Tag: Shore Excursion

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

Eric here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

I would also like to welcome new virtual crew members Port Canaveral Transportation. I am not sure where we will put the limo yet, but I am sure we will figure something out.

Welcome aboard!

Lastly, I will be dedicating this post to a good friend of the skipper, Bill Nix.  The skipper and Bill met back in 1987 and became good friends and fishing buddies.  Bill was also a huge fan of Salvador Dali’s work.  He also has an uncanny resemblemce to Crabby Bill.

Summary of week:

The crew left Clearwater and cruised to Gulfport to visit the Salvador Dali Museum.  After a surreal experience in Gulfport they made their way to Venice.

Monday February 6, 2017

With only a short run of 25 miles to Gulfport, the crew got a late start.  What a difference a few days makes.  With everybody back at work there were very few boaters on the water today.  A much more comfortable and enjoyable time today on the water.

Much of the run was through condo lined beaches and shores.  When there was not a condo there would be private residences.  This meant that the NO WAKE signs were posted along most of the run today which slowed progress down.

The skipper noticed that a McDonalds was positioned along the water with a private dock.  The crew decided to dock and go buy milkshakes for an afternoon snack.  An added bonus was a Publix grocery store next door, so the Admiral also made a small provisioning run for a few items that the crew needed.

After arriving in Gulfport, the crew took a short walk to check out the waterfront part of town.

Of course, the Admiral found the swing overlooking the Bay.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Today’s destination was the Dali Museum which houses the largest collection of Salvador Dali’s work outside of Europe.

The crew wanted to stay at the St. Petersburg Marina which is next door to the museum, but the transient docks are under repair and their was no slip available.  Thus, they went to Gulfport which is about eight miles from the museum.

The skipper found a bus route that was near by (1 mile walk to pick up bus) and that would drop the crew off within a quarter mile of the museum.  The bus ride took them through some of the finest neighborhoods in St Petersburg, NOT!

After arriving at the museum, they purchased tickets and took the audio tour of the museum and exhibits.  The audio tour was excellent.  If you would like to participate in the audio tour, go to the app store and download the free Dali Museum Virtual Tour app.  The app will show the works on exhibit and give a brief explanation on the piece.  The app is the same tour we had at the museum.

The above painting was a redo of his Persistence of Memory painting that he completed in 1932.  The above project was completed in the 1950’s after atomic energy was discovered and shows time melting away while the other parts are breaking down into their subatomic pieces.

The above painting is a double image.  At the museum, if you stand 20 meters from the painting you can see a portrait of Abe Lincoln.  If you squint your eyes while looking at the pic you can see Lincoln.  Also, if you hold a mirror up to the painting or pic and look at the reflection you can see Lincoln.

The Rolls Royce was an interesting piece.  Usually you get in a car to get out of the rain.  If you look at the driver, you will notice he has on a deep dive suit and helmet.  The backseat has been enclosed and water is falling along the windows.  The passenger is a mermaid.

Another neat exhibit was a virtual reality tour of the painting Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s “Angelus”.

The virtual reality tour put you in the painting and you could walk around inside the painting to explore it closer.

Overall, this was an exceptional day for the crew at the Dali Museum.

Now all they have to do is figure out how to get back to the boat using their all day bus tickets.  There is always adventure around every corner.  They got on a route 23 bus that should have taken them within about half a mile of the marina.

But somewhere on the route the bus driver stopped and got off the bus.  A few minutes later he got back on the bus and took off again.  The skipper noticed that they were now on route 14 verse 23.  The skipper pulled up the route maps and laid 14 and 23 out together.  He found a spot where 14 and 23 intersected.

At the intersection, the crew got off the 14 bus and had to wait 20 minutes for a 23 bus.  Once on the 23 bus they were once again headed in the right direction.  The 7 mile distance back to the marina took almost two hours to execute.  hmmm

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

As the crew traveled further south on the west coast of Florida, the competition for marina slips has begun to increase.  The crew had planned to stay in Sarasota for a few days, but the marina slips were not available because a Yacht Club had arrived and taken most of the spots through the weekend.  There was one mooring ball available, but the wind is supposed to kick up to 20 mph on Thursday and the crew did not want to be out in the middle of the water bouncing around in the wind and waves tethered to a mooring ball.  The crew opted to move further south to Venice.

