2/18-19/2020

One of the few offshore jumps necessary for our Great Loop trip is bypassing the Big Bend part of Florida.  This part of the Gulf is unusually shallow, and from Carrabelle eastward around to the Tampa area there are only two possible harbor entrances deep enough for our boat.  Thus for this part of the trip it is important we choose a good weather window.

The trip we need to make is shown in the photo below, a screenshot from our navigation system.  The red line is our intended course with markers shown where we expect to be each three hours, and at our turn point off Seahorse Reef.  The marker onshore is for Steinhatchee, one of the possible bailout harbors.  The offshore portion of the route is 136 nautical miles (157 statute miles), not counting the trip out to the Carrabelle sea buoy and the trip in from the Anclote Key entrance to Tarpon Springs.  With our normal 8 knot speed the overall trip is planned for 19 hours, with 17 hours offshore.

Because of the necessary time offshore with few bailouts, and limited help in case of problems, we purchased a detailed custom weather forecast.  This forecast predicted 1-2 foot waves with 5-10 knot winds, and the potential for some fog around the Anclote Key entrance.  That generally agreed with the available buoy data and other synoptic weather data, so on Tuesday afternoon we decided to make the trip.

We departed Carrabelle at 4:00 PM.  The area around Anclote Key is known for lots of crab pots, so we didn’t want to arrive there in the dark.  The lines for the crab pot floats can get wrapped around our propeller shafts, and that could completely disable us without hope of assistance for several hours.  Thus we had to delay our start to be sure it was daylight when we got into the area with crab pots.

The trip began with waves heights as predicted and some unexpected fog.  The fog cleared, the wind died down after dark, and the waves subsided to almost dead calm.  The stars were incredible.  We continued on for several hours watching the radar, but seeing no other boats.

Right after midnight the situation changed dramatically.  Fog wasn’t predicted until morning, but it descended with a vengeance.  We had a smaller boat following us with a Looper couple who are relatively inexperienced, and just after we entered the worst of the fog they stopped.  I could see on the radar they were going in circles, or at least not in a desirable direction.  We tried coaching them on the radio to follow a certain heading, and to try to follow our radar image, but they couldn’t do this.  After several minutes we turned around and went back to their position (we could see them on radar).  They finally saw our spotlight when we were about 100 feet apart, and after turning on additional exterior lights they were able to follow us.  That averted a potential disaster.  We learned later their navigation system completely shut down, disabling their radar and all nav equipment.  Their compass is outside their helm station on the foredeck, and they couldn’t see it.  Unfortunately they had no backup systems, so it was thoroughly frightening for them.

We continued on through the fog for several hours at reduced speed so the other boat could stay with us in the limited visibility.  At times they were only 30 feet behind us, but that was better than losing them in the Gulf.  They said the dolphins were frolicking around their boat, apparently excited by the lights we were using for them to follow us.

Finally around daybreak the fog began to clear, and the crab pots appeared.  These were easy enough to navigate through.  We finally arrived at the Anclote Key entrance two hours later than planned, and both boats were safely through the trip.

As we went up the Anclote River into Tarpon Springs we saw the vessel shown below, a floating tiki bar that does day cruises.  Not particularly seaworthy, but it looks like lots of fun.  Our good friend Bob Hegg would really enjoy that.

We will stay in Tarpon Springs for a few days to rest and enjoy the Greek food.

2/16-17/2020

This morning we departed Pearl Bayou and washed the thick mud from our anchor.  It took some effort, and we finally had to dangle the anchor in the water while I moved the boat around to get the worst of the mud to come off.

This stretch of the trip is through the area devastated by Hurricane Michael in October, 2018.  There are no towns along this stretch of the intracoastal, so we saw few damaged buildings, but we know Port St Joe and Mexico Beach were nearly wiped out.  We did see damage in the trees surrounding the waterway which are shown below.

We spent the first night at a hotel and marina in Apalachicola.  This town is known for its oysters, and have the reputation for being the best in this region.  It was raining, so I wasn’t crazy about going out for dinner, but I’m sure I would have enjoyed them.

We are also now in the region where alligators are abundant.  We didn’t see one today, but I was amused at the signage indicating their presence.

The next morning we departed Apalachicola and made the short trip to Carrabelle.  Doing so necessitated going out into Apalachicola Bay, then across Saint George’s Sound and up the Carrabelle River to the town.  It was a hazy day with lots of wind, and this descended into fog when we got into the town.  The photo below shows the river just as we are entering the town.

Carrabelle is a small town with very friendly people and a sense of humor.  It is the home of the world’s smallest police station, shown below.  This is low season, so few businesses are open.

We will stay here until the weather allows us to make the jump across the Gulf of Mexico.

2/15/2020

This morning we departed Niceville and continued east along the Gulf Intracoastal.  It was a very nice day with a little wind to start out, and then that died down as the day went on.

