Other activities in Carrabelle

Our original plan was one night in Carrabelle then hop to Steinhatchee for the weekend as the weather window to cross to Tarpon Springs would not open until Monday. A discussion with the locals about Steinhatchee and the decision to be in the boat parade on Saturday changed our plan. We would wait until Monday and better weather for the hop to Steinhatchee. As fate would have it the weather window did not open on Monday.  By Tuesday afternoon nine other boats arrived from Apalach. Each morning the discussion over coffee centered on the weather and the "window of opportunity" for crossing and the evenign found us gathered for  appetizers and drinks on the deck. We had now been here 5 days but never felt "stuck ". We had lots of company and there was plenty to see and do. By Tuesday evening the word on the dock was that the "window of opportunity" was now Thursday. This meant our original plan of following the bend and traveling only in the daylight was out the window.  We would have to do an overnight crossing. We spent the next two days double checking systems, coordinating departure times and charts and sightseeing. Our sightseeing included the following;  six of us riding our bikes three miles to the Carrabelle Light House and climbing the 138 steps to the top; riding our bikes to the beach; hiring a shuttle service to take us to St. George Island were we walked around and climbed 98 steps to the top of the St. George Island lighthous; and taking our dingy to check out the backwaters.  Unfortunately the motor conked out and I had to row against the wind and apposing tide flow (not fun) to get us back. Tom and Don finished that day working on the motor!!  By Wednesday evenings social and review meeting there were now 11 boats waiting to cross. Seven of us who traveled about the same speed would go together.  Two boats were gas and would have to make a run to Steinhatchee for fuel and the last two were leaving later in the day because they would run at a faster speed.

                                                   Crooked River Lighthouse in Carrabelle

                                          One of our Looper social hours on the deck of C-Quarters

                 7 lbs of shrimp from the "shrimp lady" at $5.00 per pound - took forever to behead!

                                     The narrow stops to the top of the Crooked River lighthouse

                                   A bear crossing sighn along the beach front road in Carrabelle

                                                       The St. George Island Lighthouse

                                                 The ladder to the very top of the St. George Lighthouse

Dec. 10+ Boat Parade & More at Carrabelle

Friday, our first full day at Carrabelle was sunny but very cool. A group of local gentlemen were standing around a fire barrel and it didn't take Tom long to grab a cup of coffee and join them.  Kim provided details about a boat parade that would take place on Saturday night.  She asked us to participate as the marina needed one more boat to break a tie for the marina with the most boats in the parade. So it was off to the dollar store on our bicycles for decorations. We had a little tree to tie on the bow and a fiber optic tree for the inside but no lights. After several trips to the dollar store and some help from Don and Theresa we were ready!  We finished the day riding our bikes around town and hitting a few of the shops.  The boat parade was a first for us and great fun.  There were 19 boats of different sizes and Tom and I were both impressed with the extensive lights and decorations on some of them.  The celebration after the parade was held at C-Quarters and trophies were given out to the winners. To our surprise, and I think kindness of the judges, we won second place for boats larger than 36 foot.

Our boat lights - you can't see the tree on our roof

The pig with wings tied to our dingy

 Sharing our trophy with friends Don and Theresa who helped us decorate and rode with us in parade

Thursday December 9th - The beginning of an extended stay in Carabelle

Our three hour hop to Carrabelle from Apalachicola was a little stressful at first as the depth in the channel was only six foot. We had to be extremely mindful of our position between the markers and the crab pots along the edges. This was really apparent when we met a shrimp boat coming in and moved over from center to pass him. We noticed he really was not moving over from center so it was a close pass. When we moved over and the depth quickly dropped to four feet we had an instant lesson on why he wasn't moving!  Once out on the open waters of Apalalachicola Bay and headed for Carrabelle we could relax.
When we started down the Carrabelle channel we were back on our toes. We were told to follow the markers closely. It was a fair distance down the channel to C-Quarters marina and the scenery replicated a quaint fishing town. Except for a slight panic attack when I saw birds sitting on a protruding oyster bed in the middle of the channel, which just so happened to be directly behind the marina, all went well.  There was plenty of depth and room to maneuver.  Kim, from the marina, and our friends Don and Theresa (who were already there), provided plenty of guidance into our slip.
C-Quarters presented itself as a very relaxed, comfortable marina. It was an older building with a large deck with a picnic table and lots of rocking chairs.  Because the weather on the gulf would not cooperate we spent 7 days at C-Quarters instead of one and enjoyed every minute of it because of the relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
 

Dec 8th: Ah! Oh! Where is all the water?

