Ocean Breeze: Great Loop Date 11.18 - 12.10.2010: Panhandling in Florida...

Days #95-119: 2555.6 total miles
Ports #48 – 56

OB got a good 3 days and 4 nights rest in Dog River, AL. While OB rested, Todd and I took time to give her a quick but good wash down. Even with the salt, she’s not as hard to take care of since we left the spiders in the north. Spiders don’t like salt, thank goodness.

Dog River Marina had a courtesy car so we took the time to run many errands and enjoy some good seafood. We reprovisioned, picked up a few things we’ve needed (an electrical pump for our fenders, a bell for the boat, a water filter for the onboard wash down pump) and just relaxed.

After 3 days, Todd and I were ready to get back underway. Charlie, maybe not so much. He’s had some problems with nausea and vomiting off and on since we were at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. It didn’t seem to be a food problem, just what was labeled ‘dry heaves’. We made a joke saying he might be pregnant since his problem was mainly early morning.

Our ports were no where near a veterinarian and since Charlie didn’t act sick, I wasn’t real concerned. I just thought he was having a nervous reaction. He continued his off and on nausea attacks so I finally started him on Pepsid twice a day, a remedy our vet in Findlay had used with him once before. We also made a concerted effort to get him off the boat once a day for a nice long walk which really seemed to lift his spirits.

Day #98 (11/18/2010 – Thursday): Fairhope, AL

Eastern Shores Marina, OB’s next port, was only 11 miles from Dog River. Reports from a previous Looper had not been favorable about this marina. Todd called ahead and talked to the marina manager, relating our concerns. The manager was very reassuring that all our needs would be met.

The crew enjoyed a late morning departure. We brought OB into Eastern Shores around 10:15AM giving us the rest of the day to have a mechanic work on our middle windshield wiper motor, replace a circuit breaker for our galley refrigerator and Todd could work on reinstalling my anti-virus software.

Eastern Shores is on the left and Fairhope Yacht Club is on the right.

A downtown street in Fairhope, Al...just a cute little town.

And of course there was a pub...The Pub.

That evening was the Christmas Festival downtown with choirs singing, the orchestra playing and the lighting of the holiday lights. Everyone in town was there and the atmosphere was very festive. They even has ‘snow’ falling in the intersection to create a winter atmosphere.

The lights go on in Fairhope, AL.

They even had a snow machine!

The Dogwood Dolls were a huge attraction.

Friday, Joan (from NII Wishin) and I went into town to have a ‘spa’ day. Joan had scheduled a hair appointment and I scheduled my first ever pedicure. My day turned out well. Joan was only able to get a haircut since previous client’s appointment had been mismanaged. We were able to do some Christmas shopping so all was not lost.

Joan and I returned to find our husbands had bought fresh shrimp from a neighboring shrimp boat. We all enjoyed a scrumptious shrimp and steak dinner. Eastern Shores and Fairhope was a delightful stop for us.

Day #100 (11/20/2010 - Saturday)
Port #49: Ingram Bayou, AL (anchorage)

Today was a big day for OB. She would enter the Gulf Coast Intercoastal Waterway just south of Fairhope. Just as we entered the GICW, we got a glimpse of the white sands we so fondly remember from trips to this area years ago.

GICW marker...see the little yellow square?

Yay...we're entering the GICW!

The white sands we've seen so many times before on land vacations to the Gulf.

A sign of the times...a huge marina in foreclosure. It never was opened.

Nice digs along the GICW.

Snowbird landing pad.

In Gulf Shores, NII Wishin and OB passed Lulu’s, a cheeseburger restaurant built by Jimmy Buffet’s sister. Dream Catcher and Bade Boomer had docked there earlier. They wave and took pictures of us as we passed by. Of course, when we waved back, everyone in the restaurant waved back! OB had come upon instant stardom!

Lulu's in Gulf Shores.

Jim, Brenda, Bruce and Chris (taking our picture). That's Dream Catcher, Jim and Brenda's boat.

