Good Bye to Tarpon Springs

We had a wonderful time in Tarpon Springs.  We reconnected with the new harbor hosts and now gold loopers, Cindy and Chuck and missed Herb Seton about 3 times.  Bruce and I first met Cindy and Chuck on the Illinois River and again at Green Turtle Bay.  We met gold loopers, Rick and Monica of MoniJean, who also have a blog I have been following and had lunch together at the Rusty Belly.

We had a great day with Bob and Shelly of Allons, fellow sailors also from Minnesota.
Tarpon Springs is known for its sponges and Greek cuisine so we stocked up on sponges.  Bruce likes the big sponges and I like the little silk sponges that are great for cosmetics.  The restaurants were great and we sampled a few.  Shops for olive oil, cheese, spices and homemade soap are abundant and I left with some great products.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with our son Peter and his family and had the honor of being present for his swearing in as an attorney.  Peter just graduated from Stetson Law School in May.  Thanks to Jim Thalen who came to Pete's house to perform the ceremony.

Our grandchildren, Alex and Delilah are just a little excited to open all those gifts under the tree.

Two weeks in Tarpon Springs and time to move on.

Cruising to Gulfport→→→→

Gulf Crossing from Dog Island

It has been over a week since we made the crossing but it is still fresh in my mind.  It was definitely not an Eddy Wag recommended day.  We started with beautiful sailing weather for the first half of our trip which quickly deteriorated over the night crossing.  The forecasted 5 sec delay between waves was more like 1-2 seconds with 4-6 footers (occasional 8 footer, yikes!) and the winds were steady at around 17 knots with gusts up to 27 knots overnight.   The rough seas battering the boat made it feel like Lake Superior on a bad day.  It was also exhilarating learning to use the sails again.  We found that the Sea Hawk is much faster with the new sails than our old stretched out sails and we made good time even with our sails fully reefed.

Look closely and you will see that our boat is well heeled on a port tack (wind coming over the starboard side).

Sea Hawk early in the crossing

We met up with our buddy boat the Cormorant II at Dog Island and started the crossing at first light on Monday morning, December 11.

Cormorant II

This is the first time we had a buddy boat for a crossing and it was comforting to see their navigation lights and be able to check in with one another occasionally overnight.  We have made shorter crossings on Lake Superior several times, but never this long.  Marsh and Corinne are long time Canadian sailors and we enjoyed getting to know them.  We found how true it is that you do not want to come into Tarpon Springs before 10:00 am with the rising sun in your eyes to avoid the many crab pots.  We came in about that time and had to keep a close look out.  It was a long exhausting trip as it was difficult to catch any sleep with the heavy motion of the boat.  We managed to stay awake until that evening and slept very well that night, (and the next few nights!).  As hard as this crossing was it was great to be sailing again!  

Bruce is definitely the photo taker in our family.  I could never get such great dolphin shots.  The dolphins just laugh at me!

We found warm weather!  Exploring Tarpon Springs......

It’s Cold

I mentioned the cold in my last post, three days later it is still cold.  Cold temperatures, winds gusting up to 25+ knots, and snowy rain do not make for pleasant cruising.  We are pushing on and hope to get to Apalachicola today.  We erroneously thought we had no further need of solid fuel for our cubic mini wood stove which was jettisoned to make more room for more important items, hmmmm.

No fuel

The results of that are, we are freezing cold, the boat is dripping wet and nothing will dry.   All the lockers are damp at best, wet for some.  I quit using cloth towels to dry the drips because there is no room to hang towels that won’t dry and started using paper towels.  Bruce lost his Kindle when the port over his wall organizer dripped enough water into the pocket holding the device.  Even using the propane stove for cooking is a mixed blessing as it adds some heat but also adds to our moisture problem.  The Baileys Irish Cream is almost gone, and it is time to find some charcoal.  I think I’d drive a great distance to find solid fuel this afternoon, hopefully it will be within walking distance when we get to Apalachicola.
The solid fuel heat should go a long way towards drying the boat.  Then the big job starts as I will have to go through each locker, dry the contents and spray with mold and mildew inhibitor.  I have been using Concrobium which has worked great so far.
Hope the pay back days are over.

We made it:)

Looking for warmer weather...........

Chapter 3 Florida Cruising

December 7  Pearl Harbor Day

So here we are at MM 253 on the GIWW at anchor on a very cold dreary day. But we are on the boat  and our Pensacola refit is completed and I’m having Irish cream and coffee trying to stay warm.

