Old Movies and a Walk in the Dark

At 430p, with my walking shoes on, I left the Captain and his daughter looking at a OLD war movie. The cooler weather drew me to the palm lined streets of old Tarpon Springs....all around the Bayou and then across a draw bridge by the Yacht Club and down Riverside Drive. The sun set and clouds moved in and it was darker than I thought it might be with only a few street lights here and there.  I don't know if it was because the wind had died down or I was warming up from the walk but I had to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist.

A few friendly Greek folks were also out walking around the Bayou but not anywhere else.  I was alone and it was dark and I was unafraid.  I loved the light breeze... it was a good time to talk to my Father and praise Him for this wonderful country we have been privilege to explore.

It was after 7p before I got back to the Marina which was locked up and I had not taken my pass key.  Cathy came and opened the gate for me....I couldn't believe that old movie was still not over!!....they made them long way back when....but how nice that those two had the love of old movies in common.... a nice daughter & dad night.

For those of you that follow us on the blog there will not be one for a few days as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our son and his children.  We will be here at this marina through most of next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two Grand Wonders Visit us in Tarpon Springs

After 10 hours of sleep for Walter and I we enjoyed staying put today with daughter, Cathy aboard.  It was warm when we arrived here yesterday and very humid.  Cathy's favorite weather!  So she enjoyed walking around in her old haunts.....she graduated from Tarpon Springs High School.  Later today we would walk together around the Bayou.

Our darling grand children Amy & Eddie came to see Miss gg and us along with their daddy, our son, David.

Ed on the fore deck.

I'm glad I washed that ball fender before Amy sat on it!

David with the kids on the Bridge.

We found some interesting houses on the Bayou.

What I liked best about this house was the wrap around porch!

The Turret on the top was open with no screens.

Years ago we watched this old house being remodeled.....this photo doesn't show all of its uniqueness!

Cathy & I found this odd Oak Tree by the water......wonder how it became so crooked?

This is a branch on the same tree.

A closer look.

This is part of the beautiful Bayou......a wonderful park is still there and still lovely.

A view across the Bayou.

How good it was to just take time to walk partly around the Bayou and remember.....when we watched the Greek teen boys on that cold January day dive into the Bayou for the cross that the priest throws into the water during Epiphany...... you had to be Greek to miss school that day... seems all my kids were suddenly Greek!

What a wonderful day with Family. God is good!

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

Nothing is so invigorating as the wind in your face while standing on the bow of your boat after you have been in port for nearly one week!  There was not a cloud in the sky Friday afternoon...an absolutely beautiful day for cruising. 

Before we dropped the lines about 230p Cathy helped disconnect the electrical hook up.  We headed slowly through the No-Wake area to the channel in the bay.  

Once in the bay porpoises joined us playing all around the boat. The water was smooth and the air was just a bit cool......awesome afternoon!

Before we got to the Gulf waters Cathy stood on the bowsprit enjoying the view and the feeling of flying.  

After an hour we passed by the last beach and through an inlet and we were in the Gulf of Mexico.

Almost immediately we noticed a temperature change...... much cooler wind was blowing across the deck.   Daughter, Cathy, my friend, Karen and I were on the bow as Miss gg took on the rolling waves of the Gulf.   However, we knew the Captain wanted us back inside to put on life jackets if we were going to stay on the deck.  

The Sun sank into the water turning it all kinds of red & orange....

This is what loomed behind us outlined by the light of the setting sun...uh oh!  

Soon DARKNESS was upon us.... we could still see...at least we convinced ourselves we could see the line that separated the water from the sky.  We had two boats far up ahead of us...we altered our course twice to stay out of their paths.... we were having much difficulty seeing their navigational lights...at least one boat was near to invisible from the stern.....we knew he was there from seeing him on radar.  We noticed on our chart plotter that we could only “see” about one mile behind us on the radar.... so we thought they could not see us either.  So the Captain turned on our powerful spot light and moved it around that last boat and then quickly turned it off.  THIRTY minutes later!...we hear this call, “Vessel behind the 2 trawlers that waved his spotlight please identify yourself”!!  We had wondered how they could miss our light.   We told them we could barely see their lights.  The dimmest boat found out that his flag was keeping us and his boat buddy from clearly seeing him.....so he took it down and everyone was happier. They soon made the turn to go straight to Dunedin but ran into some higher waves by turning sooner than weather guru Tom had recommended... soon they were off our radar and it then seemed even darker.

At just after 10p a huge orange half moon rose out of the water to our port side...as it did it laid down a wide stream of light across the water to Miss gg...

