nice place. And at least half a dozen people have walked out on my finger pier to complement or comment on my boat. It's been a fun day. And, oh yeah, the water on the Gulf today was smooth as glass. It's amazing how in just a few hours it can go from raging waters to pond-like.
I'm still trying to decide on tomorrow. The wind and wave forecasts aren't real good.

Entering Crystal River

Cruising Without Pants

After the boat work yesterday, I took myself out to dinner again. Went to the same restaurant as the night before. It was pretty good and walkable.

I went to bed early with the intention of getting up early. Good thing. The marina starts early. Their hoist machine was putting boats in the water at 6a. I got up and cleared the decks for departure. I did all the engine pre-start work and made arrangements for fueling up. I backed the boat over to the fuel dock and filled up. I also filled the spare 5 gallon can that I had bought at the marina. I hope not to run out of fuel again!
I was headed out at about 7:30a. It's a long trip through the channel and out into the Gulf. As I was idling along (it's a no wake zone), I noticed that one of my bow lines was dragging in the water.
If that got pulled over the side, it could be disastrous. When I got out to the Gulf, the calm waters of the outbound channel turned really rough. I couldn't stop in the channel. I waited until I got into the Gulf to move that line. I grabbed my boat hook and sat on the starboard gunwale to grab the loose line. As I sat, a wave broadsided the boat and soaked me. I managed to get the line, but I needed to get underway right away. The only choice was to remove the wet pants and cruise on.
It turned out to be another long day cruising, just a little short of 10 hours.

Steinhatchee, Florida

I spent nearly a week in Carrabelle waiting for a weather window and a buddy boat. It wasn't all bad. I drank some beers. I had fresh Gulf oysters and fresh Gulf shrimp. I chatted with passersby. Just about everybody that walks past the boat has a comment.
Saturday (4/15/17), M/Y My Dream arrived at C-Quarters. The owners, Ted and Sue, have cruised all over the place in their Kady Krogen 42. We had beers onboard their boat and chatted away the afternoon. We decided to re-position to Dog Island on Sunday for the crossing to Steinhatchee on Monday.
Sunday, the plans abruptly changed when Ted wound up in the ER. The diagnosis was cellulitis. He was given a course of antibiotics and told to take it easy.
So, instead of going to Dog Island, we stayed at C-Quarters. Ted and Sue invited me over to their boat for Easter Dinner. We decided to head out early Monday for Steinhatchee. The weather forecast was for 10 kt winds and 1/2 meter seas.
We were all up early on Monday. Capt. Kim from C-Quarters was there as were a couple of other loopers. We were on the water at about 0730. It was calm heading out to the Gulf. We rounded Dog Island and the conditions deteriorated quickly. Instead of 1.5 to 2 foot seas, we got 3 to 4 foot seas. Instead of 10 kt. winds, we got 15 kt. winds. For nearly 12 hours, we rocked and rolled across the Gulf. As we entered the channel to approach Steinhatchee, I ran out of fuel. Ted and Sue came back for the rescue. They got a line from their boat to mine. They attached a 5 gallon jug of diesel fuel to the line and I dragged it across to my boat. I got most of the 5 gallons into my boat and with some reluctance, my engine restarted. We made the last 5 or so miles up the Steinhatchee River without incidentl and docked at the Sea Hag Marina.
I treated Ted and Sue to dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was a pleasant walk, there and back. They had already decided to head out in the morning. I was undecided.
I spent a quiet night and got up fairly early. I coiled up the line that we had used to pass the jug of diesel. I had the jug refilled with diesel and returned both the line and the jug to Ted. Ted came over and offered me a little guidance on how to change the main fuel filter on my engine. And then, they took off.
I spent the rest of the morning changing the fuel filter. Not a difficult job, but as I had never done it before, it was a learning experience. I got some help from one of the guys, Rodrigo, here at Sea Hag.
By the time that was done, I had decided to spend another night here. I'll try to get a reasonably early start tomorrow morning.

Lake Wimico to Carrabelle

After a long day's cruise, I spent the night on Lake Wimico. It was a larger lake and a much larger cove than I had anticipated, but after the sun went down, the lake settled.

I had a good night's sleep on anchor. It was here, or near here, that I cruised into the Eastern Time Zone. When I got up it was already after 8a. I had coffee, but skipped a proper breakfast as I wanted to get underway. I did the engine check and got started on my way. I still had a little coffee left, so I had a breakfast bar.

It was mostly a pretty cruise along the Jackson River. This area was a little more natural and a little more beat up by hurricanes than the cut was. I saw several sunken boats, boats out of place, wrecked docks, and abandoned homes.

By early afternoon I had gotten out of the lake and through the Jackson. I entered the Apalachicola River. The wind and waves were coming straight at me. It was rough going. But, my little boat just plugged along. I was running a nearly full power. Then, it got really rough. I entered Apalachicola bay. Again, the wind and the water were against me. It was about an 8 hour run. I had called C-Quarters the previous day and made arrangements for an overnight slip. I called again when I was about an hour out. They were on the dock waiting for me when I pulled in. I filled up on fuel and moved over my assigned slip.

