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.