This made a huge difference in our ability to see the horizon.   Before this the brightest object in the sky was the planet Venus which also put some light on the water... so many stars!

About 1230a some clouds moved in obscuring the moon......darkness again. We had not liked having other boats on our radar... had to make sure we were not in the way of a couple of large fishing boats but now with no moon and no one out front of us it was a bit intimidating.......questions like, “WHEN is the sunrise anyway?”, began to be heard on the bridge.

No one slept much... only a short nap now and then... I suppose the marinas where many Looper boats are docked today are used to seeing the blood shot eyes.

At 2a we made our turn toward the south... a little bumpier but still a good ride. About the same time I turned on the generator to make coffee for the Captain.....why were we thinking we could see our grand children time we arrived in Tarpon?!  At 3a.m. I had still not been able to sleep....I think I was afraid I might miss something....The Captain did nap a bit while the Girls took the helm... do you think he really did?? Funny, we never had to wake him … seems when the time for a turn came he was there on the bridge!

At 345a two large bottle nosed porpoises swam beside Miss gg jumping high in the air over and over again...... what fun...at first I thought it was a strange lone wave out a ways from the boat......but then they swam close and we saw them clearly on this magical night.

7:08a It was so good to see the Sunrise

What a beautiful Saturday! Clear green water as we neared the coast.

 Smileys on bridge were opened as we breathed in the salt air and Florida warmth.

At 7:15a we began dodging our first crab pots in 43 feet of water!!!  The normal range is 35 feet or less.  We probably approached the coast a couple of hours earlier than suggested as we had to stand up for a better view due to the glare of the early morning sun on the water.......each spotter was needed to find the crab pots....

Distracting us from the crab pots were three porpoises that joined us on the starboard side of the boat for a long distance.....I managed to snap a photo when one came up for air.  

The Captain had extended our track so we didn't have to make our final turn into the sun until later.... When he made the turn and it became really hard to see those floating balls... glad to have younger eyes spotting them. They can mess up props!

9:06a Crab Pots were EVERYWHERE!!!

920a On the radio we heard our friends on “Humbug” say that the dock master at Turtle Cove, where we had a reservation, said the channel into that marina was at dead low tide... 3 feet or less! Our draft (part of boat UNDER the water) is 3.5 feet. We were at least one hour away.......some boats called another marina and went on there .....Dock master said to wait at least until 11a or 1130a. But it took us that long to get up that long narrow channel... we ended up with plenty of water under us... 5 feet...and parked for the night.

I have fallen asleep three times while trying to write this blog so I think I will say good-night and thank you for your prayers for our safe journey.   OH! What a night!!

On the Eve of Crossing the Gulf

I took a little walk around the docks here today and found the Sheriff's Dept Boat.  I doubt anyone out runs this fellow!

I also found out that 7 boats that are doing the Loop are in the marina next to ours... they had a planning meeting tonight while we had “docktails”with the three boats here.. Most people just bring their own soda, water or wine/beer but tonight I decided I would contribute some cheese and crackers..... we were ready to leave for the Chart Room to meet folks when we discovered that the box of crackers we bought were individually packaged by two wafers each.  Wanting to look “home-made” Cathy grabbed the scissors and we quickly cut them open!

Tomorrow morning the final decision will be made....go or no-go, but it is looking very much like we will be cruising the Gulf by the afternoon. The Waves are not suppose to be high but they will be coming at the boat abeam. One boat has been here 11 days and is anxious to go... they are the ones that turned around Sunday when 4 boats left...I think being here a long time causes your ability to handle lumpy conditions in the Gulf to rise.

When we are in the Gulf we will have no cell phone or Internet and NOW I found out that we can't even make a “May-Day” call to the coast guard!! Okay, it's a good thing I didn't know that earlier to stew about it... we do have the Delorme tracker with a gizmo on it we can push and someone at Delorme is suppose to forward our emergency and our location to the coast guard... I sure wanted to talk to this person tonight!!!  You know, just to make sure there was such a person???

FYI...the tracker has been fixed so those following us on the Internet can get up Saturday morning and see just where we are in that BIG body of water. ….or Friday night for that matter.  If you are interested in the password for doing this just send us an email and we will try to get it back to you before we leave. 

There will be a blog tomorrow night because I have preset it to post then.  I wanted you to know this so when you read my “Sad Hair Saga” you will not wonder too much about why am talking about a bad hair day out in the middle of the Ocean.

We are excited that another friend, Karen Hoke, is also joining us tonight for the Gulf voyage. This means the Captain will have an all girl crew!!  Pray for him!