We came into our anchorage early afternoon. As we settled in, dolphins played all along the shoreline. We had been told the heaviest concentration of dolphins was located in the GICW.

Full moon over Ingram Bayou.

Sunrise the next morning.

We used bow to stern anchoring. Yes, that's Charlie looking for his girlfriend, Joan.

NII Wishin's bow at our stern.

It was the night of full moon, as well. When the sun went down, it was nearly as bright as daylight with the moon over our little bay. It was a truly beautiful scene.

Day #101 (11/21/2010 - Sunday)
Port #50: Ft. McRee Cove, FL (anchorage)

The morning came up as beautiful as the night had been before. The dolphins played along the shore and the waters were still and mirror-like. This was an anchorage where we could have spent a couple of days. However, we were hopeful we could make it to Panama City before Thanksgiving. A Looper couple there was putting on a Thanksgiving Feast for Loopers underway.

We pulled anchor early, pointing NII Wishin and OB east down the GICW. We could see the high rise condos in the distance at Gulf Shores. Beautiful houses were all along the shoreline. The barrier islands were beautiful with their white sand dotted with clumps of sea grass. We even passed a sign alerting us to the fact that we were in Florida!

Condos on the GICW.

Welcome to Florida.

OB and NII Wishin came into the next anchorage again in the early afternoon. This time we weren’t alone. Weekend warriors were still out in force at this anchorage.

The wind had picked up and it was difficult to find the best spot to drop anchor. The cove was beautiful, surrounding us with a barrier island on the south and east. A large island of dredged white sand protected the area to the north. We knew the weekend warriors would leave by dusk however, we needed to settle in.

Todd and Jerry decided it would be best not to raft up because of the congestion in the cove. Todd and I dropped our dinghy and walked around in the beautiful white sand. The dredged island to the north was full of all kinds of shells. I had to collect a few for my rock basket. I knew it was time to look for another basket. There would certainly be more shelling ventures in the future.

NII Wishin anchored across the cove from OB.

First steps in white sand...this was an awesome view.

Sunset over Ft. McRee Cove, across the GICW from Pensacola.

We took the dinghy back to NII Wishin for happy hour. Back at OB, we settled in for a quiet but windy night. Our anchorage was in a stiff current but we held well.

Fishing boats came in around the shore during the dark hours. They had lights along the bottom of their boats to attract the fish. The fishermen threw out nets to make their catch. We assumed they were picking up bait fish for use the next day. Todd and I got tired of watching the fishermen and went to bed.

Day #102 (11/22/2010 - Monday)
Port #51: Ft. Walton Municipal Dock, Ft. Walton, FL (free dock)

Another day underway! OB and NII Wishin had the anchors up and left Ft. McRee Cove by 9:30AM. OB turned a little short coming out of the cove and ended up in a soft grounding. That’s when we hit bottom but are able to back off without help…thank goodness. It’s one of the benefits of going slower. Had we put OB up on plane, Towboat US and high tide would have been necessary to pull us off, not to mention damage we could have done to the props, shafts and rudders. So instead we probably just knocked off some algae and barnacles. We were also glad for the soft, white sand under us. We now repeat fairly often, “Brown-go aground, White-you might (go aground and might not), Blue-go through”. And we know that shoaling occurs and might not appear on the charts so we both are keeping a watchful eye on the waterway.

Underway again, the Blue Angels took off from Ft. McRee and flew in formation overhead. We passed Ft. McRee’s beach and lighthouse as well as a beautiful statue. I tried to find it online and was unsuccessful. With the Blue Angels practice ground so close, I thought it might be dedicated to them.

The first clean up crew we've spotted for the Gulf Oil Spill was on the beach at Ft. McRee.

Looking back from the GICW at the dredged dune that makes the northeast wall of the cove.

The lighthouse and beach at Ft. McRee...tough assignment.

The statue at the end of the air strip at Ft. McRee.

