Tarpon Springs

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral

A Dodecanese Av. sponge shop

Our friends on MV Cashitin

This morning we took a cab to a laundromat at a mall outside town. There was also a Publix Grocery store, Publix is a supermarket chain, their stores are very nice and found all over Florida. West Marine had a store close by so I took a walk there too.

Today our friends on Fred Morgan's MV Cashitin headed South, as you can see they had two nice red Dachsunds that reminded us of Coco, they have travelled with us from Apalachicola.

We had some rain in the afternoon but not the bad weather which had been forecast.

We plan to head out again Monday morning.

Tarpon Springs

Gumbo at Tarpon Springs City Marina

Anclote River waterfront

Dodecanese Avenue the main street There is a lot of seafood and sponge fishing activity in Tarpon Springs but tourism seems to be the main business. Dodecanese Avenue is crowded with Greek restaurants and souvenir shops selling sponges, shells and things imported from Greece, there are lots of tourists aorund most of the time. The restaurants we have been to have been very good. We are at the city marina which is right on Dodecanese Av. so there are lots tourists walking by or often sitting on the bench facing our boat It is surprising how many know of Thibodaux and have been there or have family there. Down the street there are quite a few tour boats which take people down the river to the Gulf and put on sponge diving shows. When it is time to board the boats you can hear the hawkers trying to sell the last seats, they get pretty loud and could compete with the ones outside the strip joints on Bourbon Street!

There are no grocery stores or laundromats nearby so we will get a cab tomorrow to get that taken care of.

To see a link to Tarpon Springs location click on this link

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=28.15597,-82.75831&ll=28.15597,-82.75831&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs overnight crossing

Our Route from Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs, 184 miles, 24 hour nonstop Wednesday the weather forecasts were for good conditions for crossing the Gulf from Apalachicloa to Tarpon Springs, just North of Tampa. We got all our gear ready and departed from the Marina at noon, our friends the Gills were going on to Clearwater so they got away at 9AM. We had a nice time travelling with them since we met and JB their 4 year old grandson, inHouma, we hope we'll see them on down the coast. At noon we pulled out of the marina, another boat from the marina followed us for the trip.
We left the marina and crossed the bay to St Georges Island, through Government Cut and out into the Gulf, it was quite calm we were heading Southeast and settled down at a speed of about seven and a half miles per hour. We both drove, in shifts and though it did get a bit rolly during the nght it was a very good crossing. At sunrise we were about 50 miles out from the coast. The crossing is usually done overnight so you can arrive before daylight, the west coast of Florida is like a minefield of crabtrap bouys, they are set bout just anywhere out to 40 feet deep this can be 30 miles out. They are usually set in "strings" with the traps and floats t seabout 200 feet apart there are thousands of them, most floats are white but they are sometimes blue, or black which makes them even harder to see. There is a nylon rope from the trap to the float, if a boat is unlucky enough to pass over one the rope can become tangled in the propeller and shaft and shut the boat down. then it is either dive and cut off the rope, not an easy and sometimes a dangerous job, or call a towing company to be towed into port and have the job done there . Either way is guaranteed to ruin your day!
So, slow cruising boats, like ours, usually depart the panhandle around noon or early afternoon to arrive the west coast in daylight to be able to see the floats and lessen the chance of entangling one of them. We were fortunate and made it without any problems. We arrived at the Tarpon Springs marina at 11:45AM Thursday did some things on the boat and had a look around town, and early dinner at a good Greek restaurant and made an early night of it, We did not get much sleep at all, ast night during the crossing.
The autopilot steers the boat well but someone always has to be awake on watch for boats or navigation markers.
We'll be staying here 'till Monday morning then move down to the St Petersburg Tampa area.

Apalachicola

Isle of Skye and Gumbo at Water Street Marina

Apalachicola City Cemetery

One of the B & B's in town

Gibson Inn
It was windy when we left the Port St. Joe Marina this morning it is always a tense few momnts maneouvering among the boats, trying to avoid hitting one while the wind does it's best to shove you at them, but we made it out ok and left the others unscarred.

We were docked at Apalachicola a little after 1PM. Got the boat tied up the went into town for a walk. It is an interesting town with lots of seafood restaurants most with oyster bars The marina gave each boat a coupon for a dozen on the half shell free at the neighboring restaurant. Seafood and tourism are important for the local economy.

