Departure day came cold, dreary and overcast. Waiting a few hours for things to clear up proved to be fruitless, so the power cords were disconnected, the docks lines released, everything safely stowed and at 10:00 a.m. the next adventure began. Every …
Day 104 – 365 Project…Pinta – Morehead City, NC
Welcome to day 104 of 365 photos…today we watched the arrival of the replica ship, Pinta, arriving at Morehead City, NC. The Niña will arrive tomorrow and both ships will be in Morehead City for tours until May 4, 2014. The vessels are sailing “museums”. When we first purchased our boat, the Misty Moose, we… Continue Reading
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On The Move
We spent a couple of nights in Venice. Primarily to visit with my Uncle Leo, but also to let some strong winds and rain pass through. Both missions were happily accomplished and we had a nice stroll around downtown Venice as a bonus.
Lunch with Leo & Jean in Venice.
The main drag in Venice. Not 5th Ave. in Naples but very nice.
View of the ICW and Fisherman’s Wharf Marina from the Hatchett Bridge.
Strangely enough we slipped next to a 55′ Hampton that we considered buying a few years ago.
We left Venice on Easter Sunday and headed north on the ICW past Sarasota and on to Tampa Bay which we decided to cross while conditions were good. As we entered the channel on the north side of the bay we caught up to a familiar looking boat with an unfamiliar name. I hailed the captain on the vhf and confirmed that it was formerly March Winds IV which had been slipped behind us at Legacy for a couple of winters. The new owners were quite proud of their new vessel and seemed like they would take care of her the way Gary and Linda did.
Former March Winds IV under way near St. Pete Beach.
We decided to pull into an anchorage that turned out to be not the best but you’ll have that once in awhile.
Pam wasted no time in getting out the Holiday Mimosa’s so we could toast Easter.
Happy Easter
We followed up the drinks with our now traditional holiday meal while on Tourist of Cornish Hens.
Yumm!
Our night was bumpy as the anchorage didn’t protect us as well as advertised. We were happy to get going the next morning and had a peaceful ride up to Clearwater where we took on fuel. Did laundry and walked to Publix.
A happy Pamster.
Hiking back from Publix.
Tourist at Clearwater Municipal.
The big day is upon us. Crossing day and the weather looks good. Forecast wave height of 2 foot or less most of the way with possible 2 footers near East Pass at the end of our day. Off we go.
Sunrise over Clearwater.
Heading out Clearwater Pass.
Once out in the Gulf the forecast seemed to be accurate. We had 1′ to 2′ on the nose which was very comfortable for Tourist. As an additional bonus we experienced very few crab pots after leaving Clearwater. I put Tourist up on plane and cruised along around 17 to 18 knots most of the way with the exception of an hour and a half of running at 8.5 knots for lunch and to save a drop of fuel.
Looking ahead on the Gulf.
The view behind.
Pam taking a nap.
You’ll notice the stuff under the table by Pam in the above picture. Even with the good forecast we take all chairs, tables. and any other loose items out of the cockpit and secure them elsewhere.
Once again the wisdom of this extra precaution paid off. About 20 miles from our destination the wind picked up and started coming at us from the port beam raising the waves to 3′ to 4′. Yuk! Not unsafe but certainly not comfortable. A little throttle play and we found a speed that didn’t beat up the boat, just threw water over the bridge periodically.
Part way through the last 20 miles I noticed the burgee on the bow of the boat had come loose and was only holding on at one eyelet. I immediately slowed down and turned into the waves. Pam took the helm after refusing to go out on the bow (imagine that!) which left me to retrieve the burgee. Back inside we once again got under way and made it through East Pass and around the corner to our anchorage behind Dog Island. 172 miles for the day. Time for a drink!
Safe and sound on the hook.
We shared the anchorage with 2 other boats that night and in the morning got under way. First stop C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle for fuel before going on to Apalachicola.
Pulling the anchor.
Tannin colored water going into Carrabelle.
Hazy travel day on St. George Sound.
Coming into Apalachicola.
Boss Oyster Bar restaurant where we later had dinner.
Tourist secure at the dock.
Pam and our new friend Sean at Froggy Level Bar at Boss Oyster Bar Restaurant.
Apalachicola. Originally we were going to only stay one night but changed our minds. We had only spent one night here in all our times of going this way and when we explored the town it was a Sunday morning. Nothing was open. Duh! This time we would see what this neat little town had to offer.