The GICW in this area passed many military installations. We saw remnants of Ft. Pickens as well as big Coast Guard ships.

Ft. Pickens on a little island just past Ft. McRee cove and Pensacola.

Big Coastie supply ship and cutter docked at another installation in Pensacola.

One of the many radar installations on a barrier island across from Pensacola.

We still passed at least one barge a day. Today it was Margaret carrying a huge crane somewhere. Because of her load, we were asked to wait until we could pass her on the ‘two’ (starboard).

Margaret...and NII Wishin.

OB reached the Ft. Walton City Dock at 2:30PM. The City Dock is a well maintained free dock complete with electric to each pier, a free pumpout station and water. It is suitable for small boat however has enough depth in the last two finger docks and alongside the end to accommodate boats like OB and NII Wishin. Best yet, restaurants and the grocery store are an easy walk. We ate at Fokkers Pizza…and just had to pick up a t-shirt. The back reads, “Home of the Mother Fokker”. Oh yes, they have little Fokkers too.

Free dock at Ft. Walton...right in front of a beautiful park and steps from restaurants and grocery stores.

Day #103 (11/23/2010 - Tuesday)
Port #52: Burn Mill Creek, West Bay, FL (anchorage)

Yes, ANOTHER day underway. We were pushing OB closer and closer to Panama City in anticipation of celebration our Thanksgiving on the water at Carl and Greg Vernon’s house on Watson’s Bayou. SO our destination to an anchorage made a comfortable run the following day to Panama City Beach.

The first part of the trip was redundant of the days past with many condos lining the beaches on both sides of the GICW. We ran into dense fog as we closed in on the Choctawhatchee Bridge. It cleared fairly quickly in the middle of the Bay. As soon as we were out of the fog, schools of porpoises ran alongside and directly in front of OB. They seemed to love hearing us call to them and whistle at them. The porpoises entertained us as they raced at breakneck speed to catch us, came out of the water to grab a breath and continued to race!

Mid-trip we entered ‘The Grand Canyon’ of the GICW, leaving the porpoises behind. Until now, the GICW looked pretty natural as it passed from bay to bay. However, this section from Choctawhatchee Bay to St. Andrews Bay was cut through 50 foot high dunes. Compared to the sea level cut from Mobile Bay to this point, the large sand dunes on each side did, in fact, put us in a canyon of sorts.

Looks almost like we are going back into the rivers until...

...you see the white dunes. It looks like snow!

This was one long canyon amongst the dunes.

This little tree broke up the color of green and white.

OB left the cut upon entering St. Andrews Bay. Todd had to follow a narrow unmarked channel to our anchorage in Burnt Mill Creek. We were glad the bay was calm. It was a nice anchorage but exposed on all but the north side.

Day #104 (11/24/2010 - Wednesday)
Port #53: Bay Point, Panama City Beach, FL

Todd and I, Jerry and Joan had hoped we could leave this anchorage early. Instead we woke to heavy fog that refused to lift until 10:30AM. We lifted anchor and no sooner were we underway but the fog set back in. It took another half hour or so of slow going until we could finally see well enough to move at a normal speed.

Good morning....where am I?

Yay...the fog finally lifted!

We left St. Andrews Bay and had Panama City on both sides of us. We saw someone involved in a swim for charity skirted by a dive boat and two Coast Guard boats. We had heard the Coasties had a water Nazi attitude in Florida so were somewhat self conscious of our every move. We both breathed a sigh of relief as they busied themselves around the swimmer.

Yikes...the Coasties! Are they watching us? We've heard about Nazi-like activity from the FL Coasties.

The swimmer...

...and his fleet.

Todd found the channel leading into Bay Point although the markers leading off the GICW were somewhat confusing. It was easy to come off the GICW at the wrong point and get into very shallow water. Once settled into our dock, we found that Bay Point was located in a very remote area. Shopping was unhandy. Riding our bikes on the busy highway was very threatening.