The old city Cemetery is an interesting place, there are lots of graves and monument dating back to the mid 1800's. It is sad to see so many children's graves with the inscriptions from greiving parents, yellow fever epidemics struck here several times and caused many deaths. Air conditioning was invented here by a Dr John Gorrie, a local doctor searching for a way to make his fever patients more comfortable, there is a museum dedicated to his work.

We redeemed our oyster coupons and had dinner with the Gills at a restaurant close by.
Conditions look good for our overnight trip to Tarpon Springs, if the weather remains as forecast we plan to leave around 2 PM, travel overnight and arrive Tarpon Springs about 3 or 4 PM Thursday. We'll see how that goes.

To see our location click the followwing link

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.73199,-84.98822&ll=29.73199,-84.98822&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Another very windy, cold but clear and sunny day at the marina today. So we stayed put rather than battle the wind getting out of here and on the bay, looks like it will be ok to head over to Apalachicola tomorrow.
We did a few things on the boat then I fished off the seawall, I didn't get a bite so only stayed out a short while.

Several people have tried to post comments and not been able to, today I spent some time looking for the problem adjusted some settings I think it will now accept comments from anyone, whether registered with Google or not, so give it a try so we can see if it is working.

Sunday Jan. 24 2010

Sunday was a very windy day with a couple of rain showers. Winds 20-25 with strong gusts it bought the water level in the marina about a foot and a half and the boats were all bouncing around a good bit.
Walked around town a bit, then watched the first half of the saints game at the bar reataurant at the marina then got the final results from Joshua by phone. Congratulations and good luck to them. I guess New Orleans was a wild place last night.

It was to dreary for pictures today so I'll add a couple from yesterday's trip.
This huge Navy Catamaran arriving Panama City from the West. The paper mill just East of Pamama City, unfortunately it can be smelled for miles.

Today was a windy, cloudy, and cold day. I walked into town to Radio Shack and Ace hardware to pick up some parts I needed to finish the cable TV inlet and install a towel rod in the aft bathroom.

At 4PM the marina held a free shrimp boil, including oysters on the half shell, for the boaters staying here. The shrimp were very good, They were boiled with corn on the cob and sausage, soft drinks and beer were included, about 40 boaters showed up several brought appetizers and desserts. Lots of talk about boats, where people have been, and where they are going next.

Same location as yesterday

Mercury engine test boat near Panama City Part of the ICW cut though a low lying area of pine forest

The Blue roofed building is the office of the Port St. Joe Marina

We left the St Andrews marina at 7:20 AM It was cool with light breeze and no fog.

As we were cruising by Panama City we saw our friends the Gills on the Isle of Skye, the boat that we traveled with from Houma to Rabbit Island. They were heading East also but stopping at Port St Joe Marina before Appalachicola. It is looking like it may be a while before the weather is good for our crossing to Tarpon Springs so we decided to spend a couple of days there also.

Along the way we saw one of the Mercury Engines test boats in the bay we have seen these running around on the bay before, putting hours on either inboard or outboard Mercury engines as part of the design process. Seems like it would be fun but for the drivers in their crash helmets driving all day it must be just another job.

We arrived at the St. Joe Marina about 2PM they are on Eastern time so we lost an hour it was actually 3PM we fueled up the boat then moved to our slip between two other Louisiana boats one from New Orleans the other from Shreveport. Port of St Joe is a nice little town originally the "company town" of the St, Joe paper company but now tourism is important. The Marina is very near the town with stores and good restaurants a short walk away. It is a very nice stop reached by the Gulf County Canal which runs from St. Joseph's Bay to the ICW, about 8 miles. We had dinner at a good Mexican restaurant we had eaten at when we were here in 2007. After dinner we met up with a group of boaters having drinks and opening oysters on the dock. the oysters were very good.

Looks like it will be several days before conditions are good for the gulf crossing so we'll try to make the best of it.

To see our location at 11 AM click this link

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.98996,-85.37046&ll=29.98996,-85.37046&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

To see our location at port St Joe marina check this link

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.81453,-85.30998&ll=29.81453,-85.30998&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1%20http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.81453,-85.30998&ll=29.81453,-85.30998&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Foggy day at the marina
About 3AM a strong thunderstorm rolled through, high winds lots of lightning and rain,

it lasted about 3 hours. The marina has a good sea wall which blocked the waves from the bay so we didn't rock too much but I did have to get out and tighten up the dock lines. About 7 AM the power went off for a couple of hours.

Spent the day doing a few things around the boat then walked around town for a while.

We are planning to head out for Apalachicola tomorrow morning, I hope the fog has cleared up by then.

