12-14-09 Clearwater FL and FOG

[Rick] When we awoke this morning we found the fog to be as bad as we expected. You will recall that we are to cross the Gulf of Mexico today, as the winds are down and the seas are to be 1-2 feet. We have made arrangements to follow “Lady Liberty”, a 40 ft Cruisers boat that has radar. Tomorrow is also a possibility before the next wave of wind and bad weather moves in.

We talk to Jim Basset of Lady Liberty via phone and he seems inclined to wait for tomorrow. He talks to some local fishermen who can lead us through the Government Cut and once on the Gulf, the seas should be smooth. The fog, with visibility of less than 100 yards is supposed to dissipate around 1000. The rest of the day is to be sunny and the waves are to become less and less. With this information and assistance, we decide to go for it.

Off we go. The fog is awful. And it gets worse. Near 1000, it does let up for about 15 minutes. Just long enough for us to see dolphins JUMPING in the water. Spectacular. Then, the fog sets in and does not abate until we arrive in Clearwater. It is just awful. Click on this picture to see our view of the front boat that we looked at for 8 hours. We continue on using the autopilot to keep the same course as the other boat. It is here that we are glad for the autopilot. At least we could concentrate on just keeping the correct speed and keeping the other boat in view. Betsy drove the vast majority of the day. At the end of the day, we were both really tired and stressed. Right after supper, at 1930, Betsy went to bed. I believe it is the earliest she has ever gone to bed since we have been married. Did I mention that it was FOGGY ALL DAY!!!!!

We were going to turn off about 40 miles earlier and go to Tarpon Springs. However the fog was so bad, we just followed the front boat to Clearwater. Once we got here, we learned that there are about 12 other loopers here. Five of them were at Port St Joe with us and made the overnight crossing, 22 hours, last night, in the fog.

The trip was 183 miles. We averaged 21.7 mph for the trip with the first hour and a half at 7 mph as we worked our way through the markers and narrow channel with shallow water on each side to and through Government Cut and into the open Gulf. Even the local fishing boat that we were following got confused at one point and had to come to a complete stop to get oriented in the fog. At one point, according to the onboard computer, we did 30.68 mph.

We will stay here for several days. We have a lot of friends here on the docks and some in town. We have 2 months to get to Cape Canaveral for the Feb 13 launch of the shuttle, so we are in no rush. The marina has wifi, many restaurants, and cable, so life is good…

BTW, here is a picture of the leader boat as we enter Clearwater and the fog lifted for about 15 minutes. This would have been a much better view for the prior 8 hours.

12-13-09 Apalachicola

[Betsy speaks] We woke up this morning to pea soup fog, and it stayed with us all day. How we hope it is not still here tomorrow when we hope to depart on the big crossing!


















The Methodist Church had been recommended to us by a couple of people in town, and it was the closest church to our location, so we went there this morning. It is a very old and lovely church, built in 1901 after the original structure was burned. Rick was very impressed by the black cypress ceiling.

This was more of a “praise service” than we are used to, but it was nice, and the congregation was very welcoming. They did use a screen with words to the songs, etc., and the choir consisted of about 10 people with microphones. The keyboardist faced the congregation straight on and led the music with his hands and his voice. One girl sang a Christmas carol solo with the keyboardist playing and singing along with her on the chorus…they both had outstanding voices and it was absolutely beautiful.





























We ate lunch downtown at the Magnolia Café. I had their special of the day which consisted of Spinach and Parmesan soup which was Christmas green in color and delicious, along with “Pot Pizza” which the waitress said was actually cooked in a flower pot. Well, I didn’t actually see the flower pot, but the pizza was also delicious, though a funny shape! Rick had his usual chicken fingers.