Bait shop on the water...coming into Bay Point, Panama City Beach, FL.

Bay Point, Panama City Beach, FL...yes, fellow Bay Pointers, there IS another Bay Point.

The next day was Thanksgiving. Loopers Carl and Greg Vernon invited all Loopers in the area to come over for dinner. There were two other Loopers at Bay Point besides NII Wishin and OB. Carl and Greg arranged transportation to and from their house.

Aside from those of us at Bay Point, two Looper boats were docked at Panama City Marina and three boats were at their house in Watson’s Bayou. In all there were 25 people in the Vernon house.

Thanksgiving at Carl and Greg Vernon's house in Watson's Bayou.

Greg and Carl had prepared a huge turkey and ham with all the fixings. Each Looper brought a dish to pass. What a wonderful time was had by all!

Since we had been on the move for 5 days in a row, we took time at Bay Point to catch up some laundry and just rest.

Somehow these fronts keep finding us...and bringing cold weather!

Game day at Bay Point. Hmmm...and they BOTH were smiling ?

Day #108 (11/28/2010 - Sunday)
Port #54: Port St. Joe, FL

When we’ve been in port for a few days, it’s always good to get underway just as it’s great to take some time out when we’ve had successive days of travel. After three full days at Bay Point, Todd and I looked at each other and said the same thing…”It’s good to be underway again.” Not that Bay Point was a bad place to be. It’s just a nugget in our adventure and we thank Carl and Greg Vernon so very much for making it a gold nugget.

OB hit the waterways under clear blue skies and very cool temperatures. For some reason, the cold air is following us. We really need Florida to kick in the warm nature.

Today, we passed oystermen, as we have all along the bays in the GICW. They are interesting to watch as they work their scissor-like rakes. They squeeze and squeeze the bottom mud until they ‘feel’ the rake full of oysters. Mind you, they can’t see the mud because of the disturbed waters they are working in. They raise the rake to the boat, dump the contents and return the rake to the water. It looks like very pains-taking work. Later we saw boats with an extra man. His job was to shuck the oysters and putting them on ice.

The oystermen use these big scissor-like rakes to harvest oysters from the mud.

As we passed through East Bay, we also saw a ship building complex. The hull of their current venture was sitting in dry dock being painted. The super structure waited on the other side of the launch. I wondered if this was going to be a cruise ship or freighter of some sort.

Front section of the hull.

Two sections of the superstructure are by the crane.

East Bay narrowed and gave us more interesting scenery. We passed a house that had been built around a tree and was now abandoned. We passed a beautiful swamp grass area where shrimpers had built really nice homes. It reminded me of the homes city dwellers build out in the country side of Ohio.

Interesting house built around a tree.

Shrimper's boat and his pleasure boat sitting in front of his house...

...not bad digs.

The rest of the trip to the Gulf County Canal was mostly river like scenery. Turning into the Canal Inlet that connects the GICW to Port St. Joe, we still had 5 more miles to reach St. Joseph Bay. In the canal, we passed a shipyard with derelict ferries. And, like so many other ports, we passed shrimp boats and fisheries. I spotted a boom washed into the bushes left from the BP Oil Spill.

There were little shrimp boats and fishing boats...

...and BIG shrimp boats...

...and decaying shrimp boats. This definitely was a shrimping and fishing port!

Left over booms from the oil spill. These were the first and only booms we saw.

We passed this ferry boat grave yard on the way to Pt. St. Joe. It seemed to have been a repair facility at one time and fell on bad times.

Todd had to follow a narrow channel once we entered St. Joseph Bay. Without electronic, this navigation would have been tricky since the waters look wide and inviting. However, the depths even at high tide would lead to grounding.

OB had a nice finger dock in Port St. Joe Marina. Everything was easily accessible by walking or biking. We stayed in Port St. Joe for a week as we watched for an approaching weather window to cross the Gulf.

