Tarpon Springs - Fort Myers

Tarpon Springs – Fort Myers

November 15- November 28 2012

In Appalachicola, waiting on a weather window for the Gulf Crossing.

Tarpon Springs is known as the “sponge capital of the world” but also as “Little Greece” because of its large Greek community. The Greeks started diving for sponge around 1900 and today it is still a thriving business. Of course that meant they also brought their Greek cuisine and culture here and the village’s air is filled with the sounds and aromas of Greek music and food. Shopping here is a tourist heaven.

The only damage from our brutal crossing, a tv antenna that came undone.

Pelican - Tarpon Springs



Spong diver

smiley face - sponge

Calamari - prepared the Greek way

Sponges

Dinner with Linda and Eddie

Eddie and Gary (Boys will be boys)

Some of the people who crossed the Gulf with us,
Sharon, Jim, Fred , Eddie and Linda

We spent a lovely evening meeting up with MV Blue Angel, MV North Star and MV Spiritus, who were all crazy enough to cross the Gulf at the same time we did.

During the crossing we accidently switched our VHF radio to the wrong channel and while everyone was calling us on the radio, we never heard, so we never answered. They were all very worried about us.  (Shame!)

Anyhow, we were enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells Tarpon Springs had to offer. It was a wonderful reprieve after a nerve-wracking few days and we shared lots of laughs and fun with the crew of MV Spiritus.

The waterfront homes are spectacular

Don't you feel sorry for the people who live here??

A dolphin swimming next to Time& Tide



Dolphin playing in our stern wake

The next morning we took off to Treasure Island and the free dock at the home of Suzanne and Jeff Wright. The Wrights make their dock available to Loopers who travel through this area. It is a great location, only a short bike ride away from the beaches at Treasure Island and the boardwalk at John’s Pass.

Sand Sculptures

Enjoying the warm weather

Treasure Isle beach

John's pass

Gators

Watching NASCAR

The Wright's free dock.

Our buddy boats who crossed the Gulf with us.

We spent Saturday on the beach checking out the annual sand sculpture competition and the evening socialising with the crew off MV Second Noelle and MV The Bar-B. Ray is the skipper who led us across the Gulf so I promised him a beer if we made it across alive.

Sunday we just HAD to watch the last NASCAR race of the season so Gary and I met our new friends at Gators for a few drinks and lunch. We had another excellent day and when it was time to go home, Ray was kind enough to put our bicycles in the trunk of his new Chevy Caprice Classic and give us a ride back to the boat. Unfortunately we ran out of gas and Gary had to get on his bike, go to the boat, get some fuel and get those guys going again.

After a great couple of days we had to move on. (My liver insisted!!) And we motored to Gulfport, a mere 7 miles away and anchored just off the Gulfport Municipal Pier in a lovely anchorage we shared with about 10 other boats. As I am writing this you can hear the pshuuuuut noise of dolphins breathing as they pass right by Time&Tide at anchor.  Paradise.

Gulfport

seems like the ideal place to stop

Saying goodbye to new friends; Ray, Linda, Barbie and Bob

Abandorned boat - Gulfport anchorage

Sunset -Gulfport

The guys from MV Second Noelle and MV The Bar B came to visit us in Gulfport. IT turned out the problem with the car wasn’t an empty tank but rather a fuel starvation problem, so it took them about 2 hours to drive 7 miles. Gary made some suggestion to Ray and between the three guys they got the problem (temporarily) taken care of. The girls and I went to the bar and had a drink while waiting for the guys who took the modified Caprice for a test drive.

We were very sad to say goodbye to our new friends as we have to move on and they are staying in this area for a little while longer. We were so lucky to have met them and now we are blessed with great new people in our lives.

Gulfport

Tightrope walker - Treasure Ilse

Keeping an eye on the cats -Treasure Isle

We stopped at Longboat Key and anchored off Jewfish Key. It is a beautiful little anchorage and we shared it with about 10 sailboats. As we entered the anchorage we got a call on the radio warning us that we were going to run aground. A friendly sailor was quick to point me in the direction of the deeper water and we were soon anchored nice and secure. We took a dingy ride to shore where we met another friendly sailor who showed us the fastest route to the white sandy beach.

Longboat Key

Sand dollar

Tarpon Springs bridge

Gary and I were like 2 kids with our mouths hanging open. Walking past the houses to the beach we saw orange and lemon trees drooping with fruit, a banana tree and wild peacocks. Of course the battery on the camera decided to die right at that moment. Sorry.