The storm passed through overnight as predicted and the sun tried to peek through the clouds now and then.  I slid the door open to climb up onto the dock and when I looked down thought to myself, Houston I think we have a problem. We were on the bottom.  It seems the wind combined with the tide to blow more water out into the bay than usual and all six of us parked along the dock were on the bottom. When I climbed up on the dock the water on the other side had receded so far there was a 55 gallon drum that was half buried on the bottom now showing. A raccoon was trying to dig inside, looking for breakfast. Birds were running up and down in the mud taking advantage of items they usually cannot get too.  Our 11:00 departure time was obviously out the window.  Tom and I decided to take advantage of the extra time and enjoy one more spin around Apalach.  It is such a neat fishing village, with so much great history beyond being recognized as having the best oysters in the nation if not the world.  I took pictures of the old theatre that has been reopened and has more plays and concerts than any in our area at home as well as a few of the other buildings.  We have met several couples that told us how they came for a visit by boat or car and never left. That would be easy to do. About 1:30 in the afternoon the water had come up about a foot so we decided to try and get out. Several of the other boaters helped push us out away from the dock and Tom let Laughter drift out a little more before giving her a little nudge. He let her drift then gave her another nudge and we inched our way out like this until his nudge stopped stirring up mud.  We followed the channel markers out very carefully as beyond the markers in either direction means instant grounding.  Below are a few pictures of downtown Apalachicola.

Dec. 7th - The storm arrived

No sun this morning but the temperature wasn't bad at 60 degrees. It started to rain but since the temperature was warm I rode my bike to an Internet cafe anyway. The cafe' was soon buzzing with locals who came in for their morning coffee and conversation.  It was hard to concentrate on what I was doing, listen to the conversations, and answer questions about where I was from but I did enjoy myself. By the time I left the cafe' the rain had stopped but the temperature had dropped 15 degrees. We spent most of the day close to or inside the boat. Late in the afternoon the sun did shine for a little while providing an opportunity for the boaters along the dock to gather and visit bundled up like we would have been in Chicago.  By evening the temperature dropped into the thirties!  We learned that the couple in the sailboat next to us did not have heat on their boat so Tom lent them one of our electric heaters. The wind picked up significantly after nightfall, gusting to a reported 34mph. I was thrilled yesterday that we were the last boat along the dock closest to the Bay because of the beautiful unobstructed view. Tonight, not so thrilled because of the need to practice my balancing skills as I moved throughout the boat. If I listened to music in bed to match the movement of the boat rock and roll would have been the choice over soft rock. I even worried a little about Peanut.  If she was going to experience seasickness on any part of our trip tonight was going to be the night. The storm was supposed to pass through tonight and the wind settle by mid morning so we planned to leave about 11:00am tomorrow for our 21/2 hour trip to Carrabelle.