The 52-mile run was made even longer because the course went through some narrow channels that were marked for slow speed due to Manatee Zones.

When the crew was not in a manatee zone they were in areas with houses and canals which were posted No Wake.

Overhead view of a few canals.

Then there were the million dollar homes that lined the shore also.

The crew eventually arrived in Venice where they will hang out for a week because the marina provides a  pay for 5 nights, get 2 nights free.  The skipper has trouble passing up free.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

The crew spent an uneventful day cleaning and working on the boat yesterday, so today they decided to walk around historic Venice and check the place out.

The first observation is that this is definitely a place that the retired crowd has taken over.  There are not many folks under 50 even visible.  The beach is full of older folks but no youngsters.  It is a very quiet and peaceful town.  There also is a very large snowbird population here based on the license plates driving around town.

The crew finally discovered an historical marker that explained the retirement vibe going on in town.  The town was actually designed and built to be a retirement community for railroad employees.  The ‘city plan’ was completed in 1926 by John Nolen.  George A Fuller was selected as the contractor to build the town according to the plan.  The first road was completed in 1926.

The Great Depression put a major hit on the development of the area and much of the plan was put on hold.  The town got a kick start when an Army Air Base was established here  in 1942.

A sad claim to fame is that three of the 9/11 hijackers completed their flight training at Huffman Aviation which is located at the Venice Municipal Airport.

Next Week – The goal is to actually make it back to Sweet Water Landing Marina by the end of next week.  You might recall that this is the marina where this adventure started back on June 28, 2015.

The skipper is watching the weather and wind to determine the actual path and travel days to make these last 58 miles before crossing their wake and  hoisting the gold flag.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

Eric here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

I would also like to welcome Scott M. aboard as our newest virtual crew member.  Scott plans to start the loop in May 2017.  Welcome aboard Scott.

Summary of week:

The crew moved to Carrabelle on Monday and launched their Gulf crossing to Tarpon Springs on Wednesday.  They then moved to Clearwater on Saturday.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

The wind was forecasted to lay down Saturday about 1600.  Well that did not happen.  In fact, the winds continued to blow all day Sunday, so the crew cancelled their anticipated run to Apalachicola.  The skipper was busy recalculating the next route based on the latest weather information.

Monday, January 30, 2017

The wind finally laid down about 0200 in the early morning.  The crew decided to skip Apalachicola and make the 62-mile run all the way to Carrabelle because there looked to be a good weather window to cross the Gulf on Tuesday night / Wednesday.

The crew buddy boated with The Lord’s Provision.  The two crews left just before 0900 and made good time over to The Moorings at Carrabelle.  The crew met up with  Abaco Lady, Journey and Jo-Ca, also staged at The Moorings Marina to cross the Gulf on Tuesday.

Based on the ever-changing weather conditions, all the crews agreed that a Wednesday / Thursday crossing looked better than launching out on Tuesday.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Tuesday became a day of relaxation and planning as all the crews were gearing up for the Gulf crossing.

Roger, the skipper of The Lord’s Provision, decided to grill chicken for everybody, so we met on board his boat for lunch and the skipper dubbed it ‘The Last Supper.’

After lunch, the crews had a final preparation meeting to finalize plans to cross the Gulf.  The Lord’s Provision, Abaco Lady, and Journey were going to go fast (18 mph) and complete the crossing in 10 hours.  While Jo-Ca and Still Waters II planned to go slow (9 mph) and complete the crossing in 20 hours.

After the crew meeting, most folks went to The Fisherman’s Wife for supper.  While at supper, the crew ran into the crew of Tranquility III.  The crew of Tranquility III was interested in joining the slow boats for the crossing.  The final preps were made, and the slow boats decided to leave together at 1500 on Wednesday.

After spending a few days in Carrabelle the crew learned a few things worthy to share.  For starters, the town was incorporated in May of 1893.  The area had many natural resources of virgin forest and a deep water harbor.  The railroad also came to town to help the area prosper.

During WWII Camp Gordon Johnston trained 250,000 men in the art of amphibian warfare.  The area was selected for this specific task due to the barrier islands, Dog Island and St George Island.  The army practiced their beach landings on these two islands that the crew will pass between on their way into the Gulf of Mexico.

Wednesday night / Thursday, February 1-2, 2017

The fast boats got up before the crack of dawn and were off the dock by 0530.