This stretch of the Intracoastal runs behind barrier islands that shield it from the Gulf of Mexico and incorporate natural creeks and rivers along with manmade cuts.  It is really nice on a pleasant day like this as you can see below.

Along the way we passed a couple unusual vessels.  The first was a kayaker apparently on an extended trip.  He had dry bags strapped on the front and back of the kayak, and was in an area where there were no towns of any sort for at least 20 miles.  He was likely camping at night, though I might have some concerns about alligators.

We also passed an airboat tour that probably originated in Panama City.  This is the first airboat we have seen.  While it was a nice day the passengers looked cold in the wind.

As the day went along we passed through Panama City, a larger town on this part of the coast.  We were surprised to see a Staten Island Ferry from New York City tied up here, and wondered at first if they had made some serious navigation errors.  After reading a bit we found a local shipyard was under contract to build the ferries, and they were woefully behind because of Hurricane Michael damage.

We are anchored tonight in a spot called Pearl Bayou, a quiet and well protected cove.  This is surrounded by Tyndall Air Force Base, and some damage from the hurricane was still evident here.  We will see more of that tomorrow.

2/11-14/2020

On February 11 we departed the resort and continued east.  It was foggy this morning, and when the visibility increased to about a half mile we thought it would lift for the day so we departed.  That was probably a mistake.  The photo below shows one view of the channel markers.

After leaving the resort we transited across Santa Rosa Sound.  The dolphins here were really active.  The photos below show some of their antics.  At times they would jump out of the water to play, and at others they would jump out with their side towards the water, and their body arched to maximize the splash.  I don’t know why they do this, but they are fun to watch.

We thought the fog would lift, but it was not to be.  As we moved further east and passed through Fort Walton Beach the visibility decreased below 100 feet.  The radar clearly showed the markers, and we were able to follow our GPS to stay in the channel, but it would have been better to get some sightseeing.

When we arrived at the marina in Niceville the fog was especially thick.  When we got to the first set of markers showing the channel we couldn’t see the next set.  This marina is known for a very narrow and shallow entrance and we didn’t want to run aground there.  Luckily we saw them at the last second and were able to find our way into the marina.  They were only about 50 feet apart, so that gives an idea of the visibility.

We will stay at this marina for a few days hoping for better weather.  We will need to go across the Gulf of Mexico in one straight trip to avoid the shallow water in the Big Bend region.  This means an overnight in the open ocean, something we haven’t done yet.  We are beginning our planning for this necessary trip.

While we were visiting the museum we had lunch in the Cubi Café inside the museum.  There used to be an officer’s club at Cubi Point Naval Station in the Philippines until 1993 when US installations were closed there.  Cubi Point was famous throughout the Navy as a liberty port.  The former bar in the officer’s club there was recreated at the museum in Pensacola after the Philippines bases were closed.  They had a history of displaying plaques from groups temporarily deployed to Cubi Point, and these were saved and are displayed in the museum snack bar.  The photos below show just a handful of the plaques.  I actually knew a few of the names shown there, and TK and Ray knew many more.

We also had some chance to observe local wildlife near the marina/resort.  The heron shown in the photos below was a regular visitor near our boat.  Sinbad was startled by him many times when he would spook as we were walking on the docks.

One Saturday afternoon there was a Mardi Gras flotilla planned for the waterway.  We were in a prime location to see the festivities as the decorated boats passed immediately behind us throwing strings of beads to those on shore.  Most of those ended up into the water, though with our group on the boat we were much closer to the action and managed to collect a fair amount of loot.  Some of the decorated boats are shown below.

After our brief vacation from our vacation we will continue on east across the Florida panhandle.

1/28-2/10/2020

Because of its length I will break this into two postings.

After a night at a resort marina in Orange Beach, AL we moved to an RV resort and marina on Perdido Key.  This is a barrier island just south of Pensacola and close to the Navy base there.

We have good friends, and a former CO, TK and Les Quigley, who own a house about a mile from the marina.  They were kind enough to let us park our car in their driveway while we made the trip down from northern Mississippi, and again after we departed this area.  These great people are shown below.

At Perdido Key I continued maintenance projects on the boat and we enjoyed the warmer weather.  We managed to take a day to visit the lighthouse and Naval Air Museum on the base in Pensacola.  A fun visit, and some of the museum photos are below.  With the recent shooting on the base in Pensacola access to the museum is available only to military ID holders.  Because our friends are military retirees we were lucky enough to accompany them onto the base to visit the museum.

While we were at Perdido Key TK and Les had another former CO visit, Ray and Barb Leonard.  Ray is in some of the photos above.  It was a great time to see old friends that we hold in such high regard.