We spent the afternoon soaking up the warm Floridian sun and picking up shells on the beach. If I could I would keep them all but we live on a boat and there just isn’t enough room J

We stopped for ice cream at Mar Vista, a famous eatery on Longboat Key. (I am going to interrupt myself here for a moment. Everywhere we go there are famous places to eat and drink. Florida is full of these places, you probably know some yourself. BUT if Gary and I had to stop and drink and eat at every place we would be BROKE< FAT AND ALCOHOLICS>> Most of all we would be BROKE. So, there are great places to eat and drink - world famous places, we just can’t get to them all ) L

Our next stop was Sarasota. On our way I spotted two sharks in the water. Scary!!

Sarasota. WOW!! There are very rich people in Sarasota. We met the President of Pepperidge Farm Cookies while she was out kayaking with her family. The PRESIDENT!!!! ( No, she didn’t bring me any cookies even though I hinted !!)

Our first anchorage was too exposed for my liking so we got in the dingy and headed to a very secluded but very hard to find anchorage instead.  Otter key is very well protected from all the wind directions but it is a tough place to enter if you don’t know what you are doing, and we didn’t. So we checked it out in the dingy and lo and behold, we found a Canadian Sailboat anchored there and they were more than willing to show us how to get in and be safe.

Osprey

Mike and Gary

Don't know what it is called, but it is BIG. We saw it in the
water but left it there to live another day.

We stayed at Otter Key for a few days. Mike and Norma came all the way from Jacksonville for a visit and stayed the night. Gary was introduced to BBQed Boerewors, a South African sausage. Norma had some home-made and it was a treat we all enjoyed. We never stopped talking and laughing. We had a wonderful time visiting with them.

November 26, 2012

We made our way, continuing ever South.  On our way we passed the beautiful community of Venice.

We anchored in a pool just off the ICW at Cape Haze. We were surrounded by houses and shared the anchorage with a sailboat.

Cape Haze



Good catch

As we entered we heard someone whistling snippets of “Long way to Tipperary” and some other song I can’t recall the name of right now. I was amazed at how well sound seemed to travel in the enclosed little bay. The next day, as we were heading out, I head the same whistling and realised it must have been a parrot or a macaw. When we went to bed we heard two owls calling each other, Gary got up to check and sure enough, the one owl was on or boat, sitting on the top of the radar dome in the bright moonlight, hooting to his buddy on shore. We took turns spying on him but as we got the camera out to snap a picture he took off with a silent flap of his wings. We felt him leave more than heard it. A very powerful bird.

The next morning we headed to Cayo Costa and anchored in Pelican Bay. I have no words to describe the beauty of this place.

Gorgeous beaches

A dead horseshoe crab

Pelicans feasting on sardines

Moonlight over Pelican Bay

Sunset over Pelican Bay

The Island is a State park. You can anchor then go to shore in the dingy, pay your $2 to visit the park and enjoy the unspoilt beauty of Florida. We went for a 3 mile walk on the beach and took a closer look when we noticed dark shadows in the water. As we looked closer we saw millions of sardines in the water, followed by the larger silver Mackerel jumping after them in a feeding frenzy. We saw pelicans with their beaks so full of fish they were unable to lift their heads out of the water. It was an awesome spectacle and we saw it all up close.

That evening we were treated to an absolutely breathtaking sunset and full moon rising. As the sun set someone on one of the other anchored boats blew the conch to signal the end of the day. An absolute surreal feeling, I just had to pinch myself.

Moon rising over Pelican Bay

We following day we woke to heavy fog and zero visibility. I decided to stay in bed and plan our route to Fort Myers. Eventually the fog lifted enough and we left the gorgeous Pelican Bay rather reluctantly.

In San Carlos Bay, where it meets the Caloosahatchee River, we encountered yet another Manatee Protected Area Sign. We have yet to see one (a Manatee). We have heard many locals bemoan the plight of the Manatee, that it isn’t indigenous to Florida, that it is a pain in their collective behinds. I still would really like to see one ….

Another thing: we are now in Go-Fast-Boat waters. No such thing as a slow or soft pass…those big boats just come roaring past and wake the living daylights out of us. Gary doesn’t even get mad anymore; but it annoys me to no end. On the rivers you would often hear boaters ask for a little courtesy and an embarrassed waker would slow down and apologize but here people are in too much of a rush and I think the only reply you would get if you requested some courtesy would be a middle finger held up high.

Right now we are anchored in Bimini Basin, a nice safe anchorage surrounded by Cape Coral houses. I am at the laundromat and while Gary is taking care of that chore I am updating our blog. It is 29 November and the forecast calls for a sunny day with a high of 80F. Gotta love this!!!

Full moon over Bimini

……………………………………….to  be continued

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.

