Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

(sorry no photos, I was working too hard at staying alive to take any)

After waiting in Apalachicola for a couple of days we decided to head out on Wednesday morning 14 November 2012.

This decision was not made lightly because crossing the Gulf is a big deal.

I had checked 3 weather web sites and they all said the same thing, a little rough in the morning but dying down in the afternoon and a smooth ride overnight. This was confirmed by the guy at the Moorings Marina in Carrabelle. I wasn’t able to get online to check Tom Conrad’s weather musings (he is the AGLCA’s weather guy) and in hindsight I wish I did, because his weather forecast and advice was to stay in port.

The first part to the trip was from Apalachicola to Carrabelle. It was nice and protected and we thought this was going to be a piece of cake.

At Carrabelle we took the Eastern Passage into the Gulf.  The waves were higher than predicted and I believe some people actually turn around at that time and headed back into port (smart people) Because we had some beam waves hitting us ( not bad, just uncomfortable) we cut the corner and headed East, into the wind, Time&Tide cutting nicely through the big waves , taking it on the bow.

At this time we were starting to wonder if this was such a good idea, but all the reports and chatter on the radio confirmed what we had heard, that the weather was going to improve, the winds were going to settle and the waves were going to be non-existent.

 Gary started cheating to Starboard before we got to our next marker but there was no getting away from it. As soon as we started south the waves were beating us up on the beam. When you get hit by a big wave on the side in our boat, she tips over. (think sideways) It is the worst way for us to travel on our boat because she is so top heavy. We try at all costs to avoid being in beam seas and here we were, miles from nowhere getting pounded from side to side. We were still waiting for the wind and seas to calm as forecasted.

We were hearing on the radio that other boats were heading to shore to get out of the rough, but we calculated that it would take us hours to get there and by that time it would be dark and we would have no way to spot the dreaded crab pots closer to shore. So it was a point of no return and I started shaking with fear. I realised that I had 20 more hours of fearfulness and I was scared!!

Gary had to hand me the helm because he was so seasick he was unable to drive. All he could do was lie down. The waves were coming so hard on our side that he got tossed up and out of the bench where he was sleeping, on to the floor. There was no one but me, so I had to put on my big girl panties and steer the boat as best I could. (Gary says I am his hero)

As it got darker it got worse. Now I was unable to compensate for the waves so I had to drive by feel. Our steering wheel has a nylon grip around it and I it gave me blisters on my hands I was holding on to it so hard.

The best thing I did all night was turn the autopilot off. All of a sudden I felt more in control and as I braced my feet against the upper helm and grip the steering wheel, I wasn’t getting tossed around too much.

While I was doing this Gary got to have some rest and try and get over the dizzying nausea he was experiencing.

At this time I did a lot of praying and self-motivating.  I realised I had hours to go before we would be anywhere safe so best to deal with things as I could. I made up little poems in my head and sang songs to myself (In my head, so as not to wake Gary)

We heard people on the radio chatting all the time. Our buddy boats, MV Second Noelle and MV Bar-B were always in contact with us and it was very reassuring. They had done this crossing more than 8 times and said it was one of the worst crossings they had ever had. This made me feel better; I would hate to think I was just being a baby.

After some time Gary felt better and took the wheel from me. I lay down and slept till 2am when it was his turn to get some rest.

I went down stairs and all three cats started mewing when they saw me. I felt so bad for them. They were in distress and there was nothing I could do to help them. For nearly 30 hours they had nothing to eat or drink as they weren’t able to get to their food because of the motion of the boat.  Poor darlings.

I have worked night shifts many times in my life but this was different. As I got more tired my mind started playing tricks on me. I kept seeing red flashes and the light from MV Second Noelle turned into a little fairy in the sky. It was so dark and not a star in the sky. It was impossible to see where seas ended and sky began. I was unable to leave the helm for a second to get a drink or something to eat and I was terribly thirsty (after effects of being scared?)  

Time did go by fast and eventually I woke Gary and he took over from me at 6am. When I woke it was light and we were in the middle of crab pot alley.  Gary and I took great care making sure we didn’t get one around the prop.

We got into Turtle Cove Marina around 11am – 28 hours after leaving Apalachicola. We were tired and had the worst case of vertigo as our bodies kept feeling like they were still rocking and rolling.

During the afternoon more boats arrived, their crew also looking shell-shocked from the night on the water.

We almost lost our TV antenna but other than that we had no damage to the boat or anything in it.

Except. I have a wire hanging basket where we keep fruit. The rocking of the boat was so violent that the oranges in the basket we pounded to a pulp. The basket hit the wooden trim in the galley and took all the varnish off the wood. That really should give you a perspective of how hard we were swinging from side to side. Scary hey!

I say this trip was like childbirth. While it was going on, it was the worst thing, but when it was over it became a distant memory. And at NO time did we feel like selling the boat or stopping this adventure.

So for now….

…………………………………………to be continued.

Almost lost the TV antenna.