We rode our bikes back to the boat in the still thick fog, and were just killing time when we heard someone on the dock call our names. We looked up and there were Patsy and Ray from Port St. Joe, along with the folks on “Cheryl Ann.” They just decided to drive to Apalachicola, then on to Carrabelle to check on a couple of boats that had left Port St. Joe this morning in the fog. They didn’t have anything better to do, they said, and wanted to make sure the two boats made it OK.
Once they left we rode bikes to the marina next door to chat with Jim and Carol Bassett on “Lady Liberty.” We will be crossing the gulf with them tomorrow and just wanted to compare charts to make sure we were on the same straight line route from buoy here to buoy there! We hope the fog lifts and we plan to leave about 8AM. They have radar on their boat, so even in fog we can go and just stay close to them. Once we reach the sea buoy and set the autopilot the fog shouldn’t be a problem in the open water. But it is predicted to lift early in the morning anyway. Waves are forecast to be less than 2 feet, and should be lessening as the day wears on…and the sun is supposed to come out as the day wears on.
We will travel along with “Lady Liberty” until we reach a point where we will turn off to go about 30 miles in to Tarpon Springs and they will continue on about another 40 miles south to Clearwater.



Immediately after leaving the Bassetts, we headed to a 4PM performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Trinity Episcopal Church. I had seen a flyer for this on my brief downtown jaunt yesterday. The Episcopal Church is only a block from the Methodist Church that we went to this morning, and is equally old and historic, having been built from white pine cut in New York and shipped down around the Florida Keys to this location on the panhandle.

Inside the Episcopal Church are two massive organs, each with its own set of pipes. Only one was used for today’s performance, and it only on a couple of pieces. Too bad it seemed dreadfully out of tune to me! Fortunately all music that accompanied the choir was played on the Grand Piano set up center stage. And wow, how talented the pianist was! An elderly man, his little fingers really flew over the keys! We were pleased that the tenor soloist was the same person that we had seen earlier in the day playing the keyboard and singing in the Methodist Church, and the contralto soloist was the same girl that had sung the beautiful solo this morning!



Using all local talent, I was stunned at what a beautiful performance this was! All the soloists were wonderful, as was the chorus. Apparently the mezzo-soprano soloist was ill at the last minute, so the conductor turned around and actually sung that solo and did a magnificent job!

After the performance we were treated to punch and cookies in the fellowship hall. We then returned to our boat to prepare for the big day tomorrow! Who can believe that day before yesterday we were freezing nearly to death! Today, in the fog and dampness, we are about to swelter! I’m looking to sweltering in the sunshine once we get to Tampa! Wish us luck, and look for a quick blog early tomorrow evening to let you know we made it!

Rick wants to add that ten years ago today, Dec. 13 1999, his mother passed away suddenly. He regrets to this day that we didn’t get to say goodbye, and he still misses her every day. I remind him that there was never a time that they spoke either on the phone or in person that they didn't end the conversation with "I love you." What a valuable lesson that should be to those that take life for granted!

12-12-09 Port St. Joe to Apalachicola

[Betsy speaks] Friday night the Harbor Hosts at Port St. Joe Marina arranged supper for those that wanted to go out to eat together again. This time there were only ten of us, but we still had fun. We were joined by Ann and Hank (pictured left...notice the Princeton sweatshirt. Like us, they have a nephew that graduated from there.) from “Queen Ann’s Revenge” with whom we had eaten a couple of weeks ago when we stayed with our friends Tom and Patsy Conrad near Pensacola; Don and Cheryl from “Cheryl Ann” whom we had met very briefly in Demopolis; Nan and Jack from “Eschaton” with whom we had gone to church last Sunday, and of course Harbor Hosts Patsy and Ray. The New Zealanders are still here but they chose to stay in on this extremely cold night and eat on their boat.

Friday was a miserably dark, dreary, cold, windy, wet day. We are thankful for the nice ship’s store/office at Port St. Joe that has several comfortable chairs, a computer work station, always a hot pot of coffee going, and most importantly on a day like this, warmth and friends!