There is always a chance that the weather will worsen and we will not go....even just now the report is for higher waves......  

Good Night all. 

A Phone Booth in Carabelle?

Today was a slow lazy morning......so nice.  It was overcast most of the morning with the sun peeking out just a little mid-afternoon. When we got hungry we walked over to The Fisherman's Wife and ate fresh sea food...delicious!

We had not finished cleaning yesterday so we accomplished a bit more this afternoon.

Carrabelle Police Department has something unusual about it so we went to check it out... sure enough, it is “The World's Smallest Police Station”!  Not sure but we think it still has only one day policeman.

It appears to be a phone booth... WHO remembers this odd thing...The “Phone Booth”?

Cathy went INTO the Police Station.

Back at the boat we noticed that another trawler (a Looper) came in from Apalachicola....where they said there were no Loopers.  We didn't recognize the boat named, “Thanks Dad”.

There aren't many Loopers here either and probably won't be now until after the holidays. Some were delayed by weather and repairs at Dog River (Mobile Bay) and have now parked their boats to rent cars or fly home for the holidays.   Of course many have already crossed the Gulf from here earlier this month.

The possibility of “buddy boating” may be something we want to do with these other boats....some will no doubt travel faster than we do but still during the long dark night we can call each other at  designated times to make sure all is okay.

The weather window for Friday is becoming more critical with a cold front coming into Tarpon Springs Saturday afternoon predicted to kick up the wind & waves...... hang in with us..... the big decision will not be made until Friday morning...... and as you know even that can change if we get out in the Gulf and feel the ride is just too rough for us.... we will just have a chicken party back on the dock........unashamed!

Beautiful Day

The forecast had been for rain and cool weather for our daughter's arrival today. But the skies were clear this morning and it even felt a little warm as her plane landed. Our Florida baby had made sure she would not be chilled by wearing about 4 layers some of which she had to take off on the hour ride back to the boat.

The first thing Cathy noticed on the boat was the lack of sound......no little voices..... no one needing her..... I thought she might just fall asleep she looked so relaxed! A mom needs this sort of “vacation” now and then. And we are so glad to have her here to help us cross the Gulf.

It still looks good for crossing the Gulf on Friday. I am trying not to get my hopes up... we have had weather delays before on this journey.

Here is some beauty from God … the sun setting over the Carabelle River tonight.

Blessings to all.

Swabbing the Decks

Today we prepared for our daughter's arrival tomorrow... or at least we tried to but an all day rain kept us from doing all the cleaning we had planned.  Working inside, I was able to clean the fenders that are kept on the sun deck and hope to get to the others on the bow tomorrow.

Fenders 

The Captain took care of scrubbing the bridge deck which gets pretty scuffed up.  Amazingly, exactly like the outside of Miss gg, she is very photogenic belying the truth of all the nicks and scars of this long wonderful Adventure.

Bridge deck

You can't tell from this photo but the guest head is really big compared to the little bitty head (bathroom) in the master cabin.

Two could shower in this one.

Ready for Cathy.

We had good news from friends that crossed the Gulf yesterday through last night. They all made it.. all had high waves up to 6 feet to start with but after 1a the sea settled down. The skies cleared revealing a full moon and the sun rose over their bows. Our Friend Grace was at the clinic waiting to see a doctor about the awful cat bite when she emailed us so we feel sure that she will soon recover.

We are excited that we may have a weather window to cross the Gulf this coming Friday.   However, you know the weather... all could change.  Still, we will enjoy our visit with our daughter.... I think we need a “family fix”.  We are grateful to Cathy's wonderful mom in-law who will be taking care of her little girls while Cathy is with us and while her hubby works and also travels out of town.

Soon the Great Adventure will be out on the open Gulf waters......I'm excited... okay, maybe a little nervous...... but still loving this amazing trip! 

Saying Good-Bye to Friends

The day began with some cleaning as I wiped salt spray off the ports and chased off spiders! It seems every boat has been invaded by these 8 legged creatures...and they are bigger in Florida!

Then we set out to find a church I had looked up on the Internet but apparently I read the map upside down. We went up one street and down another one until we decided to ask someone where the church was...after all this is a small town...sure enough they knew exactly where the church was and we arrived only about 5 minutes late and took a seat near the back.

Afterward we hurried back to the marina to help 4 boats departing to cross the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast Florida. We held their lines until they were ready to back out of the slips. This is Barefootin' with Vicki pulling in the lines. 

This is a huge boat that was too big for a slip so it is on a face dock. Captain Randy did a great job of backing out between other large boats.