We look like a sailboat again with new rigging, new 135 roller furling and reefing head sail, main sail with two reefing points, and stack pack main sail cover with lazy jacks.  Zern Rigging took care of our rigging needs and Shurr Sails supplied our sails.   Blue Coral made our half tower which now holds our propane tanks and solar panels.  We couldn’t be more pleased with the work and can highly recommend all their services.

Tammy, the office manager of the shipyard was wonderful and very accommodating.  We were in and out of the shipyard, many times without notice to Tammy and she always made room for us.

So here we are desperately trying to find warmer weather and starting a new chapter in our journeys.  Actually we are headed first to Tarpon Springs to spend the holidays with our son and his family.  We will be looking for that elusive weather window sometime early next week.  After the holidays we will head slowly for the Bahamas.

From this to →

This →

Happy Sailing!

Old Historic Pensacola Village and Joe Patti’s

November 22

While waiting for our new sails we had the opportunity to explore Pensacola.  Last weekend we were able to view the Blue Angels Homecoming, the last show of their season from our anchorage at Fort McRee.  This week we toured Historic Pensacola Village.  There are several museums to visit and with the exception of the Art Museum it only cost a very reasonable $7.00 per person.   Here are a few of the highlights we visited.  

We began our day at the interesting T.T. Wentworth Museum.  T.T. Wentworth was a businessman, politician and collector of historic artifacts.  He was also a charter member of the Pensacola Historic Society and left his vast collection to the state of Florida.  He was said to never throw anything away and his eclectic collection is well worth viewing. 

We were also impressed with the Trader Jon display within the same museum.  Martin Weissman was the eccentric owner of Trader Jon’s Bar well known for his mismatched socks and “Tradernomics”.  The establishment was one of Pensacola’s top tourist destinations for decades.  It was patronized by local military personnel as well as politicians and celebrities.  It closed in the 90’s after Trader Jon had a stroke. 

Also included in the T.T. Wentworth was a captivating display of 50 illustrated envelopes featured by The Art of ACE.  Art Cover Exchange was an organization active from 1935 into the 1950’s.  The members were from around the world and they would illustrate the envelopes used to mail letters to other members, often getting

their inspiration from released stamps, day to day life, and major issues of the day.  

The Julee Cottage was built around 1805 and named for one of its earliest owners, Julee Panton, a free woman of color.  The cottage is part of the self-guided tour and is a representation of a working class African-American family during the era of Reconstruction.

Old Historic Pensacola Village is all within walking distance of Joe Patti’s, a remarkable fresh seafood market with a staggering display of seafood.  The only downside of this shopping trip was the size of our freezer which will fit about one tray of ice cubes.  You can pull up to their docks at no charge.  We stayed 2 nights in order to tour the Village and ate fresh seafood for 4 wonderful days.  I highly recommend a stop at Joe Patti’s.  They also have a Beignet Stand in front of the store, so we had pastries covered!

Still waiting for sails……….

Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow 2017

We have been in the Pensacola area for the last 3 weeks waiting for our sails to be ready.  We have had the awesome experience of watching the Blue Angels practice every Tuesday afternoon.  November 10 and 11 they had their final show of the season.  

The Blue Angels is the United States Navy’s flight demonstration squadron with aviators from both the Marines and the Navy.  First formed in 1946 they perform from March to November ending with their final show at their homebase in Pensacola, FL.  The 6 demonstration pilots are currently flying the McDonnel Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.  Local weather conditions dictate whether the show will be a high, low or flat show.  The high show requires at least an 8,000 foot ceiling and visibility of at least 3 nautical miles from the show’s centerpoint.  Minimum ceilings for low and flat shows are 3,500 feet and 1, 500 feet, respectively. 

This is a big weekend attraction for the local boaters and they came in droves starting Thursday.  We came on Monday and there was only one other boat anchored.  This is what it looked like for the Friday show…….

There must be at least a 100 boats in here!!  I wonder if that should be a check off on the bucket list, anchoring with a hundred boats in one anchorage.  Hmmmm.

Anyway, it was a great show and we were happy to be among the many spectators.

Still waiting for the sails............

Fort McRee Anchorage

October 27, 2017

Fort McRee was one of three major installations constructed by the United States to strengthen defenses at Pensacola Bay following the War of 1812. 