The slow boats continued their final preps and were off the dock by 1500.  One minor issue though was an unexpected wind that blew in about 1400.  Before leaving the dock, the skipper reviewed his favorite weather sites and learned that this new wind was predicted to lay down at dark (1830).

Unfortunately, when the crew got out of East Pass and entered the Gulf of Mexico, the crew found the winds about 12 mph and the waves 2-3 feet.  The three boats decided to continue to cross the Gulf based on the wind forecast.  Again, the forecast was wrong.  The wind did not lay down until about 2300 and the waves did not calm down until midnight.   This made for a very lumpy, rolly, rocky, ride for the first nine hours of the run.

Tranquility III took the lead across the Gulf.  They have auto pilot and set a waypoint on the Red 4 Marker on the other side of the Gulf.  Still Waters II fell in behind Tranquility III and followed her across the Gulf.

The swells were hitting the boat on the starboard beam while the windblown waves were hitting the bow of the boat.  With the average waves at 2-3 feet, there were many waves in the 4-5-foot range.  The period between waves was less than 4 seconds.

Just a few examples of just how bad it was for the first nine hours:

1. Tranquility III had three people onboard. Their plan was to have two people at the helm at all times, and one person below sleeping.  Within the first hour of entering the Gulf, one crew member got seasick.  Then, within the next hour, a second crew member got seasick.  Now they had one member at the helm and two members below trying to recover from the Gulf Flu.

2. Onboard the Jo-Ca, the constant beating of the waves on the bow caused a port hole to blow out. Now every time a wave hit the boat they were taking on water.  Eventually this caused a high bilge alarm to warn the crew of a problem.  The forward stateroom was soaked due to the incoming water.  It took about an hour, but eventually the crew was able to affect a temporary MacGyver repair that lasted the duration of the run.

3. Onboard Still Waters II, a large wave hit the boat that caused the cookie cache to go flying across the helm resulting in the loss of over half the cookies. Anybody who knows the skipper knows that this is a real big deal.

Just a little bit after dark, the crew saw a red flare shoot up.  The flare was judged to be a long distance away due to the height of the flare.  The crew tried hailing any distressed vessels in the area, but there was no response.

Then about 45 minutes later a second and third flare was seen.  These two flares were just off the starboard side and were very high.  Again, when the crew tried to hail any distressed boat, there was no response.  While the skipper was trying to hail the boat shooting the flares, the Captain of Jo-Ca hailed the Coast Guard to report the flares and our GPS position.

The Coast Guard reported that they were performing flare training in the area and NOT to launch a search for the boat.  Interesting enough, there were no more flares after the call to the Coast Guard.  I guess training was complete.  Hmmmm, interesting indeed.  The Admiral was just relieved that they did not have to go searching for any boater in the dark and bad waves.

A little around 2100, a large light was seen on the horizon.  As the three-boat flotilla got closer, the crew could tell that it was a sport fisher boat with a tuna tower.  The skipper checked the charts and determined that the nearest land was 61 miles away.  The crew began to wonder why on earth would someone be out here fishing in these nasty conditions.

A few minutes later the Captain of the sport fisher boat hailed the flotilla.  The Captain could not identify what kind of vessel the three boats were.  At the time, the three boats were running with only a quarter mile distance between boats to maintain visual contact during then night crossing.  The Captain thought we were a large tow and was beginning to worry that we were getting way to close for his comfort level.

The Captain of Tranquility III, Mike, let the sport fisher know that we were actually three separate boats crossing the Gulf.  Mike also inquired of the sport fisher, “What are you doing out here in this weather?”  The sport fisher responded in a southern drawl, “Oh, we’re just out here catch’n a few red snappers.”

After six hours of misery bouncing around in the waves, the crew found humor in the response.

Finally though, the wind did lay down and the waves settled down also.  There was only a light breeze and the waves were less than 1 foot.  So much for the saying that nothing good happens after midnight.

With the calmer seas, the crew of Tranquility III began to recover enough to come over the radio and sing “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

At 0630, the dawn of a new day was beginning.  At 0720, that big ball of hydrogen fusion peeked over the horizon to give the crew a beautiful sunrise.

At 0850, the crew spotted land and the skipper yelled, ‘Land Ho!”

At 0945, the crew passed back within 3 miles of shore.

At 1010, the crew passed a red day marker R4 that officially ended the Gulf crossing as the crew entered back into the GICW.