Walter had already helped SeaGlide to get off with Grace & Jeff aboard.

 We are concerned about Grace as she was bitten by a cat last night just before our gathering. Her hand is swollen today and a red line is going up her arm! Vicki gave her an antibiotic that she had and Grace called her doctor at home. She has promised us to see a doctor the moment she gets to Dunedin, FL.  

SeaGlide: ready to join the others.

Then Summer Recess was easing out of their slip with First mate Sharon pushing their boat off the pile where she had just removed the bow line.

Safe travels Summer Recess!

Southern Belle is pushing off. 

First mate is tending the lines....notice the Gold Burgee meaning they have completed the Loop a while back.

Our friends were off and it was past lunch time. We had heard this place was a great restaurant but it was suppose to be closed today.

So lunch was going to have to be after we went grocery shopping... I do not like shopping with a hungry Captain......I knew the trip would be quicker than I wanted it to be cause he would want to get back to the boat to eat.  On our way to the store just across the street from our marina was The Fisherman's Wife and low and behold it was OPEN!  Wahoo...lunch was immediate and yummy!  It is  just a house that has been turned into a dining establishment.  

Late this afternoon we were surprised to see Southern Belle back in port.  We thought the report from our weather guru had said the first part would be a little rough with 2 to 3 ft waves but it was suppose to settle down by midnight.  But Captain Kerm from Southern Belle said the waves were more like 5 to 6 ft and some as high as 8 feet!  Going into them was not so bad but they would be making a turn and these awful waves would hit them broad side..abeam...he mentioned that they had been “round the block” a few times......this Gulf Crossing was not their first.....they certainly didn't need to get beat up by the waves... they would wait.

I was so glad when Walter said he,too, would turn around if conditions turned out to be rougher than expected.

Finally, our thoughts are with those that are crossing the Gulf tonight.... prayers for them.   

It's a Miracle!

The Captain got the extra props out one at a time... they are very heavy. He put them on the dock as we awaited the diver. The extra props were stored in my shoe locker... yea, more room for shoes...no, he would probably take back the damaged props!

The Diver arrived without air tank. When asked about it he said, “Sugar, I do this the old fashion way”!  Love being in the south again.... he also braved the cold water without a wet suit.... I wanted to ask how long he had been down from Michigan.....

Here is Mark, our Diver, checking his gear...air compressor, hose and mouth piece.

He brought his Specialized Tool: Sedge Hammer?

Going down to swim platform

Into the Cold Water....brrrrr

Going under boat

In this photo he is standing on the bottom showing us how shallow the water is at the dock....a little over 6 feet.

He just went down without tools to begin with to assess the damage.  It is a MIRACLE that he saw NONE!  Not one bent place on either prop!  We asked him to check one more time to be sure and this time he ran his hand all the way down the keel and found nothing wrong! Yes, we are praising God!

I don't think the Captain minded carrying back in those heavy extra props at all.  We were ecstatic and decided even though it was nearly 11a.m. to leave our safe harbor and travel to Carrabelle where we will await a good weather window for crossing the Gulf.

Leaving Apalachicola

Heading for the ICW channel.

I had things to do on the boat so as we were underway I ran around hanging up wet clothes from the washer and various other things...maybe that is why I forgot to put on my sea bands when the water got rough....rougher than we have had before due to the direction of the wind... yes, we were ROLLING!  I put them on but nearly got sick anyway...knew I had to be ready to help dock us at the Moorings fuel dock.....thought I might not make it but my stomach did settle down in time.. however, no dinner for me tonight.... won't make this mistake again... will just sit with my bands on next time...the Captain is hoping this was not a vision of our Gulf Crossing.. me a little green!

Our greeters and line catchers, Grace with her husband, Jeff on right from SeaGlide (Asheville, NC) and Tony from Summer Recess.

The Gathering of Loopers tonight was like a homecoming for us.. old/new friends from Waterford, NY....most of them are leaving tomorrow afternoon as good weather is predicted for them to cross the Gulf through Monday.

About 8 couples were there and here are a few that hung around for a picture.  Couple on far right are Vicky and Randy from “Bearfootin'” … they live on Treasure Island near Tampa so they will be flying the Gold Burgee soon after the crossing. Couple in middle are Al & Charli from “Always 5 O'clock” and they,too, are almost home (Madeira Beach, FL). That's Grace standing next to that other couple.

We will be cleaning and sprucing up the boat the next two days before our daughter arrives.  Looking forward to spending this time her, catching up on family after being away for over 6 months.  It will be a good time even if the weather doesn't cooperate for the crossing of the Gulf.