Today, Saturday, we woke up to more pouring rain, but at least it wasn’t quite so cold. The rain let up mid-morning to just a drizzle, so we decided to move on to Apalachicola. Originally, we had planned for our next stop to be Carrabelle, about 20 miles farther. Several boats had left Port St. Joe Thursday or Friday heading for Carrabelle and it was our intention to join them there. We are all still aiming for a crossing day on Monday. Several of us had gotten together earlier in the week to discuss crossing options. The slowest trawlers will leave Carrabelle in the afternoon, travel all night, and arrive in the Tampa/Clearwater area the following afternoon. We hoped not to have to do that. There was one boat at the meeting that wanted to do a daylight crossing to Cedar Key/Crystal River. But their max speed is about 11 MPH. We had tentatively said we would buddy with them if we didn’t find a faster boat to go with.

Then yesterday afternoon one of that group called and said they had met a boat at Apalachicola that was fast like us and was looking for a buddy boat to make the full crossing during daylight hours. So we contacted that person and we will go with them. They were already in Apalachicola and wanted to leave from there, so we decided to just come there and not go to Carrabelle, which would have made the crossing only about 10-15 miles shorter.

So we hugged our friends at Port St. Joe goodbye this morning and headed out in the drizzle for the easy 25 mile run to Apalachicola, basically in a ditch/canal the entire way. Our New Zealander friends that we had been docked next to all week were there on the dock to bid us good bye. What a nice family they are, and how tolerant they must be to survive on that small one-room boat for such an extended period! They are staying at Port St. Joe a few more days because they have had several calls about their boat that is for sale.

Two pelicans escorted us then entire length of the canal that connects Port St. Joe to the ICW, a distance of about 5 miles. We were doing 21 MPH and they were keeping up with us and in some cases going faster than us with no problem and with very little wing action…just gliding over the water.

Along the way we passed this one time home that we dubbed “Paradise Lost!” Even in the cold and drizzle we passed several bass boats out fishing.

We arrived in Apalachicola, filled our gas tanks ($413.00) so as to be ready to leave early Monday morning and pulled into our slip at Water Street Motel and Marina…basically a motel on the waterfront that has a few slips with power available for transients like us. I think we are the only transients here. After settling in I rode my bike the couple of blocks to town just to see what is here. Most of the stores were closing as it was nearing 5 o’clock. I did find my way to the closest church, a Methodist Church, and we will attend that tomorrow morning.

The boat that we will buddy with on Monday is at a full service marina right next door, and we did stop by there on our way to supper and introduced ourselves in person. Jim and Carol Bassett are on a 40 foot Cruisers Yacht named “Lady Liberty.” They can cruise comfortably at 25 MPH or more, but will slow down a tad so that we can keep up with them at about 22 MPH at first. As we burn off fuel, we’ll probably go a little faster. Fuel economy can’t be an issue when you’re trying to do 170 miles in daylight hours! As long as our fuel management system says we’re getting 1.25 miles per gallon or better, we’re going to go all out! We need to get 1.25 to make sure we don’t run out of gas. We hold 190 gallons, but can’t get to the last 20 gallons!

Apalachicola Bay is famous for its oysters, so tonight I ate oysters for dinner and they were delicious! I had never had smothered baked oysters before, but I’d gladly have them again! I had a dozen, and had them smothered in three different ways. Tonight was the last night the restaurant is open for this season, so I’m really lucky to have had this opportunity!

As we returned to our hotel/marina I took a picture of their Christmas Lights. Who can believe it’s only a couple of weeks away!

12-10-09 Port St Joe VI

[Rick] Today’s blog is about some maintenance issues and some maintenance performed on the boat. It may or may not appeal to everyone. If it does not appeal to you, come back tomorrow for a more normal dosage.

The day before yesterday, the boat next to us was having some work done on it. I was introduced to the repairman, Rudy, and was told he was very good, and best of all, very reasonable. He lives in a boat that he had built and could do plumbing, electrical, canvas, etc. Folks like him are few and far between. We have had a couple of nagging problems and so I asked him to take a look. Well, he spent two hours on Tuesday, made a list of necessary parts and told us he would be back today.

Yesterday, he called and said he had all of the parts and would be here “mid-morning”.