At 1051, the crew entered the Anclote River at low tide.

The skipper called the marina and the staff warned the skipper that the low tide had caused water levels to be about 4 feet deep on the approach to the dock.  The staff suggested that the skipper anchor and wait for the tide to rise before entering.  Since the skipper was tired from a long night with little to no sleep, he and the Admiral decided to risk the low water level and try to make the dock.  With a draft of 3 feet 9 inches and the fact that the bottom would be soft and sandy if they went aground, the crew headed for the marina.

At 1145, the crew was safely secured at the dock.  On the last mile of approach to the dock, the water level showed to be 4 feet 3 inches.

The crew took a well-deserved nap, then headed to Rusty Bellies to celebrate the successful Gulf crossing with the crews of Abaco Lady and Journey.

Friday, February 3, 2017

The crew explored the sponge docks in the afternoon and tried to learn a little about the Greek culture that spawned Tarpon Springs.

In the 1880’s, John Cheyney started the first sponge business in the area.  Greek’s began to migrate to the area to work in the sponge industry.  In 1905, John Cocoris began using divers to harvest the sponges.  The heyday of the sponge industry peaked in the 1930’s with about 200 boats in the sponge industry.  In 1947, a red tide algae bloom killed off most of the sponges and the sponge industry.  Only about a dozen sponge boats still work the Gulf fields.

The town now has the largest percentage of Greek’s than any other community in the United States.

The crew tried a Greek restaurant for a late lunch and then tried some Greek pastries for a late-night snack.  While eating lunch, one of the hot menu items was Flaming Goat Cheese.  The waitress would pour some liquor over the cheese and then light the concoction on fire which would toast the cheese.

The crew also walked down to Craig’s Park to discover if any manatees might be swimming around in the bayou.  The crew watched four manatees for a couple of hours while they also took in the warm Florida sunshine.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

The initial Float Plan today was to travel to Caladesi Island State Park.  The water level approach is shallow so the skipper waited for a rising tide before heading out.  Unfortunately, within 100 yards of turning off the main channel to the State Park, the boat nudged the soft sand bottom.  There was already one boat solidly aground here and the skipper did not want to become number 2.

He called the State Park Marina and learned that the first come first serve slips were already taken so it was time for the skipper to recalculate the next move.  The skipper then called the Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin only to learn that they were also full.

This was a beautiful Saturday which caused more than the normal number of boaters to be on the water.  The crew just wanted off of the water because all the boaters were running fast and throwing huge wakes.  Not much boating courtesy being shown on this run.

When the skipper called the Clearwater Municipal Marina he learned that they had one slip available.  He booked the slip and headed to the marina.  Luckily, they were only 6 miles from the Marina.

After securing the boat, the crew discovered that they were docked just in front of their new friends aboard Lacuna.  You might recall they first met back at Ft Walton Beach.    Turns out that it was Jen’s birthday and her parents and brother had come down to visit.  Happy Birthday Jen from the crew of Still Waters II!!!!.

The crew debarked the boat and took a two-hour stroll along Clearwater Beach.

Next Week – Keep heading south along the west coast of Florida with potential shore excursions in St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Sarasota.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

Eric here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

Summary of week:

After a week stay in Panama City to allow the weather to literally blow through, the crew finally made passage to Port St. Joe.  The crew continues to lay and wait here for a weather window to open so they can safely cross the Gulf.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

As reported in last week’s blog entry, the winds have really decided to kick it up a notch.  Today the Coast Guard was putting out Gale Force Wind Warnings (winds > 40 mph).  The wind did not disappoint.

By 1000 the winds were blowing 15-20 mph.  Unfortunately, the wind direction was out of the east-southeast.  This caused three foot waves to form and come directly into the marina and against the beam of Still Waters II.

The skipper spent the next four hours adding and adjusting lines and fenders to protect the boat from the dock.  It got so bad that the skipper could not stay on the boat because she was bobbing up and down so bad.  He took a seat on the dock in between adjusting lines and fenders.

Finally, about 1400 the wind shifted direction from the west-northwest which caused the waves to shift also, so now the waves were hitting the break water wall.  This resulted in the waters in the marina to calm down and become almost smooth.  With the wind shift, the winds also picked up intensity.  The wind speed quickly rose to the low 30’s with gusts over 40.