I’ll offer up some scenes from around town.
Shops were open with the usual selection of items that you find in tourist towns. My favorite was one that had an abundance of all things nautical just scattered around as though they just dropped them as they brought them through the door.
Apalachicola has had it’s ups and downs like so many small towns. It seems that it is on an uptick once again because of tourism and the shrimp boats. As for the Apalachicola oysters. The folks are waiting to harvest them once again. Supposedly back following the BP oil spill everyone was warned that the oil was coming and it would ruin the oyster beds. As a result the beds were over harvested and of course the oil never came. Now they are about a year away from being able to get the beds back in a rotation much like a farmer and his crops.
Did we have raw oysters. You betcha! But they came from Virginia.
Drift Away 2014-04-24 18:05:00
Since Earl sold his fishing boat, I’ve been kicking around the idea of fetching the 13′ Boston Whaler off of our trawler. Drift Away is on the hard and the Whaler is on the roof, tied down in chocks. The only problem is that I don’t have a…
Purgatory or Sandinsanity, you decide.
In the movie ‘Beetlejuice’ it was suggested that if you committed suicide you became a civil servant in the afterlife. I’m pretty sure Tim Burton got that wrong. I am of the belief that you are sentenced to a fate worse than civil service but one of en…
April 23 – Blue Spring State Park
St. John’s River – Anchorage
Our anchorage and the park were too pretty and inviting for us to move on today. We decided to spend another the day at the spring…swimming a little, watching people and relaxing. Relaxing and taking it easy seems to be the theme of our trip this year. We took our picnic blanket and a lawn chair for Stan and stake out a cool spot under a tree near the spring. We enjoyed sandwiches from the camp store for lunch, while we took in the beautiful day.
I snorkeled along the spring run back to the spring and watched a couple of divers going into the boil of the spring, which is actually a cave. The cave is a vertical shaft that angles into a room at a depth of 80 to 90 feet. This is where the water boils (springs) from the ground. It seemed a little small and confining for my liking. I guess I’m a little too claustrophobic for that kind of diving.
In 1856 Louis Thursby, a former gold rush prospector turned orange farmer, bought the land around the spring. Thursby built a family home and a steamboat landing on the St. John’s River. Blue Spring Landing became a hotbed of steamboat activity, shipping tourists and goods to Jacksonville and beyond. The landing remained a busy place until the advent of the railroad in the 1880s and tourism began to move to other parts of Florida. The property remained in the Thursby family until 1972, when it was purchased by the state of Florida and converted into a state park. The Thursby house, built in 1872, still remains on the shores of Blue Spring. We visited the Thursby home overlooking the river and the old riverboat landing site, even sat in the rockers on the porch. What a wonderful spot they had…the beautiful spring just outside they door and the world going by on the river.
Looking into our pretty anchorage.
The Pearl sitting in her beautiful anchorage
A diver going down into the boil of the spring.
The Thursby House sitting on an old Indian midden-mound overlooking the river and spring run.
I know blog readers are probably getting tired of pictures of Great Blue Herons…but they are so fun to photograph.
“Woody Woodpecker” is one of our neighbors…he’s a Pileated Woodpecker.
Cruising in the Olden Days: Crossing the Indian Ocean – The Easy Part
The southern part of the Indian Ocean is one of the few places we have found where the trades blow as advertised… and then some. Intermezzo is shown here departing Christmas Island for Cocos Keeling at the start of a long haul across this boisterous bit of ocean. This photo was taken by Jimmy Schmidt […]
PDX, DEN, SJO and then finally back to Golfito Costa Rica
We made a quick trip home to tie up a few loose ends and make the tax man happy…We have enjoyed catching up with family and friends over the past few weeks. Abby watched each bag being loaded into the car and pouted on the garage floor… She is in g…
Plan View of New PH Access Stairway
I hope I can upload this important plan view of the newly designed steps leading to the pilot house. KKY 55-005 will be the first Expedition model to feature this new access. One of the reasons I’m here sharing my excitement about this spec…
Day 103 – 365 Project…332 Jones ST
Welcome to day 103 of 365 photos…332 Jones ST is in Trenton, North Carolina. Not much to look at these days but I am fascinated by old houses. This must have been charming back in the day with those porches. Now, not so much. I have to say that as much as I like old… Continue Reading
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