Its construction lasted from 1834 and 1839; the facility was a three-tiered fort and a detached water battery close to sea level. It was located on the eastern tip of Perdido Bay on a stretch of beach known as Foster's Bank. It had a highly unusual shape because of its position on a small, narrow barrier island

Although the fort was completed in 1839, its 122 guns were not installed until sometime between 1843 and 1845. It is likely that many of these guns were not in place for some time due to several issues, the most important of which was a problem with rot beginning in the second tier wooden decking.

Fort McRee was named in April 1840 for Army engineer Colonel William McRee.                                 Exerpts from Wikipedia

Fort McRee was last used during World War II.  The fort was monitored by the US Navy until 1971 when it was turned over to the National Park Service after nearly 140 years of military use. 
                                                    

Some of the remains of Ft. McRee

We really enjoyed the wildlife and the shells along the shore.

The great blue heron

These herons have big feet!

   

The biggest seashell we have ever found on the beach

This anchorage is very busy during weekends but during the week it is pretty much deserted.

Back to Pensacola to get the mast stepped.  YAY! ~~~~~~~~→

Mobile Bay and Another Check on the Bucket List

October 18   

I didn’t imagine how elated I would feel upon reaching Mobile Bay, it really feels like an accomplishment.  It was exciting to see all the international traffic and to see dolphins for the first time, it felt like the complete opposite of the rivers.  So hard to believe that just a few miles separated us from the lazy bayous of the Mobile River and the commerce of Mobile Bay.  

Mobile River

Mobile Bay

This pelican posed for me!

We continued through the busy port to the channel which would take us to Dog River, where we spent a couple of nights at the Dog River Marina. They were still cleaning up after Hurricane Nate and had just finished repairing and cleaning the bath house, but there was still no laundry.  I was feeling kind of lazy anyway, so the thought of not doing laundry appealed to me.  

If you look very closely you will see the tuft on this mallard's head.  He is the marina mascot.

Afro Duck

We meant some interesting people at the Marina.  We saw John and Susan the Canadian couple from Eagle Heart again as well as Douglas from Slow Roll.  We met a new couple, Joel and Donna from Windlassie.  They came into the Marina in May to have a stanchion repaired and had a mechanical while coming in that almost caused their sailboat to sink.  They were able to get the boat pulled from the water before she sank, but it sounds like it was a close call.  They have been anxiously waiting to get back on the water since then and it sounds like they will be leaving the marina next week.  Best of luck to them and we hope to see them in the Bahamas. We also met a nice gentleman who is planning to bring his sailboat home to Oregon.  Safe travels, Rick!

We left the Marina Friday morning to cross the bay and it was pretty rough.  It felt a little like we were back on Lake Superior as it was very choppy and I had a light case of seasickness.  

The famous Lulu's on the GICW

But all was forgotten when we pulled into Roberts Bayou (AKA Pirates Cover) in a beautiful protected (AKA a Hurricane hole) bay next to the Pirates Cove Bar, a popular spot for the locals.  There were some sailboats well tied up with bow and stern anchors that had obviously been there since Hurricane Nate.  We met a nice gentleman, John, who showed us how to navigate the narrow opening into the bayou.  Our first attempt ended up in a soft grounding, which we extricated ourselves from quite easily. 

Our next stop was another great anchorage near Fort McCree.  We walked the beach and saw a lot of dead jelly fish, great blue herons, pelicans and the remains of the battlements from Fort McCree.  The Pensacola Airbase is nearby and we were able to view the Blue Angels practicing which they do on Tuesdays.  November 10 the Blue Angels will be performing and this is a great spot for viewing. 

Next:  On to Pensacola where will become a sailboat once more.  Our mast awaits us at the shipyard~~~~~→

Bayou Country and Rivers End

October 16 -17 

We left Kingfisher Marina and entered the Black Warrior Tombigbee, AKA BWTB for another beautiful day on the river.  We saw our first alligators today.  I saw one swimming and at first thought it was a log, but it was an alligator!  Bruce was busy up on the bow and I started screaming, 'Look at the alligator'!!!  I must have scared the poor alligator half to death because just as Bruce looked for it, he sank below the water.  Then Bruce saw one on the bank and just as I was trying to spot it, he decided to disappear into the water.
We anchored late that afternoon at Bashi Creek which is very narrow, you either must back in or back out.  We backed in with depths of 5-7 feet and anchored just past the boat ramp.  As there is no swing room we tied a stern line to a tree and had no problems, we barely moved at all.

               

The Boat Ramp

  

Stern tied off

After a short day on the river we stayed at Bobby's Fish Camp.  It was pretty quiet and only one other boat came in after us, the ICW Traveler.  The next morning was cold, only 49 degrees with smoky fog drifting up from the water.  We got right through our last lock, Coffeeville with no problems.