Rescued sea turtles loaded on Coast Guard boat

An interesting experimental boat at the Marina

A one of a kind four headed palm tree at the St Andrews Park near the marina
This morning sea turtles were being loaded on a Coast Guard boat to be released in the Gulf. About 2000 of them had been picked up in the bays and beaches nearby when they became disoriented during the cold weather last week, about 500 of those died, no word if those made it to the Sauce Piquante pot
The boat batteries have been running down a bit lately so I bought two new ones. These are size 8D and weigh about 150 lbs each so I had an installer with a couple of helpers put them in. They also checked the electrical system which they found OK
This morning fellow trawler owner and internet friend Rich Gano dropped by and stayed during the battery installation, he offered to bring us to the stores if we needed anything but we are still stocked up from Gulf Shores. This evening Rich and his wife Mary picked us up and brought us out for a great dinner at a local restaurant, Thanks Rich and Mary!

Location: St. Andrews Marina Panama City

Chocktawhatchee Bay Dolphin jumping Picture was taken through windshield
so is kind of foggy I'll try for some better ones later.



Area of the ICW dug through pine forest, it is called the Grand Canyon

Banks of the "Grand Canyon" erosion is a big problem.

Panama City shipyard seen from the ICW

We left Ft.Walton marina at 7:30 the first bay we went through was the Choctawhatchee Bay
the bay is about 26 miles long so took a good while to cross. I was able to get some pictures of a dolphin jumping near the boat there were lots of them on the way, they remain hard to photograph.

Next we entered a stretch of the ICW cut through pine forests. This is sandy land, the resulting erosion of the banks has made it look like the Grand Canyon and that name has stuck.
We arrived at the St Andrews Marina in Panama City at 3:30, got settled in slip before going to the office and dinner at a nearby restaurant.

A cold front is supposed to come through here tomorrow so we will probably not leave here for Apalachicola till Friday morning, it is a nice place so it won't be a bad stay.

To see a view of Choctawhatchee Bay and our location (the green arrow) there mid morning check the link below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.43988,-86.34999&ll=30.43988,-86.34999&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

To see our location at the St Andrews marina see the link below :

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.16892,-85.70385&ll=30.16892,-85.70385&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Pictures of Gumbo at Ft Walton Dock, A white sand Barrier Island at Ft McRea near Pensacola,

Pensacola Light house, And the calm water on the bay

It was a beautiful day on the water, we left the Wharf Marina at 7:45 the winds were calm and it warmed up to the mid 60s during the day. There were lots of dolphin around swimming and jumping near the boat, they are hard to get good pictures of, they are so fast, up and gone before you can focus on them we'll try again tomorrow

We met or passed four tows with barges today, all from Louisiana.

Our route took us 63 miles past Perdido Key, Pensacola, Santa Rosa Island then we arrived in Ft Walton Beach where we had reserved a slip at the city docks. There are 6 slips which are attached to one of the ICW waterside parks. The docks are free and quite nice but in an area where I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the boat alone or walking around in after dark.

We were settled by 4PM and I walked to a Publix supermarket, 3 blocks, to pick up a few things we needed, We had an early dinner on board and called it a day. We'll try for an early start tomorrow and see if we can make it to Panama City.

Marina approach depths 8-10 feet, in my slip, depth 6 feet. Located about 3/4 mile west of the bridge on the North side of the ICW. Reservation is required (850) 833-9504

Click or paste this link to see our location in Ft. Walton

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.40177,-86.60662&ll=30.40177,-86.60662&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

We are still at The Wharf, the weather has been as predicted, windy and cool but supposed to be nice tomorrow so we'll probably head out then.
This morning when I went below to check the engine oil I found several inches of water in the bilge, I gave it the taste test, it wasn't salty, that's good, it was soapy shower drain water, that's kind of gross to taste but easier to fix. The shower sump pump had corroded and died so the shower drain water was going into the bilge instead of being pumped overboard. I checked the marina store for a pump but no luck, I called around and did locate one at a nearby tackle store. So took a 3 mile walk each way to pick it up and get back to the marina, the installation went fine and I got it finished early in the afternoon so was able to get the TV cable inlet installed and fill the water tank also.
Boaters say the definition of cruising is working on your boat away from home!