After passing through downtown Mobile we entered Mobile Bay.  We were greeted by dolphins, the first we have seen since leaving New York harbor last May.  Some of these are shown below as they play alongside the boat.  We have been in freshwater since New York, and in the inland rivers since passing Chicago in September.  This marks another significant milestone in our Loop.

We needed to travel about 20 miles down Mobile Bay before reaching the barrier islands that define the seashore.  The bay is large and shallow, leading it to be rough with any wind.  It became increasingly rough as we moved closer to the ocean.  It was uncomfortable, though still below our tolerance limits.  Sinbad still didn’t like it.

After nearly reaching the ocean we made a left turn to start east along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway towards Florida.  We are now back to intracoastal waterway markers, shown below.  The markers are the usual red and green colors, and shaped according to their color, but the thing that makes them intracoastal markers are the small yellow triangle and square shown on them.  These markings are really hard to see from a distance, and it is necessary to look for that in places where the waterway crosses shipping lanes.  It might seem simple to follow, but it really isn’t.

We continued along the waterway passing Lulu’s famous restaurant (shown below), and are at a resort marina tonight in Orange Beach, AL.  Lulu is Jimmy Buffet’s sister, and her restaurant is one of the traditional stops for boaters.  It was late, and we didn’t want to stop today, so maybe we will go back to visit later.

After a long day today we will go only a short distance tomorrow to an RV and marina resort on Perdido Key.

1/27/2020

Because of the length of this post I will break this day into two postings.

Today we departed the Tensas River Cutoff anchorage and continued down the Tombigbee to Mobile.  This stretch of the river is called the Mobile River, though it is still the same waterway.

Shortly after leaving the anchorage we passed Bayou Canot, shown in the photo below.  This small side creek makes a good anchorage, but it has a more sinister past.  In September, 1993 a tow moving up the river turned into this side creek by mistake in foggy conditions.  The barges ran into the railroad bridge (barely visible in the photo) and displaced the tracks by a few inches.  A few minutes later an Amtrak passenger train passed over the bridge and derailed into the creek killing 47 people.  A tragic outcome, and with the possibility tows could still divert into this creek few people anchor here.

As we proceeded down the river the city of Mobile came into view.  A couple of photos of the city are shown below.  The waterway through the center of the city is a very busy place with lots of marine traffic.  Our AIS display showed nearly 100 commercial vessels within radio range, something we had never seen before.  Many were tugs tied to piers, and others were oceangoing ships at the wharves loading or unloading cargo.  Mobile is a surprisingly busy port.

Along the river in Mobile an Australian company, Austal, builds ships for the US Navy.  These Independence Class ships are aluminum trimarans, shown below, are certainly unique ships.  These ships compete with the more traditional monohull Freedom Class ships built in Wisconsin.  We saw many of these ships in the harbor in Mobile leading me to think they are either having production problems, or the Navy is buying more ships than I realized.

1/26/2020

Today we continued down the Tombigbee River to the outskirts of Mobile.  In spite of its proximity to a larger city this is still a remote area judging from the lack of development around the river.  Along the way we saw many remote cabins, some of which appeared to be permanent residences.  These were without plumbing and electricity, and many had small skiffs tied under the structure.  One such cabin is shown in the photo below, built on stilts to survive the frequent flooding.

There was little new to see along this stretch of the river.  We are anchored tonight in a creek called the Tensas River Cutoff (pronounced TEN-saw).  This is a common anchorage for cruisers, but we are here alone tonight.  Even fishing boats didn’t pass us here.  Photos of the anchorage are shown below.  We expected to see alligators, but I think it was too cold for them to be out and about.

Tomorrow we will continue on through Mobile.

1/25/2020

We arose this morning hoping to get another early start, but it was not to be.  Fog.  We were about 10 miles upstream of the Coffeeville Lock and on the radio we could hear the tows below the lock saying they couldn’t see the front of their barges.  So we sat for a couple hours until things could start moving again.

After departing the anchorage we moved down to the lock, the last one we must transit on our Great Loop trip.  Photos of the lock are below.  This lock is listed as a 35 foot lift/drop, and we were prepared for a long wait as the water level went down.  To our surprise the lower doors opened after only 18 inches!  A result of the flooding in the lower Tombigbee, but we weren’t quite prepared for this.

Again, this was a long day with little new scenery.  We did see a feral hog along the riverbank and shown in the photo below.  These are pests throughout the South, causing both extensive harm to vegetation and occasionally attacking people and domestic animals.  Sinbad barked at the pig, but he had little idea how much he didn’t want to tangle with him.

We are anchored tonight in the Alabama River Cutoff, a creek connection between the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers.  As you can see in the photos below, the flooding in this area is quite extensive.  This is again a quiet spot with only a couple fishing boats passing us, though it is more open than the wildlife refuge from last night.  We are only 53 river miles north of Mobile, and after dark we can see the city lights on the southern sky.