Crossing the Gulf

November 13, 2012

Tomorrow we hope to cross the Gulf. If we get out there and the weather/winds/ waves are bad , we will turn around and stay in port till another window opens.
Things can change in a few hours.
I had to bike to a library to update this because I haven't had access to the internet at all.
Next time you hear from us we will be in Tarpon Springs (fingers crossed) If we make it we should be there Thursday morning.
Wish us luck and prayers are ok too. Thanks Gary and Christelle

ICW 3 Panama City - Apalachicola

ICW (3) Panama City – Apalachicola

November 10-11

The ICW is short for Inter Coastal Waterway.

Since leaving the rivers at Mobile Alabama, we have been in the safe protected waters of the ICW. This waterway runs parallel to the shore line for the Gulf from Corpus Christi in Texas to Carrabelle in Florida. It starts again in Tarpon Springs, which is on the west coast of Florida. See the picture below, it is marked in yellow. Now, see the GAP in the yellow? That gap means there is no ICW, in other words, NO safe waterway to protect you from the wild waters of the Gulf.

The yellow line is the ICW.
There is NO ICW between carrabelle and Tarpon Springs
That little distance on the charts are about 170 miles.
That means a 24 hour crossing.
SCARY!!!!!!

Now here lies the problem. If you want to get to the west coast of Florida, (and WE do)you have two options. You could do the “arm pit” of Florida which will take a few days of travelling. Day hops between little places, quite scenic but it takes long and it is very shallow in places and littered with crab pots. OR you can cut across the Gulf from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs in one giant hop which takes about 24hours. That means travelling in the afternoon, right through the night to arrive the next morning so you can have enough light to spot those pesky crab pots close to shore.

(Crab pots are attached to thick lines which will get tangled around your props and can cause MAJOR damage.)

Since day ONE I have been worried about the Gulf crossing.  Compared to it, Lake Michigan is a walk in the park, and I was worried about doing that, so you can imagine how freaked out I am about this trip.

We have had some scary times on the water but we have never been so far from shore that we couldn’t get there in a hurry, if we had to. This trip means we will be far from land, about 80 miles at the furthest point. See what I mean???

So the trick is to do this hop in good weather, not ok or so-so weather, because that can still mean high winds and high seas. No, what you do is you listen to the professionals who know what they are talking about and cross when the weather is at its best. And then you PRAY!!!! (Seriously, we know weather forecasting is accurate how often????? Exactly!!!)

Till that weather window is open, you wait.  A friend of mine just said, the weather window isn’t just closed it is nailed shut as well. So we might be here for a while, waiting.

Last night we spent a delightful afternoon and evening in White City on a free dock, with power and fresh water on tap. We spent the afternoon washing the salt off Time&Tide and she sparkled again.

At the same time we were there ther was a local Bass fishing Tournament. The winner took home $10 000!!! Seems like a lot of money just to catch fish ( if you ask me)

Today we are in Apalachicola, waiting for that elusive GOOD weather window to open, so we can brave the big waters and get to the west coast.

Gary takes the worst pictures of me!!!

Liquor AND Pottery???!! Say it isn't so!!

Clam shells in stead of gravel

Caution!

More clam shells

Shark teeth

Tin Shed

Time& Tide tied to the free wall in Apalachicola
Shrimp boats in the back.

We treated ourselves to lunch, Gary had Alligator (yes, it tastes like chicken) and I had Oysters Rockefeller and Tuna sushi. Then we walked around Apalachicola, a little town whose claim to fame is its succulent oysters and locally caught seafood as well as its diverse history in cotton, sponges, and A/C. Yes, air conditioning…this is where Dr. Gorrie invented the ice machine, as a means to comfort yellow fever patients, which evolved into modern day A/C.  (For which I am personally very grateful!!)

There are also many quaint antique and art shops that make Apalachicola an appealing location.

Today is November 11, 2012.

Take some time to remember those who died for your freedom.

 Lest we forget.

…………………………………to be continued.

ICW (2) Pensacola - Panama City

( A few pictures I had forgotten to post on previous blogs)


Sunrise - Mobile Bay

A shrimp boat on Mobile Bay



Lulu's ; a famous landmark on the ICW. The eatery belongs to
Jimmy Buffet's ( Margaritaville) sister.

Pensacola to Panama City (7-9 November 2012)

After spending a couple of days at the Navy Base Marina in Pensacola, we continued on the ICW.

Santa Rosa Island

Part of Santa Rosa in used by the US mil. for training
A radar tower that reminded Gary of the Tripods from the movie
War of the World

Our first stop was a free dock at Fort Walton near Destin. This gorgeous area is named the Emerald Coast.

The next day we crossed Choctawhatchee Bay and after a fruitless search for an anchorage we decided to carry on to West Bay where we anchored in beautiful Burnt Mill Creek.