Docks at Pt. St. Joe...looking out at St. Joseph's Bay at sunset.

Port St. Joe actually started out as St. Joseph, being founded in 1835. By 1837 St. Joseph had become the most populous place in the Territory of Florida, with approximately 6,000 inhabitants. In 1838 the town hosted the first Constitutional Convention for Florida, which drew up the constitution used when Florida became a state in 1845. Some have called St. Joseph "Constitution City" and even transferred the name to the new Port St. Joe.

In 1841 a ship brought yellow fever to St. Joseph. The disease killed many of the town's inhabitants, and caused the rest to flee. A hurricane in 1843 struck with a large storm surge, destroying the abandoned town. The area remained uninhabited for the rest of the 19th century. In the early 20th century Port St. Joe was founded about two miles north of the site of old St. Joseph.

Todd and I bicycled out to the cemetery designated as the yellow fever cemetery. Todd was leery about the virus that might be lurking inside and watched as I biked around looking at the graves. As I exited, Todd pointed out that I was in the regular old cemetery and had missed the yellow fever cemetery across the road.

Five Looper boats had arrived in Port St. Joe the week ahead of us. We had met most of them in other ports. They had been waiting for a week and were anxious to get the next leg behind them; crossing the Gulf of Mexico. All five boats left the following Wednesday.

Tom and Linda from Q's End...we met them at Fall Rendezvous last year and shared planning with them. Interesting how Canadians drink their beer, eh?

Looper group planning their Big Bend crossing window.

Todd and Jerry decided to wait, hoping for a longer weather window than was predicted for Thursday’s crossing. While we waited, we had an excellent port to get saltwater fishing gear and a Florida fishing license. I bought Christmas decorations for OB and made her ready for the approaching season. We had fantastic restaurants and shops explore. And we finally had a chance to go to the local Episcopal Church for Sunday services. This was an amazing port and we were glad we diverted from the GICW to spend time here.

Getting OB and Charlie ready for Christmas.

It was actually as much fun decorating the boat as it is at home!

Even Santa came to sit nearby.

I had fun making the wreath with local pine cones.

Door nob Santa and Penguin found new places to hang.

St. James Episcopal Church in Port St. Joe...we went to church then dropped lines and headed OB for Apalachicola, FL.

Day #115 (12/05/2010 - Sunday)
Port #55: Scipio Marina, Apalachicola, FL

OB and NII Wishin were at the mercy of the tides. Since St. Joseph’s Bay was shallow and the canal narrow, we decided to leave on a rising tide to avoid grounding outside of the marina. Doing so gave us time to bike to early morning Sunday services at St. James.

When we arrived back at the marina, it was time to draw up the lines and head back out on the water. Leaving Port St. Joe was uneventful with plenty of water in the incoming tide. Although we were all anxious leaving this wonderful little community, knowing in four or five days we’d be going into the unknown…the Gulf of Mexico.

Apalachicola was a shorter run for us. The trip took us five hours at trawler speed. The scenery continued to be river-like widening out at one point into Lake Wimico.

The scenery really looked river-like.

This set up the picture for the rest of the Christmas season...here comes a wake, run down the stairs and hold onto the Christmas tree! My language degraded with the number of dumb $**Ts that waked us...and smiled and waved as they passed!

More of our surroundings.

Lake Wimico dissolved into the Jackson River and finally the Apalachicola River. We tried to fit NII Wishin and OB into the Municipal Docks at Apalachicola. At mid-tide we were in skinny water and knew we’d be hard aground in low tide, to decided to go to Scipio Marina back up the Apalachicola River.

Scipio Creek from the Apalachicola River.

Another large shrimping port.

Our marina for the night was up the creek barely visible. You can see the white boats we docked behind in the center of the photo.

That's where we ended up...behind those boats.

OB was docked on what was left of the face dock with four other large boats already tied up. It left OB’s stern quarter well behind the dock. Neither Todd or I were comfortable with the setting so we elected to keep this at a one night stay and go to Carrabelle the next morning.