We had an early dinner at sport fishing painter Guy Harvey's restaurant next to the marina. The winds are supposed to die down tonight so we'll try for an early start Monday morning
Steve

A rainy, windy day today woke up at 3AM with the boat swaying from side to side in the slip winds were gusting to 25 mph. We were well secured so there was no problem but it was uncomfortable and good not to be at anchor last night. Borrowed Ted's car to go to the laundromat and West Marine then he and Mona came over for lunch, a chicken and sausage gumbo Marsha made in the crockpot yesterday, it was very good. Watched the Saints beat the Cardinals in the afternoon.

We had a nice day at the marina, took care of some of the things needed on the boat. the Fergusons arrived about 2pm and loaned us their car for a trip to Walmart for some things we needed, then went to dinner with Ted and Mona .
Docked at The Wharf Marina.

Dauphin Island to Gulf Shores

Gumbo docked at The Wharf Marina

Oil Platform in Mobile bay

We had an uneventful trip to Gulf Shores. It is still cold but no frost or ice today. Winds were light so Mobile Bay was calm it can get very rough some times. We arrived at The Warf Marina about 1:00PM and tied up in a slip near the Ferguson's Camano, "Bay Spirit", we bought our previous boat, a Camano, "Spirit" from Ted and Mona in 2004.

A cold front with high winds and thunderstorms is supposed to come through here Friday afternoon and clear up Sunday night so we are planning to leave for Pensacola Monday morning when things calm down.

To see our location Click on the link below this image can be zoomed in or out, and viewed as satellite photo or a map.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.2951,-87.63015&ll=30.2951,-87.63015&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Dauphin Island Alabama

The anchor grabbing structure Shrimp boat at dusk, off Dauphin Island, Alabama

Slow internet connection today so will add some pictures later. (done 01-14-2010)
We had a nice calm night anchored at Rabbit Island and got up to a cold morning with ice on the decks again. When I went to raise the anchor I found it was snagged on some metal on the bottom. Probably a pipe from the abandoned structure on the Island. Tried to get it loose but it wouldn't budge. I was about to cut the chain with a hack saw when I tried a techinque Charles Culotta gave me years ago. I dropped a chain loop on a rope over the anchor stock and drove foreward over the anchor and it pulled it off of the snag. That saved the (brand new anchor) and a bunch of chain and time, thanks Charles!
The waterway was quite busy with tows and shrimp boats. The rest of the day was very nice with light winds, still cold all day though. We arrived to the West end of Dauphin Island, AL at 6 PM where we anchored in 11 feet of water, and called it a day. No abandoned structures nearby this time.
Anchored at 30'23'609
88'29'42

to see the spot (the green arrow) click on or cut and paste the following on your browser "go to" bar: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.23609,-88.2942&ll=30.23609,-88.2942&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Pictures of New Orleans waterfront and a spectacular Rabbit Island Sunset over the marsh.

We got an early start this morning and exited Harvey Lock by 8:30am, but when we got to Industrial Canal Lock we found the St Calude Bridge which is just before the lock was under repair due to a broken water line from last nights freeze. We had to wait 2 hours for repairs, so we didn't get as far as we wanted to but had a nice day which warmed up a good bit. We reached Rabbit Island at the Rigoletts and anchored there for the night.

We are anchored at Rabbit Island 30.08'48 North

89.38'30 West

Isle of Skye Waiting for a tow to pass a

tight spot in Larose

Gumbo and Isle of Skye at Boomtown

We left the Marina in Houma at about 9AM with ice on the hand rails, as we passed through Houma we met up with internet aquaintance Jon and Candy Gill on MV Isle of Skye. We travelled together to Boomtown Casino in Harvey, LA. We tied up to the bulkhead there, had dinner at the Casino and called it an early night. We'll try for and early start tomorrow hopefully be able to lock across the Mississippi soon enough to make some progress heading our way East.

We loaded up the boat today, then the Riche's picked us up at home, we met up with the Giardinas in Houma for Japanese dinner followed by a couple of glasses of bubbly on the boat, toasting to a good trip.
It's pretty cold here tonight, 36 now and supposed to go down a bit more then a high of 53 Monday.
We'll be casting off in the morning as soon as it warms up a bit. We are planning to go to Harvey tomorrow monday so we can lock across the Mississippi early Tuesday morning.

This is one of the mapping formats I'll be trying on the trip

This is Gumbo's home port, Tropical Harbor Marina in Houma, Louisiana, some of the townhouse owners that do not own boats rent out their slips to boaters like us. The slip is on a canal about half a mile from Mile marker 59 WHL of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

It is quite well protected from storms and in freshwater which slows the marine growth on the hull. It is about a 40 minute drive from out home in Thibodaux.