The winds stayed strong through the rest of the day and began to die off during the night into the low 20’s.  On Monday, the winds continued to drop in intensity until they finally got back down to normal, less than 10 mph about dark.

The good news is that Still Waters II suffered no damage.  Many of the other boats were not as fortunate.  When the winds were out of the east on Sunday, the boats were swinging up and down as much as 3-5 feet.  This caused damage to several boats as they crashed into the wood docks.  In addition, the high winds ripped the canvas and bimini tops off several boats.

And you are probably asking yourself, “Where was the Admiral during the Sunday afternoon fun?”  She had gone to Church.  When she left Church she got a severe weather alert with a tornado warning.  She did the smart thing and went shopping at Home Depot to wait out the warning.

By the time she got to the boat, the wind had shifted direction and the marina water had calmed down.  The skipper told her he was glad she missed the fun.

Tuesday, January 23, 2017

While in Panama City, the crew bought a new dinghy.  This was a safety purchase as they prepare to cross the Gulf.  Better to be prepared for the unexpected in case something happens to the mother ship.

For example, a local boater shared a story with the skipper where a series of unfortunate and seemingly unrelated events resulted in an explosion onboard his boat.  The boat burned to the water line before the fire department could arrive and extinguish the fire.

The skipper spent most of the day adjusting the davit system to hold the dinghy on the swim platform.  Hopefully with these adjustments the crew will not lose a third dinghy.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

With the weather cooperating today, the crew headed east to Port St. Joe with no issues.

While passing through the East Bay a dolphin decided to play in the wake of the boat.  At one point, the dolphin jumped completely out of the water as high as the helm on the boat.  Interesting looking eye-to-eye with a dolphin when you are 10 feet above the water line.

The crew made it far enough east to enter the Eastern Time Zone.  The loss of an hour caused the crew to arrive at Port St. Joe Marina just 30 minutes before closing.

The crew is not sure how long they will stay here, so the Marina Staff took a credit card and put it on hold much like a reservation at a hotel.

Shore Excursions at Port St. Joe

The crew wandered around the small downtown area on Thursday afternoon. They found this interesting store display of a guy having a bad day.

They then walked over to the area Welcome Center and enjoyed the view of the bay.

On Friday, Abaco Lady and the Journey pulled into the marina.  There are now seven loopers at Port St. Joe.  People are moving east to take advantage of the weather window to cross the Gulf Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saturday, we walked over to the SanDollar with Journey and Abaco Lady to enjoy a good breakfast.  Conversation was exciting as stories were swapped about the Loop and the fun that has been had.

Latter in the day, The Lord’s Provision arrived and joined the party at Port St. Joe.  The crew of Still Waters II will probably buddy boat across the Gulf together.

Next Week – As mentioned several times, the next big challenge in front of the crew is to cross the Gulf over to the West Coast of Florida.

The following pic and information is from Alan Lloyd’s Navigation Notes.

1. Tarpon Springs Route – 175 miles

Carrabelle to Buoy 2 – 112 miles

Buoy 2 to Tarpon Springs – 63 miles

Steinhatchee Route (yellow/red) -206 miles

Carrabelle to Steinhatchee – 85 miles

Steinhatchee to Buoy 2 – 58 miles

Buoy 2 to Tarpon Springs – 63 miles

The brown and green routes have a controlling depth of only 4.5 feet.  With the draft of the boat at 3’ 9 inches, the margin of only 9 inches to going aground is not worth the risk.  These routes are off the table for the crew.

The crew plans to travel at 9 mph, so it will take about 20 hours to cross over to Tarpon Springs on the red route.  This can be done in one long cruise starting about 2100 and arriving in Tarpon Springs about 1700 the next day, an hour before sunset.  The pro of this route is that you only need one weather window to cross.  The con is that you cruise 9 hours in the dark and will not get much sleep, if any in those 20 hours.

The pro of the Steinhatchee route is that you have more daylight time and less night time travel.  However, the con is that you need two days of good weather to cross.  This time of year, getting two days back to back is rare.  The weather windows seem to be about a week apart, so after arriving in Steinhatchee, the crew might be stuck for a week waiting for the next good day.

And what may a good day look like, says you?

The crew is using the following criteria:

Winds less than 10 mph

Wave height less than 2 feet

The skipper is using Eddy’s Weather Wag to help gage the criteria, as well as consulting three independent marine weather sites to pick the window.  But as you know, predicting the weather no easy task.