Secure for the night, I had a couple of beers. I was exhausted.

As I write this, it looks like I might be here for a  few more nights. The winds are unfavorable for the 70+ mile crossing to Steinhatchee. I figure as long as I am waiting, I'll get some work done on the boat. The fuel gauge has never worked, so I've got someone coming over to take a look at replacing the sending unit. He says he will also look at repairing the dinghy. I also made a call to a local artist to see about painting the name Traveler on the boat. She hasn't returned my call. So, I'm stuck for a few days, but at least this place is affordable.

I just added up the miles I've traveled thus far... Drum roll, please... 190.1 nautical miles!

Carrabelle has a live stream web cam - Carabelle WebCam

High Speed, Long Distance Run

If you consider 6 knots or 44 nautical miles to be high speed or long distance.

After yesterday’s great cruise, I checked into St. Andrew’s Marina. It is a municipal marina and the services were great. The people were really nice, too. It's inexpensive and they give a $0.10 per gallon discount to US Boat members. Yeah, it was only 70 cents. But, I plan on burning about 5,000 gallons.

I met a whole bunch of really nice people there. Bill and Deb showed me their houseboat. Then, Bill took me in his car to do some grocery shopping and get some necessary electric conversion plugs.

Had a great night’s sleep. Up and out early for my HS/LD run. I filled up with diesel and headed out. My destination was Wimico Lake. I plotted two alternate destinations, just in case. I throttled up to nearly full power and my GPS told me it would be about 6 hours to arrival. I’m learning that I need to add about an hour to the estimate. There is the wind variable, the current variable, and a couple of “no wake zones” (you have to slow to a crawl due to docked boats or erosion prevention).

En route, I checked my alternate destinations. They were both viable, but I wanted the miles. There were so few other boats to be seen. I’m just amazed at how little traffic there is in this part of the intra-coastal. I arrived on the lake and set my anchor. It was a little choppy, but not bad.

I made some dinner, filled out my log books, plotted my next course, and hit the bed early. Looks like another long day tomorrow.

Through the Cut

Apparently there are a couple of names for the 15 miles or so of the intra-coastal waterway that connect Choctawhatchee Bay to West Bay. I've also heard "The Grand Canyon" and "The Ditch". Regardless of what it is called, it was beautiful.

Traveler Through The Cut

So, Butler Cove this morning was a completely different place from Butler Cove last night. The wind was coming from one direction and the waves were coming from a different direction. I spent a lot of the night rocking and rolling on the waves. I got some sleep and it seemed to start to settle down around 4a. I got up to see if the anchor was holding and it was!
This morning, with no wind, it was flat calm water all the way through the ditch and across most of West Bay. It was a great cruising day. I found my way to St. Andrews Marina in Panama City. Nice place. Much less expensive than Baytowne and they even have floating docks. Should be a snug, comfortable night.

South side of The Cut

A Little Good, A Little Bad

After a couple of days of high winds, I was finally able to get back out on the loop. So, it was a pretty good day for travel, but not much of a day for other things. I was having my morning coffee when I decided to check my email and Facebook. Couldn’t do either. It seems my mouse died. Reboot, reset, swap batteries, nuthin’. I got to take my first Uber ride. Nice driver. Ten minutes to Walmart and ten minutes back. Quick test of the mouse and all is well. But, now it’s later than I wanted it to be. I wanted a bit of an earlier start.

I went to the dock master’s office to pay the bill. Wow, just wow. It was about twice what I expected. I’ve just about spent the month’s budget for docking fees in one place. Oh, well.

One of the dock workers offered to help me untie and shove off. The wind was still blowing me toward the dock. After two attempts, I got off the dock, but I sliced a two inch gash in my dinghy. Not sure if it’s going to be reparable. I’ve got a kit, but I think I might try to get professional advice.

I snubbed the dinghy up close to the stern of my boat and figured on towing it slowly. I pulled around the marina to the fuel docks and got a load of diesel and had the holding tank pumped out. Finally, back to moving again. I had plotted a course to Butler’s Cove.

It was a slow tow and the water was pretty rough. After so many days of high winds, I suspect that it will take a while to settle back down. Eventually, I got to Butler Cove. It was supposed to be a quiet sheltered cove. But, I’m bobbing around like a Champagne cork in a frat party swimming pool.

Anyway, I got the anchor out and it seems to be holding well. I decided to look at the dinghy. I thought that the gash was high enough on the tube that water wouldn’t be a problem. Wrong! I had a hell of a time pulling the dinghy on-board.  It took all my strength and about an hour of hard work to get in the boat. It was like wrestling a dead walrus. But, it’s on the boat until I can get it looked at. On the plus side, I can increase my speed a bit. I was planning on cruising for two days to get to Panama City. I may be able to make it in one shot.