This morning at 0830, there is a knock on the door and it is Rudy.

First, we worked on the shower drain pump. Remember that since we are loaded down, the thru-hole for the drain and bilge are sometimes underwater. The problem was that since the floor of the shower and the pump are under water, when the pump was cycled on, a siphon was created and in many cases, we would get more water back in than we pumped out. So, Rudy cut the drain hose, installed an anti-siphon valve, and mounted it ABOVE the water line. Now, when it starts to siphon, the siphon action is broken by the valve as air is introduced into the line. Works like a champ.

Second, we installed a new bilge pump. Again, since the bilge thru-hole is under water, we sometime got water back into the bilge. In doing so, the pump ran too often and finally quit working. We installed a new pump with the float switch in one unit. The only real problem with the installation is that the pump is about 4 feet below the floor and there is an air conditioner in the same compartment, making it just a little tight. But, we got it in and it works great.

Third, the problem that we initially wanted to solve was addressed. The problem is that on occasion, we get a siphon of water back into the head, filling up the head. While this is not critical, we only have a 10 gallon holding tank, and if we flush a bunch of sea water into the tank, it fills up too fast, and we have to pump out too often. We were going to install a siphon break on the input line. But first, just to be safe, we called Glacier Bay and talked to Scott. He told us that there is a solenoid on the back of the head, and he is 99% sure it is not closing all of the time. It runs with the pump switch and is suppose to close the head intake, when the pump is off. It opens the head when the pump is on. He told us to order a new solenoid from GB and install it. So, we did nothing about the head problem. I will order the part and install it when we get back to NC.

The rest of the day, we cleaned up the mess we have made doing the two jobs. It was too cold to get out and explore, so we stayed in and read and continue our R&R. During the day, Betsy and the New Zealanders were interviewed by the local weekly paper about doing the loop.

We still plan to leave here on Saturday and go to Carrabelle. We discovered that the weekly rate here is a better deal than the daily rate and so that if you stay 7 days, you pay the rate for five. So, we cannot leave on Friday or Saturday as they are the free days. And we cannot turn down free dockage, especially in such a great marina.

12-09-09 Port St Joe Marina Part 5

[Rick] It was a miserable rainy day today and we spent most of it catching up on emails and other correspondence. We also put up our Christmas decorations. Enjoy.

Around 1400, we went over to another looper boat, Aloha Friday, and began to make plans for the Gulf of Mexico crossing. The crossing is very weather dependant. You do not want to go into the Gulf when the winds are such to make the waves too high. Today, the waves in the Gulf were 5-7 feet, way too big for us in our 26 ft boat. We might get caught in large waves, but we will not go out in them.

The weather forecast from NOAA is calling for Monday to have waves 1-2 feet. Keep in mind that the crossing is 170 statute miles from Carrabelle FL to Tarpon Springs FL. Even with our speed, it will take 8-9 hours running at 20+ mph for the whole trip. Most of the loopers are trawlers and will take 20-24 hours to make the run. They leave one day, travel all night, and arrive during the daylight hours the next day. You never want to arrive at a new port in the dark. We are working with several boats to find the best way to do the trip. Ideally, we could find a fast boat to go with us. But that is unlikely, given the speed necessary. We have a possibility of going with a boat to Crystal River, a distance of about 120 miles. Averaging 10mph, we can do this in one day, leaving just before daylight. Remember, the days are shortest at this time of the year and there is barely 10 hours of daylight. The alternative to the 170 mile trip is to go along the rim of the big bend, stopping in several towns. This requires at least 3 good weather days or you are stuck in some little town. It is a crap shoot, either way.

At this time, we are not sure of the trip, or the day, but it looks like Monday, with someone. We will not do the trip alone. We will be far enough off shore that we will not have VHF radio or cell phone contact. No need to tempt fate.

12-08-09 Port St Joe Again

[Rick] We took a leisurely stroll around the docks this morning to look at the boats here. We saw several interesting ones, including this one with stained glass windows. The other interesting one is a 47 ft 2008 Grand Banks Trawler. It is beautiful. The broker says the asking price is 1.1 million, but is sure they will take $750,000. I bet they will.