For example, on Monday, January 23^rd, Eddy was predicting a Saturday/Sunday weather window.

Ahoy Fellow Loopers!

Told you it would get worse!  Latest check of sea conditions at Buoy 42036 show 15 footers rolling across that part of the Gulf.                                                          

It will take a while for things to settle down out there.  The predicted Saturday-night / Sunday weather-window (28^th-29^th) will likely be the next crossing opportunity.   

By Wednesday, January 25^th, Eddy had this to say:

Ahoy Fellow Loopers!

It looks like a conspiracy!  Mother Nature and King Neptune are not only dismantling this weekend’s projected weather-window, but they’re also taking away Florida’s warm, balmy temperatures!                                   

Is there no end to this merciless mistreatment?  How long can we endure 50 degree temperatures at night?  How can you be expected to keep a tan when daytime highs are only in the 60s?  And that’s just here in south Florida!  Our fellow Loopers who are trapped along the northwest Gulf coast are suffering even worse.

 I’m hopeful that the arrival of a new month will change all this.  If we collectively concentrate on sending out positive vibes, perhaps we could effect that change by the last day of this month.  That would show Mother and King where the real power lies!  To paraphrase: “Let our people go” (across the Gulf)!

 Then on Thursday, January 26^th, Eddy had these encouraging words:

Ahoy Fellow Loopers!

This morning, four out of four on-line weather sites that I reviewed predict that a weather window will be available for a Tuesday-night / Wednesday crossing.  That would be January 31^st and February 1^st.  Just like most people, sometimes these sites get it right and sometimes they don’t.

 However, only one of those four sites is still predicting that a Saturday-night / Sunday crossing opportunity.  That would be January 28^th & 29^th.  This particular site has been very reliable in the past for getting it right.

  So (to paraphrase Dirty Harry) the question you have to ask yourself is, “Am I feeling lucky”?  

 Our crew is not feeling lucky.   The sites the skipper uses to watch the weather do not meet the crew’s criteria for safe travel.  For example, this is the Sail Flow page wind and wave height prediction for Saturday/Sunday.  Wind is never below 10 mph and the waves build to 6 feet.  No thank you.

However, the Tuesday night/ Wednesday crossing is looking promising.  Winds less than 10 mph (even the gusts are under 10) and waves only 1 foot for the whole run.  Now that is what I’m talking about!

IF, and that is a big IF, the weather predictions hold, THEN this is the anticipated Float Plan for the crew next week:

Monday – travel to Carrabelle and stay at the Moorings Marina.

Tuesday –

1-      Move the boat after lunch and anchor at Shipping Cove by Dog Island (this will shave an hour off the night time travel)

2-      Weigh anchor about 2100 and enter the gulf via East Pass

3-      Target Buoy R2 (N28-56.5 W83-11.0) west of Crystal River

Wednesday –

1- Arrive near Buoy R2 about 0900

2- Arrive near Buoy R4 (N28-14.8 W82-49.9) about 1500

3- Arrive at Turtle Cove Marina, Tarpon Springs about 1700

After crossing the Gulf the crew will get some well deserved sleep and figure out what their next move will be.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

Eric here catching you up to date on the latest travels of Still Waters II. Click on this link to see the day- to-day travel log.

Summary of week:

The crew departed Pensacola and cruised three days last week as they headed east along the Emerald Coast.  The first stop was in Fort Walton Beach.  The crew continued east and stopped in Destin to dock and dine for lunch at Dewey Destin’s Seafood Restaurant.  Then they made their way across Choctaw Hatchee Bay and dropped anchor near the HWY 331 bridge.  Next stop was Panama City where the crew held up to allow some nasty weather packing high winds and rain to pass.

Monday, January 16, 2017

The cruise to Fort Walton Beach was uneventful.  Along the run though the crew passed a sailboat, Lacuna, while running in the Santa Rosa Sound.

About two hours after our crew landed at the Ft Walton Beach City Marina, the sailboat pulled in also.  A good example of the adage in boating, “everyone ends up at the same place, the only difference is how much did you spend on fuel to get there.”

Turns out the crew of the Lacuna, Mike and Jen, left from Wisconsin back in October to start the loop but are not members of America’s Great Loop Cruising Association.  They are a young couple who are working onboard via the internet as they do the loop.  The definition of Lacuna is gap or hiatus.  They explained that they are taking a lacuna from their dirt dwelling life to cruise the loop.  Very inspirational.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Before the crew got started this morning they welcomed some folks from Kentucky onboard.  They were doing a photo shoot at the City Park and Marina.