Dec. 6th - Our first full day in Appalachicola

I woke up to a yellow glow coming through the windows and realized that we had the perfect view of a sunrise over the bay.  I quickly swung open the salon door to step out on the dock and was a little shocked to find about a 3 foot gap between the boat and the dock! We had dropped so far when the tide went out I had to climb up and hope I didn't fall between the boat and the dock trying to go up and across at the same time.  I was able to get some great photos of the sunrise and some dolphins swimming along side the boat.  The difficulty came when I wanted to get back on the boat.  Now I had to reach over three feet and step down.  We have had some challenges getting off and on our boat on this trip but nothing like this one!  We spent the day riding our bikes around town. First on our list was to find Tom some oysters. He loves to tell the story about buying a 1/2 a gunny sack full of fresh oysters right off the boat for $3.50 on our last visit.  I didn't want to burst his bubble by reminding him of inflation so I didn't say anything as we rode our bikes on this mission.  Ye of little faith! Guess that's me, because Tom did better this visit. We stopped at one of the processing houses where a young man was wrapping up a pallet of boxes filled with fresh oysters.  When Tom asked if he could purchase some the gentleman indicated they did didn't sell to individuals but he did ask how many we wanted. When Tom replied 2-3 dozen the young man replied, oh that's all, that's no problem. He found a plastic bag and filled it from the conveyor belt. When asked what we owed him he said, no charge!  So, back to the boat we headed with four dozen plus free oysters!  I don't like oysters but I must tell you the oysters from Apalachicola are known all over the country as the best there are and they did look nicer than I have seen Tom have in a long time! On our way back we stopped to buy an oyster shucker, fresh shrimp and a grouper fillet. A great evening seafood feast on our grill was enjoyed!

Dec. 5th; Our Run to Apalachicola

We left Sun Harbor at 6:45am. We wanted to arrive at Apalachicola with plenty of time to tie up before night fall.  The weather forcast was calling for the winds to continue to build, the temperature to drop and rain to come in starting tomorrow afternoon.  We had been to Apalachicola by car several years ago and really enjoyed ourselves.  We thought it would be a great place to hunker down for a few days while the storm passed.  We had one more bay to cross and a lake but there was enough of a break in between to enjoy a pretty smooth ride. Near Mexico Beach the strip of land between the intracoastal and the gulf was so narrow we were able to see the gulf on the otherside.  As we got closer to Apalachicola the banks of the intracoastal began to change.  We no longer had tall grass and white sand to pass. Instead we found ourselves pointing out the strange and beautiful shapes that the cypress stumps formed along the banks. With a little imagination you saw everything from an angel to a bear.  When we entered Appalachicola river we had to be careful of the crab pots and make sure we stayed within the markers because of the shallow depth.  We chose to stay at the public marina which was a very long dock with a few slips along the shore.  We literally inched up to the dock keeping a close eye on the depth finder. There were no cleats on the dock. Our lines were looped around the poles and tied back to the cleats on our boat.  This also allowed us to float up and down easily with the changing tide.  We had the last spot on the dock that had access to electricity and the closest to the Bay.  We had a beautiful view of the Bay off our bow.

Dec. 4th: Fort Walton to Panama City area

This morning I added a new creature to my list of sightings. A jellyfish was swimming effortlessly beside the dock as I took Peanut out for her walk.  I have seen many a dead jelly fish along the beaches in Florida but never a live one.  It was fascinating to watch and I wanted so much to go back to the boat for my camera but Peanut had another plan. She was on a mission to get to the grass and was not about to stand for my delaying her any longer.  The wind had calmed down overnight but picked up again this morning. We had one large bay to cross, Choctawhatchee Bay. Say that fast three times!  About half way across the bay we experienced occasional gusts of wind that caused the canvas on the fly bridge to rattle  and the wind to whistle loudly.  The sky's were overcast and temperatures cool enough to require a heavy sweatshirt and plastics to be zipped tight. We had talked about anchoring out when in the Panama City area but decided with the high winds we would be more comfortable at a marina.  Sun Harbor marina was situated next to a shipping company. It was difficult at first to spot the entrance and took both of us with binoculars to confirm that we really had to pass directly in front of a huge ship being loaded to enter the marina.  Once in the marina we had to pass a 70 foot steel boat and do an almost immediate 180  to get into our assigned slip while fighting the wind. I was my usual nervous Nelly but no need, Tom did a great job of gliding Laughter in.