Bobby's Fish Camp

 Waiting with ICW Traveler at Coffeeville Lock

Our last anchorage on the rivers at the Alabama River Cutoff

We are off to see the ocean~~~~~~~~~→

Grounded!

October 9 - October 15      

I have heard it said it is not if you will ground but when, well we had our first grounding.  We have not a connection for the last couple of days and had to rely with only Skipper Bob.  We usually cross-check Skipper Bob with Active Captain.  We came into an ox bow at MM 331.3 staying close to the south shore as recommended when the ground came up and we couldn’t back fast enough.  None of our efforts, backing the boat, rocking the boat, nor pulling on a stern anchor could free us.  The Brittany Ann, a tow, was close and Bruce called and asked if they could assist.  The very nice tow captain agreed but said it would be about 30 minutes.  In the meantime a trawler came by and offered to assist.  He was able to pull us off without difficulty.  While the trawler was maneuvering Brittany Ann came back and stood by.  So there was a trawler looming over our stern and the tow standing by, I wish I could have got a picture.  It was a soft bottom and no apparent damage to the boat.  Thank you to the trawler, whose name we didn't get, and the Brittany Ann.  We went down to the second entrance of the ox bow at MM 329.2 and went down quite a ways to just past the railroad bridge.  It was a good anchorage and we set the anchor quickly. 

Anybody know what this structure is?  I imagined it to be Rapunzel’s tower with Rapunzel letting down her long hair for her prince.  I just love fairy tales. 

We were anchored in front of this structure

We came into Demopolis on October 15 and stayed at Kingfisher Marina.  Apparently the fuel dock is at the second (going downriver) marina which is the Demopolis Yacht Basin but our charts showed a second tucked away marina also called by the same name.  When we pulled in we asked a guy on the dock if we were at the right place.  He tried explaining and we were totally confused.  So let me try to explain for those coming behind.  The first entrance is the new marina called `Kingfisher Marina’ and contains slips and the second entrance, which is easier to see from the river, is the old marina which has the fuel dock, you can’t get fuel at the first entrance.  You can also get a slip assignment at the fuel dock.  My understanding is just the fuel dock is used in the old marina.  So we got fuel in the old marina and then went back to the first entrance to enter the Kingfisher Marina for our slip.  This marina also provides fuel for the tows and you will see the jettys in front of the fuel dock.  I hope this was clear, I am still a little confused, lol.  We did have a great stay there.  Anna-Marie keeps everything running at the slips and she was great!  If you need a courtesy car, go through her to schedule.  She also has a rock painting station in the lounge and likes to take pictures of people who paint or find a painted rock.  You may find my rock, I left it hidden on the dock.  It won’t be hard to identify, it says `Sea Hawk’.  I am not very creative but there were some well designed rocks that others created. 

Sea Hawk at Kingfisher Marina

This is me on provisioning day.

Please, there is no more room!

An early start

Beautiful scenery

More

The last:)

Have a great day!

Blue Bluff Recreation Area and the Bukka White Blues Festival

October 5

What luck!!  We came into a beautiful anchorage at MM 358.1 and anchored just past the wooden jetty in front of the recreation area.  Unfortunately I lost most of my pictures during the transfer from phone to computer, so I will share what is left.

We noticed a lot of activity on shore and found out the Bukka White Blues Festival was setting up for the weekend.  We spent a wonderful night in the cockpit under the stars with the blues playing.  The artists were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.  Bukka White was a renown Blues player and was a cousin to BB King.  He gave BB his first guitar and taught him to play the blues. 

  

We went into Aberdeen, MS the next day which was about a 2 mile walk and had a birthday breakfast for Bruce.  Happy Birthday my love!  We ate at the Java Café and met some friendly people, Carol and George, to chat with.  The breakfast was very good and I would recommend it.  

Happy Birthday to the Captain

While in town we met Tashanda White who happens to be the great granddaughter of Bukka White. We also walked by the antebellum Adam French plantation home, a private residence.  Are you looking for a beautifully restored plantation?  It’s for sale by Dwight Stevens owner of the Stevens Auction Company. 

We stayed another day to wait out tropical storm Nate, but it shifted before reaching us and the forecasted heavy downpour and high winds did not materialize.  We got a little rain in the morning and then it turned out to be a partly sunny day, so we spent the day swimming and getting ready to leave in the morning.

Rolling down the river to the next beautiful anchorage~~~~~~~~~→