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| Off the Dock! |
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| Midnight Sun and TraSea passing Pirate's Cove |
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| Sunset at McRee |
We left Ft. McRee on Sunday morning with a plan to make either Panama City or Port St. Joe. We sailed and motor sailed some to keep up speed, but based on our progress, we were looking at an early hours arrival in PSJ, so we made the decision to pull in to Panama City. The day went well and we arrived in PC, after dark, dropping the hook at around 8:30 to 9pm just off the beach at Redfish Point (opposite St. Andrews YC). Tracy had made an excellent Chilli, and we all had dinner together on TraSea while pondering the plan for the next day. We decided on a 6:30 am start, head in at PSJ, going up the canal to the ICW at White City, then motoring on to Apalachicola. This is exactly what we did, making Apalach just before dark - wow....I even told Larry to slow down as we never seem to arrive anywhere in daylight!
We love Apalachicola, and it was busy with boaters. We caught up with Navigo - they had taken a slip in Scipio Creek. As for us - all marinas that could take us were full - its "Looper Season". We had dinner at "Up the Creek" which turned out to be not only a great choice but about the only choice as it was Monday and many places are closed. The great thing was that Salty could dine with us. We later visited the old Bowery - which is now the Ice Company. Again - dog friendly, and Salty was a hit!
Tuesday Dec 12
We left Apalachicola late morning and decided to head over to Dog Island. We were on the tail of a cold front that was moving through so were watching the weather for our crossing of the Big Bend. Should we leave Tuesday night or wait until Monday? Hmm...seeing 22-25 kt winds and 6-7 ft seas on the sea buoys in the Gulf helped us make that decision. By the way, I found that many of the Gulf sea buoys are currently out of action due to hurricane season damage. It would be a 20-24 hour crossing, so leaving in the morning would give us a morning arrival. We were convinced. Midnight Sun and TraSea anchored off the beach at Carabelle rather than Dog Island as the wind was out of the north. Navigo elected one more night in Apalachicola and an early morning start.
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| Anchored just off Carabelle Beach |
Leaving at 8 am, we had light winds on the beam. We pointed directly at Clearwater, and settled in for 22 hours. We started out motor-sailing, but soon cut the engine as the winds built from 8 to 15...then occasionally touched the low 20s. We were flying at 7.5 kts. Not bad with the boat fully loaded down. Seas were a bit rolly, but not too bad. TraSea at 47 ft, was flying too, making 8.5 and touching 9. She passed us at about the half-way point, but we kept her tricolor in sight for all but the last 8 miles or so. Navigo was behind us by 10-12 miles. We were able to maintain hourly radio contact, which just feels assuring on an overnight crossing.
Thursday Dec 14
We pulled on the dock at Clearwater marina at around 7 am. Poor Salty, had spent the time in the head - this is his "safe harbor" during crossings. We needed to get him off the boat as he chooses not to eat or go potty on the crossings. This was his longest so far and I am absolutely sure he was relieved to "go". We have been trying to get him to go on the deck of the boat - but that's a long story, and so far, no success. So, with leg's stretched and bladders relieved, we set off again for Pass-A Grille near Tampa Bay. We stayed at the Tierre Verde Marina - very reasonable at $1/ft, but few amenities. Still, the purpose of the stop was to get a rental car and, collect our son Austin from the airport and stock up on the things we had forgotten.
Friday Dec 15
Headed out in the Gulf for a relatively short hop to Venice. We stayed at Venice YC - very nice, great food! This was a "free night" stay with our PYC membership (reciprocal agreement). when I say free - we spent anything we would have saved on a very nice meal at the YC restaurant. Oh well! Today we are going to do another 30 miles or so down to Charlotte Harbor and anchor. Slow but sure, we are making our way south.
Now that we are across the "Big Bend" and truly headed south, the weather is starting to warm up, and it feels like we are headed to the Bahamas!
Where in the World is Midnight Sun II?
For a real-time check on our position, click the link below:
Follow us on our journey south - we would love to hear from you!
ndaviesgeo@me.com
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