Dec. 3rd: Passing by familiar places from the past

Traveling along the intercoastal gives a much different perspective to areas previously visited by car.  We had visited Perdido Key and Navarre Beach during spring break several years ago.  From our condominium we looked out on the beautiful white sandy beach and blue gulf waters but as we drove around the area our views were fancy resorts, restaurants, rental properties and lots of gift shops. As we passed Perdido and Navare this time our view was much different. We passed shores of beautiful white sand, tall sea grass and now and then a string of homes but the clutter of condominiums, restaurant's and shops could be barely seen in the distance.  We passed through two very large bays at Perdido and Pensacola.  Because the wind had picked up the bays were rough making for a somewhat less than comfortable crossing.  We were glad to get back to the narrow section of intercoastal and its calmer waters and protection from the wind. Unlike the river the intercoastal buoys have marker numbers but there are no mile markers. This provided an interesting challenge for a little while as we had to adjust to a new way of keeping track of how far we had traveled. Our destination today was Fort Walton.  After a full day on the water, 60+ miles we arrived at the Fort Walton City dock about 3:30. The dock was at a park and the park all decorated for Christmas.  The park was busy with families having their pictures taken in front of the large Christmas tree, kids playing, and pets being walked.After a walk through the park with Peanut, I enjoyed walking through the shops that were on the street behind the park and taking more beautiful sunset photos. One other boat was at the dock when we arrived. We met and visited with Don and Theresa before turning in for the night.

FairHope Yacht Club on Mobile Bay to Orange Beach Florida

November 30th: We returned to Fairhope Yacht Club marina from our trip home for Thanksgiving and Baby G's birthday/baptism celebration.  We drove from Indiana to Tampa Florida, picked up coach and his friend, then headed for the boat.  Coach stayed with us at Fairhope for two days. The weather turned cold again. We woke up Friday morning with ice on the deck!  Whats up with that ! We prepared to leave for Orange Beach and Coach and his friend loaded our car for the ride back to Tampa. We were on our way by 8am, excited and nervous about crossing the bay 20 miles to the GICW.  Thank goodness we took the navigation course last fall. No longer did our chartplotter show the sailing line for us to follow. We had to calculate direction and put in waypoints to create our own line across the bay. The bay was a little choppy but nothing that made it uncomfortable.  We started out a little shaky because Tom had some difficulty calculating our exact direction, and with my math skills, we did NOT want me double checking his calculations, but soon the light bulb went on so to speak, and our anxiousness subsided.  The trip across was beautiful and we never completely lost sight of land. Our calculations took us right to the GICW, gulf intracoastal waterway.  The waterway entrance was narrow, somewhat like the ditch we boated on to Lake Michigan at home and not very wide. In fact I learned that the GICW is referred to as the ditch.  Soon dolphins began to appear near the boat.  They came right up to the boat, then pass underneath which really surprised me. We saw these beautiful creatures glide effortlessly in the water on a off throughout the day. I don't think I will ever tire of watching them and trying to capture them on camera.  Near lunch time we passed Lulu's, Jimmy Buffet's sisters restaurant.  Our day on the water ended up at The Marina at the Wharf, which was three miles beyond Lulu's.  The marina was very nice, with condominium's and a shopping complex with restaurants and bars.  Once settled in the gal from the marina dropped us off at Lulu's for appetisers.  We were joined at our table by a couple who pulled their boat up to the dock in front of the restaurant. Our visit with them was fun.  Once back at the marina I walked the shops while Tom fished.  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, which was totally unexpected for our location. 