Jessie watching a little duckie swim away from under the swim platform.
THE same duck scared the poop out of Gary when  he bent down to
rinse his hands in the water, unaware of the duck hiding under the swim platform.
Gary thought it was a monster from the deep coming out to grab his hand.
(An alligator or a mutant dolphin ha-ha)

The following morning we did the short jump to Panama City and anchored in Messalina Bayou, a nicely protected spot near the very popular Bayou Joe’s.

Everything underwater is covered with these Oysters

Bayou Joe's

The Place the name of a popular local spot
where we had lunch.

If you look carefully you will see tons of little fishies. I thought they looked like little
sharkes swimming around in the marina in Panama City.
it tuns out they are "Lady Fish" and there must have been 200 or more each about 14-16 " long.

Massilina Bayou Anchorage

US Coast Guard patrol boat - St Andrews Bay

Even though the days are warm and sunny the nights and mornings are darn right chilly and I am now eager to get further south.

Ever since we have entered the Gulf waters I have tried to get the perfect photo of a dolphin and as of yet, I have had no luck. But that doesn't mean I am not going to keep trying and here are some I have posted for you to enjoy …..NOTHING beats the excitement of spotting them as they torpedo towards the boat and then disappear. We were told you could call them and Gary has started to whistle to them, as soon as we spot them, he lets out a loud whistle and that really seems to attract them (or is it just wishful thinking on my behalf?)

The best one so far.

We keep pinching ourselves and we never take a thing for granted. We are very lucky to be living this life and we appreciate every gorgeous sunset and every beautiful sunrise.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as I have tried to post a few more this time. They do speak so much louder than words.

………………….to be continued.

ICW Mobile - Pensacola

ICW (1)

October 31, 2012

We left Dog River Marina around 0700 and started to head out with a whole bunch of other boats. It was the first good weather day in a week so a mass exodus took place.

As we headed into Mobile Bay we decided to try our auto pilot. It had broken down while we were on the rivers and Gary got it fixed while we were in Mobile.

Time&Tide in Mobile Bay just before we had to
turn around and have the Auto Pilot fixed.
Picture taken by Sharon - MV Blue Angel

As we turned it on, the boat steered at a 90% angle to port. This was not good. After messing around with it for a while we decided to head back to the marina and get the mechanic to have a look at it.

Fortunately it was a simple mix-up of wires and we were soon on our way. We were now 2 hours behind the rest of the boats who all left with us in the morning.

Crossing Mobile Bay the wind picked up and started to rock the boat a little. We must be getting used to it, because my only concern was that one of the cats might puke from all the rolling.

We spotted some more dolphins and tons of sea birds, especially around the shrimp boats.

It is soooooo hard to get a picture of a dolphin.
Here they are playing in our bow wake.
There is womething so magical about seeing a dolphin in the wild.

We finally made it to the ICW, nice protected water way that runs parallel with the Gulf shore.

A couple of raccoons enjoying a drink of water at sunset - Ingrams Bayou

We anchored in Ingram’s Bayou.

November 01, 2012

We had planned to spend a couple of nights at Ingram’s but we were told the anchorages around Pensacola were going to fill up fast on account of the airshow this weekend.

 Steerman Trainers

On the way we saw our first white sandy beaches and a big sign welcomed us to Florida. Woo,hoo!!

Welcome to Florida

Better watch those tides!!

For the next three days we explored the sandy beaches off Pensacola.  I found my first sand dollar and the great sea shell collection has begun!!

Paradise

White sand, clear blue water

Soft sand

Sea anemone



Shore Bird Sandpiper

Sand Dollar

This Armadillo was not shy at all.

We explored the overgrown island of Fort McRee Anchorage and we saw our first live Armadillos.

Gary was in 7^th HEAVEN as it was also the Blue Angles’ homecoming and we had a great view of the airshow rehearsal. On Friday evening we sat on a sand dune sipping wine with Kate and Gordon from MV Viking Star while watching the night air show (a first, even for Gary) and on Saturday we were joined by the crew from SV Flying Free as we attended the airshow at the Pensacola Airbase.

Blue Angels flying over the anchorage

looking out the observers window of a Mexican patrol aircraft

Sea Stalion

Blue Angels

F18  tight turn causing the water vapour to compress

Fat Albert

Diamond formation



Two solo Blue Angles doing a dirty pass
(I kid you not, this is what it is called!!)

What a weekend!! 

Gary caught a Flounder

We are still waiting on a part from West Marine so we are currently in the Navy Marina in Pensacola, where we were invited to stay as Canadian Military retirees.

……………………………………………to be continued