We then got on the bikes and toured the town of Port St Joe. It is quaint, small, but very nice. They have all of the regular places, McDonalds, Ace hardware, Piggly Wiggly. They also have a huge sporting goods store selling fishing, hunting and any type of sporting goods stuff.

For supper, our harbor hosts arranged a Mexican night at the close-by Mexican restaurant. There were 34 of us and it was a lot of fun. It turned out to be the birthday of Ray, one of the harbor hosts. Here are Patsy and Ray, whom we met earlier at Pebble Isle marina, the one that served hot cinnamon buns every morning. Patsy and Ray have been very nice to all loopers. They let us use their car, pick people up at the airport, deliver a paper to our boat each morning, and make arrangements for any looper that asks for anything. Their boat is docked right behind ours, and they spend several hours each day at the marina doing things for loopers. It is a real blessing to have them here.

The waiter in the Mexican restaurant was very good. One waiter, 34 people and he kept the process moving. Here he is delivering some plates.

One last thing. We have been featuring the New Zealanders, and did not have a picture of Phillippa, the mother. Well, here she is, with her husband, John.

The 34 of us at the Mexican Supper....

12-07-09 Port St. Joe Manatee Rescue!

[Betsy speaks again:] First, here’s another picture of “Pearl,” the boat owned by the New Zealanders, followed by a picture of its owner John and the kids Alice and Lloyd. Sorry I don’t have a photo of mom Phillippa yet. Too bad they had all gone to the library and missed the real excitement of the day: a manatee rescue.

When we first arrived, we saw a floating ball moving through the water. Rick took a closer look and realized it was a receiver of some sort. Being from Topsail Beach, naturally we think of sea turtles! Rick asked a dock hand if the receiver was attached to a sea turtle, and he said no, it was tethered to a manatee that had been under observation and was thought to be sick. We didn’t think much more of it until today.

We saw a few people congregating on the dock opposite ours, so we went to see what was going on. There was a manatee rescue boat filled with volunteers in wet suits. They had come to trap the manatee and take him out of the water for observation and to move him to warmer waters. Like sea turtles, they can become cold stunned, and that is basically what was wrong with this guy. As we’ve mentioned, it has been unseasonably cold here for the past week or so.

Below is a series of photos of the rescue. First, they very slowly surrounded him and netted him with a large seine net. He seemed very lethargic (which I think is normal for manatees) until he came in contact with the net and then he gave a feeble fight, stirring up the water a bit. After a relatively short time, he gave up and they were able to lift him onto the back of the boat with much effort. A volunteer not involved in the physical rescue of this mammal was on the dock answering questions. She said this manatee weighed in at about 1000 pounds when they last had him captured, but it appears he has lost a substantial amount of weight since then (I’m not sure how long ago that was). He was rescued in the Bahamas where they found him to be sickly, and was transported to Florida because DNA tests showed that he belonged in Florida. He had been released, with transmitter tethered to his tail.

When he was seen in the protected basin here at Port St. Joe someone reported him as being here, and with the extreme cold weather he had become severely weakened. They will transport him to a treatment facility hopefully for just a few days, and then will re-release him farther south in Crystal River. If it is determined that he cannot be released into the wild again, he will take up residence at a zoo that is also a treatment facility.

The rescue effort took approximately 20 minutes from start to finish. As soon as they had the manatee on board a veterinarian was checking him with his stethoscope. At the same time, the volunteers were covering him with a protective foil blanket to hold in heat. All were very calm. There was no cheering. The observers were asked to please be quiet.

Take notice of how the boat has been adapted for rescue: the stern folds down flat so they can pull these massive animals on board without having to lift them over the gunwale or transom. Once the animal is on board, it folds back up. The motor is near the front of the boat so as to be out of the way of the rescue effort.

We felt like this was a once in a lifetime experience. How lucky we were to be here to see this so closely!