The parade to Mobile on Nov. 12th

The sun was shining again as we left our anchorage on the Canot and headed for Mobile. Earlier in the week the 14 mile turn bridge had been replaced with a lift bridge, closing river traffic for three days and it was now officially open. We were excited!  In about an hour we would be entering the Mobile ship canal and crossing Mobile Bay, a day we had looked forward to for a long time. We had just passed under a fixed bridge when from around the bend ahead of us and coming straight at us was an unbelievable sight. At first we thought our eyes were deceiving us. But our binoculars confirmed what we saw. Two towboats side by side pushing two barges with the old swing bridge straddling them and they were headed straight at us. Where were we supposed to go?  Tom immediatly put Laughter in neutral and called the tow. He wanted us to pass him port to port. We moved over as far as we could and since depth did not appear to be an issue we chose to stay put until we were sure he had enough room. A little excitement to add to two already very excited people.  As we neared the new 14 mile bridge it appeared to be down. This was confirmed by the fact that there were 8 boats, 9 counting us, and a tow waiting to go under the bridge. A radio discussion with irony, the boat we anchored with at Brannons landing, indicated that they were making adjustments and it would be another hour to an hour and a half before they would lift the bridge.  Soon we were joined by three more boats.  It was like a mini in the water boat show!  We listened to all the chatter on channel 68 of who was going to what marina and before you knew it the bridge was up and we were on our way.  We had a nice parade going through the ship canal, confirmed by the number of workers who stopped to watch us come by. The ship canal was amazing. We passed container ships being filled, ships being built or repaired and several tow boat staging areas.  We had been warned to have eyes in the back of our head as we came through and we quickly understood what that meant. Tow boats were crossing in front of us, ships pulling out as we passed, and more tow boats sideways in the canal pushing barges together. I felt like an ant in tall grass trying to look up at everything but not knowing which way to look next for fear of missing something.  Once our parade entered the bay itself we started to break off into groups of two or three heading off to our respective marinas. Once tied up at Eastern Shore Marina we visited with several other boaters who had come in. We spent two days at Eastern Shore, then moved our boat across the way to Fairhope Yacht Club.  We had a great four days before leaving for Indiana for Thanksgiving.

Alabama Cut off to Big Bayou Canot

On the morning of November 8th the weather seemed to be holding and we were not excited about spending a second night at the Cut off so we pulled up anchors, after a battle with the mud, and headed down river.  We entered Big Bayou Canot, tied our front line to a tree and threw our back anchor out, settling in just before the rain started.  As night fell the wind picked up.  Tom got up at 4am and found that between the wind and the tide, our branch and anchor technique was not working.  We were drifting. We bundled up because the temperature had dropped and pulled up anchor to start again.  By now the wind was howling.  I was at the helm, while Tom controlled the anchor drop.  I was getting some intense piloting practice as we battled the wind and the tide to get anchored.  Finally after two more attempts we were successful.  How long did it take us? Well, when we were finally set, I made a pot of coffee and we watched the sun come up!  After a little breakfast we talked and I admitted that I was not really comfortable with our anchor spot.  Since we were staying a second night in the Canot Tom wanted me to be comfortable sooooo we pulled up anchors again and moved to an area that was wider and more open.  Once anchored, again, we took care of some inside jobs as the wind was cold and nasty.  About 2pm the wind settled down, the sun came out and we enjoyed the evening listening to some very loud owls.  It was an early night for us after a very long day.  We woke to a beautiful mist coming across the anchorage. I enjoyed watching the sun shine through the mist, thinning it as the rays warmed the air. We were pleased with ourselves as we had not moved since our final anchoring the previous morning.  What we didn't know until now was WHY we didn't move!  How bout being anchored to a 40 foot tree that had fallen over into the water!  Each time we moved the end of the tree bounced up and down on shore. It took a few manuevers but we were able to break loose without loosing the anchor. 

Bobby's Fish Camp to Alabama Cut Off

Still filling in a few gaps in our trip;   On November 7th we pulled anchor and headed for the infamous Bobby's Fish Camp.  The tow traffic was heavy and the scenery fascinating. Beautiful white bluffs, sandy shores, and thick forests all in one day.  I had read about the Indian settlements and battles that had taken place along the river, in fact one of the bloodiest Indian battles took place at Bashi Creek, a popular anchorage.  My mind wandered, forming a picture of what life might have been like living and traveling along the river back then. For a moment or two I was lost in the history of my surroundings and thankful that I had the opportunity to pass through.  We arrived at Bobby's Fish Camp and were pleased that there were only two other boats there. This meant there was room for us because Bobby's is nothing more than a very long dock.  I wondered around the grounds a little and peeked in the windows of the restaurant. It's only open on weekends. Soon after we arrived another boat filled the remainder of the dock.  We visited with the other boaters, Mike, Tom and Sara Ann ( a retired 5th grade teacher) and returned to our boat for the night.   November 8th - The weather was changing and rain was heading our way.  We had a great day on the river and anchored out at the Alabama Cut Off.