In the meantime, the cutest little tiger cat made friends with OB. She was so curious she finally invited herself inside the boat. Once inside, she discovered Charlie and exited after a short hissing session. Charlie was so sad. He thought he had discovered a friend and companion.

The next morning dawned with the shrimp fleet going to sea.

When the shrimpers go out, it's a sign that seas are good.

Day #116 (12/06/2010 - Monday)
Port #56: C-Quarters Marina, Carrabelle, FL

OB was underway by 8:30AM. This was our last stretch along the Florida Panhandle. We would wait in Carrabelle until the next weather window. The prediction for the Gulf would have to give us at least 24 hours of waves 2 feet or less before we could commit ourselves to the open seas.

OB was close to being in the open water on the way to Carrabelle. We had left the GICW behind in the Apalachicola River. The day was sunny but very breezy giving us a pretty good chop on St. George Sound.

The day was cold but the oystermen were out harvesting their beds. It looked like they were having a good harvest from the size of the piles of oysters on their boats.

The oystermen out harvesting their beds early. You can see the second man shucking.

The oystermen return the empty oyster shells to the sea to keep their beds healthy.

As we continued through St. George Sound, we passed by East Pass. This would be the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico when weather would permit us to cross the BIG BEND. The weather today was rough on the Gulf. However, we were hoping for a crossing later in the week.

East Pass between St. George Island and Dog Island. We would eventually go between those two buoys for our BIG BEND transit.

Todd found the channel into the Carrabelle River. He wound OB around shallow shoals to C-Quarters Marina. We had a long dock, so we chose bring OB in stern first. Doing so makes hooking up our power and hose for water much easier. Of course, we were on a rising tide and had plenty of water.

Going up the Carrabelle River to our final dock in the Panhandle of Florida.

ANOTHER shrimping port.

The folks at C-Quarters really make the traveler feel right at home. They have a huge porch filled with rocking chairs. Best yet, they have a huge cooler stocked full with ice and beer.
With the cooler temperatures, they had a burn barrel keeping locals and travelers warm. This was definitely a gathering place for shrimpers and tow boats when they weren't out on the seas. We were very happy with our last port before the big trip ahead.

The morning following our arrival, we were in the mud and sand. Low tide occurred around 6:30AM and it was low alright! When the tide came in around noon, we took the time to turn OB around and put her bow first in the dock. The ditch behind us in the river would remain deep even in low tide.

Todd and Jerry studied all aspects of the weather and wave predictions for the week ahead. Using four different sources, including AGLCA weather guru Tom Conrad's daily musings for crossing the Big Bend. We would be traveling with 6 other trawlers. Cruising at 8 miles an hour, we would need 22 hours of good weather on the Gulf to cross the 173 miles. As the week moved by, a sure date continued to develop through the predictions.

It seemed absurd to plan to leave mid-day, however the area outside of our destination in Tarpon Springs was known for a large population of crab pots. They are easily navigated once the sun is up mid-sky around 10AM.

All sources agreed the next weather window would be Friday night. Until then, we explored this quaint little town with is very friendly folk. We enjoyed a movie 'Inception' on Wednesday night in a local restaurant. We had a Looper banquet dinner with four other Looper boats on Thursday evening. And we enjoyed many walks with Charlie before our long night at sea.

The Riverwalk along the Carrabelle river was really cute.

Money had been allocated during boom times for restoration along the river.

Chilly docktales at C-Quarters and the Loopers.

Christmas decorations were brought out while we were at C-Quarters.

OB had a temporary visit from a Rolling Stone as he prepared to go to work.

OB grew nervous as Rolling Stone nearly took out the dock...just to pick up diesel.

OB, NII Wishin and two other Looper boats from Quebec.

Carrabelle's Police Station...honestly! It is the smallest Police Station in the world. Not much crime in Carrabelle...but we heard a lot of tales about pranks played on the Police Station.