The young man is on Instagram at braden_shannon for any of the single virtual crew members who might be interested.

The crew also spent some time with Mike and Jen, the crew of the Lacuna, comparing notes and stories.  Seems the two crews are on about the same schedule to move east along the pan handle of Florida and stage for the Gulf crossing.

The crew shoved off a bit after 1000 a.m. and made the hour run over to Destin to stop and enjoy a Dock and Dine at Dewey Destin’s  Seafood.

They landed at the end of the T-dock.  The restaurant does not look like much but the food was very good and the portions for lunch were  unexpectedly huge.  The crew took a to go box and have enough food left for another meal.

As the crew was walking back down the dock to leave, a couple stopped the crew and asked if they were doing the loop.  The crew answered yes, and had an interesting conversation with the couple.  Turns out the couple are neighbors with Ron and Eva Stob, the originators of the Great Loop Cruising Association.  Small, small world.

After the conversation, the crew shoved off from the dock and headed back to the Bay.  The dolphins were ready to play today and this one was very acrobatic as he jumped out of the water several times.

The crew ran another 20 miles, and dropped anchor for the night near the Choctaw Hatchee Bridge. (HWY 331)

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The crew woke up to heavy fog this morning.  The crew could hear vehicle traffic on the bridge but could no see the bridge.  The skipper was getting impatient with the fog, so at 1000 he called the Panama City Marina and learned that the fog had cleared over there.  The crew discussed their options and decided to go ahead and leave at 1100 even if the fog was still present.

At 1100, the fog was still socked in so the crew raised the anchor and headed east four miles with the hope that when they entered a narrow 16-mile channel that less water would mean less fog.

As they approached the canal opening the crew could not find the green day marker that was supposed to mark the entrance of the channel.  They could not see the day marker on the radar either.  Finally they saw a small object on radar that turned out to be a small Coast Guard boat in the position of the missing green day mark.  Looked like the Coast Guard was deploying a floating green can.  After passing the Coast Guard boat, the skipper noticed the green day mark washed up on shore.

Within a half mile of entering the narrow channel, the fog was completely gone and the crew cruised in partly cloudy skies the rest of the day.  The channel turned out to be a big surprise with good scenery.

While running through the narrow channel, also referred to as the ‘Grand Canyon,’ the crew passed a man paddling a canoe.  Not all that unusual, except this canoe had Guinness World Record painted along the side of the canoe.

The crew stopped in the channel and the man paddled over to Still Waters II.  His name is Aaron.   He started his current adventure on the Missouri River in Montana.  He is paddling to raise awareness about adoption.  His goal was to paddle the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, and then the Mississippi River down to the Gulf.

He said once he arrived at the Gulf he still had gas in the tank so he turned east and started paddling the Gulf Intercostal Water Way.  His new goal is to paddle to the Atlantic Ocean.  He has a website if you would like to learn more about Aaron and/or his cause.  http://adventureaaron.com

www.imadopted.org

The crew found this interesting since their own daughter and son-in-law just started their own adventure by adopting a sibling group of four in 2016.

After talking with Aaron the crew pressed on to Panama City Marina.

Shore Excursion – Panama City

The crew decided to rent a car for the weekend and explore the area.

This next photo is of a four headed palm tree.  Thought to be the only one in the world.  It is located in a city park in St Andrews.

The next two pics show why this area is called the Emerald Coast.

While shelling along the shoreline, the crew found this rare shell back turtle coming ashore.  Turtles should not arrive until March so this must be a scout.

The Governor Stone is the last known working Gulf Coast schooner.  She served during WWII, and has worked as an oyster buy boat, a rum runner during prohibition, a resort day sailor, a private yacht, and a sponge boat.  She is now a floating sailing museum.

She was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi in 1877, and has actually been sunk three times.

Next Week – The weather and wind is predicted to be bad through Monday, winds at 24 mph and gusts over 30.  The crew will stay put till mid week and then make their way  over to Port St. Joe.  They will stay at Port St Joe until a weather window opens to cross the Gulf.  When a weather window opens they will move further east to Carrabelle, Florida where they will launch their Gulf crossing to Tarpon Springs.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red