Night of the Howling Wind

The forecast for high winds came true. I went to bed last night at about 11p. I don't think I was in bed more than about 10 minutes when the wind shifted and increased in velocity. I had been tied up to the lee side of the dock, but with the wind shift, I was being hammered into the dock. I thought that I might alleviate the situation by removing all of the side curtains. They seemed to be acting like sails. It didn't help.
I started pushing the boat away from the dock with my arms and after about half an hour or 45 minutes, my arms were screaming. A dock hand came by and I asked him for help. He said he only had a minute because another boat had snapped several of its lines and was at risk. He pushed the boat away from the dock while I jumped up on the dock. I started fending the boat off the dock with my legs. He said he'd be back as soon as he could. For the next 2 hours I kept the boat from hammering against the dock. When the dockhand came back, he was carrying a large, round, orange fender. He positioned it at the bow of the boat. The wind continued, unabated. But now the boat was squishing a ball instead of beating itself to death on the dock.
I got back to bed around 2:30a. I am ever grateful for the help of a guy whose name I don't know. I slept, fitfully, until about 8:30a. And the wind is still blowing. My arms, legs, and back really hurt. Good thing Gina, my P/A, gave me a prescription for a bottle full of 600mg ibuprofen.
Looks like I'll be here another night, possibly 2, as the forecast is for continued high winds.

Slow Progress

I did spend a peaceful night in Little Sabine Bay. Slept fairly well and got up around 7a. I had coffee and some breakfast. I did my engine checks and the engine started right up. I'm still worried about my batteries after all the initial problems I had with them. I still don't know what their limit is, so I'll just try to be real disciplined about electric use while at anchor.

First minutes underway. Photo courtesy of Amy Batton

I set a course for Fort Walton Beach. It took me nearly six hours to get there. It was a great cruise, though. I ran the length of Santa Rosa Sound. It was early afternoon when I reached the municipal marina in FWB. Nice docks, but no amenities. I tossed my lines to a woman sitting on the dock. She was nice enough to assist me with tying in. After I got everything shut down, I walked into town. I treated myself to a nice Mexican dinner at Sotol Tequila & Mezcal. I had a quesadilla with carnitas and refritos. Great food! After dinner, I walked over to a Publix and bought some groceries. Got back to the boat and settled in for the night.
I got up on the morning of the 3rd and spoke to one of the dock hands. He told me that there were severe storms in the forecast. I decided to spend the day tied up at the marina. I don't feel like risking bad weather. I spent the day reading. I also learned a ton more about my Garmin GPSMap and Radar. Using the GPSMap almost feels like cheating. Plot the course, follow it, done!
Got up on the 4th to a calm but cloudy day. The water at the marina was like glass. After breakfast, I used my dock lines to pull myself our of the pier and get the boat pointed in the right direction. That worked so well, I'll do that again. Backing up is difficult with a single engine boat and the whole operation is complicated by the fact that I've got a dinghy behind me.
I had charted a course for Baytowne Marina near Miramar, Florida. It was just a short hop, but I needed the amenities, shower, laundry, shopping, etc.
So, that brings me to today and tomorrow. Today, there were more severe thunderstorms in the forecast. I decided to stay. Got some laundry done. Got some reading done. Scraped some barnacles off of the port side of the boat. Looks like tomorrow will be mostly the same pastimes. No thunderstorms, just high winds with gusts above 40 mph. I hate to lose another cruising day, but better safe than sorry.
It's really funny sitting here tied up to the dock in Baytown. People can't see that I'm sitting here when the canvas is in place. Most of the comments are really nice. The most common is, "Isn't that a cute little boat." One comment on the dinghy's outboard today was, "Looks like a weed-whacker with a propeller."

Day 1

...is, as they say, in the books.
I flew back to Pensacola on Tuesday. My friend, Kasia, picked me up at the airport and, after a quick dinner, delivered me back to the boat.
I spent Wednesday trying to do all the things I thought needed to be done. I spent Thursday, in the pouring rain, buying all the tools and materials I needed to complete all the work. Another expensive day!
So, I spent all day Friday working. I replaced the joker valve (don't ask). I finished changing the oil. I modified the engine's water pump. I painted registration numbers on the dinghy. I programmed the VHF radio with its MMSI. As required by the FCC. I hung my spare anchor on the bow rail. I emptied all the accumulated trash. And, when it was all done, I showered and took myself out to dinner. Got back to the boat and crashed... hard.
I got up this morning and took my time getting ready. I checked out of the marina. I made another trash run. I got the decks and the cockpit cleared and tied down. With lots of help from the neighbors and a gentleman who had just checked into the park, I got the dinghy hooked to the back of the boat. We cleared the lines and I cast off.
I backed into the channel and loosened the dinghy so that it would tow properly, tooted the horn, and throttled up to about 75% power. Cruising!
Based on the advice of my friend, and neighbor, Amy, I headed for Little Sabine Bay. I had programmed the route into my GPS Map. I just followed it along and after about 4 hours of cruising, here I am. Calm waters, a little breeze, and friendly neighbors. Two guys just approached the boat in a dinghy and asked me about my boat and what I'm doing. They thought it was a great little boat, that's why they decided to pop over. We chatted for a minute and they left. They are on a sailboat celebrating one of the wives' birthdays.
I just called my kids to let them know of my first success. And here I am. Hoping for a peaceful night and another cruise tomorrow.