crossing Anna Maria Island to Apalachicola

Oyster Hog is the name on this barge, it left Apalachcola in the morning loaded down with empty oyster shells. It brings them out to the oyster grounds in the bay, it has two water cannon which are used to wash the shells overboard. The shells give the oyster larvae something to grow on until they are harvested.

Sunset Wednesday night out in the Gulf on the way to Apalachicola, while it was still calm.

The Edgmont Key at the South of Tampa Bay taken as we left for Apalachicloa.

Apalachicola Veterans Plaza Park just across the road from the marina. it is a very nice spot with several monuments dedicated to our Veterans.

Scipio Creek Marina and Papa Joe's restaurant, nothing fancy but a welcome sight after nearly 24 hours out on the Gulf. We had planned to travel to Clearwater Wednesday and leave to cross the Gulf to Apalachicola from there, but when I checked the forecast it was for good weather tonight only, then about 4 days of high winds. We decided to cross make the crossing on Wednesday night rather than be stuck in Clearwater. So, at 10:30 AM we headed up to Tampa Bay and went out the channel to the Gulf. The weather was fine untill after midnight when it got windy and the waves built up. It was a rough ride untill we got to the channel into Apalachicola Bay. We stayed at Scipio Creek marina which is within walking distance of the town. We rested up and had a nice meal at the marina's restaurant, Papa Joe's.

We plan to leave for Panama City Saturday morning we'll spend a night at anchor along the way.

To see our location in Apalachicola click on the link below

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.733,-84.99041&ll=29.733,-84.99041&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1