Dec. 15th Crossing the Gulf

One by one we pulled out of C-Quarters at 1pm in the afternoon to cross the Gulf of Mexico. The first 2-3 hours out were rough enough that holding on to something when standing or moving about, was a necessity. Peanut had a tough time finding a comfortable place to lay. I was a little worried that she was getting sea sick but once I got her off the floor and up on the bench seat she seemed to do much better. Just before sunset the waves settled down to 1-2's. The sunset was beautiful but it also meant darkness was soon to follow. The fact that there were seven of us relieved my anxiety a little. The night was clear and the air crisp. Without the interference of city lights the stars twinkled with an amazing brightness. Without the light of the moon that had not risen the sky and water appeared as one. Was it a star or a boat that we saw on the horizon? We had to use our radar to help us decide more than once.It was almost 9:30, when the moon finally showed himself. It was a half moon that provided a beautiful sheen over the water, a little more light and in turn comfort level. Tom ran out of steam about 11:00. He slept on the bench beside me until about one. I enjoyed rockin to the oldies on my IPod while he slept. I finally laid down about 2 and dosed in and out until almost 4. Tom took another nap from 5-6:30, this time on the futon on the aft deck. A much more comfortable choice. The drone of the diesel engines was my companion and I wondered for a moment what it would be like if I shut them off, what would I hear, how quiet would it really be out here? Would it be peaceful? Would it be erie? I woke Tom up at 6:30 so I could take a few sunrise photos and let him know we would be making a course change soon. The other boats were going on to Clearwater. We were going to leave the caravan at Tarpon Springs. The sun came up like a ball of fire rising up from the water. A sunrise I won't forget because of it's beauty and the the light it brought to eyes that were weary from the strain of traveling all night. It was an amazing 22 hour journey, one that we are glad we did but would not like to make a habit of.
                                    

                                                            Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

 I had an led light that clipped onto my baseball hat. Used it to check charts and get around the boat in the dark.  It really worked well!

 Peanut was very unsettled. She could not figure out why we were moving and not going to bed. She stayed very close to me the entire night.

                                                  An amazing sunrise on the Gulf of Mexico