Wednesday, October 26, 2011 – Boca Ciega Bay / St. Pete Beach, GIWW mile 115.4

At 11 am Blue Heron and Zephyr left the anchorage in Clearwater and headed for St. Pete Beach. The trip was less than 25 miles and just before 3:30 in the afternoon we had found a protected anchorage in Boca Ciega Bay. As we were getting settled, we received an email from a lady living in the waterfront townhomes we had anchored in front of welcoming us to the neighborhood and letting us know that if we needed anything, she and her husband would love to help out. They are wannabe “Loopers” and after seeing our AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruising Assoc) flag were able to find our email on the Great Loop members’ site. Gale gave her a call and she told us a little about the area and about their cruising dreams.

Roger and Dita stayed aboard their vessel while Gale and Maureen splashed the dinghy and went to shore. The local excursion boat operators were very accommodating and encouraged us to tie up to their dock while we checked things out. We took a walk on beautiful St Pete Beach and stopped at the Publix grocery store to pick up a few items before returning to Blue Heron for a nice evening.

 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 – Clearwater, Mandaley Channel, GIWW mile 137.5

 We were up about 6:30 am and noticed that Zephyr was high and dry. Checking the tide tables, we saw that the morning low tide was about a foot lower than normal. At least, it didn’t look like the boat was listing to one side or the other – in fact, they didn’t even know they were aground. Zephyr drafts about 5 feet compared to Blue Heron’s 2-foot draft so we were floating quite nicely.

 We had agreed to leave at 10 am and head for Clearwater. Maureen had a bit of difficulty getting the anchor up and discovered that we were hooked on an old crab trap. No wonder our holding was so good. Gale came up to the bow and helped to free the anchor from the trap. Unfortunately, we dropped it right back in the water so another unsuspecting cruiser will probably hook it again someday. Zephyr encountered similar problems only they were snagged on the line of a crab trap rather than the wire cage which was a little easier to disengage.

 












We were soon on our way enjoying a beautiful 70 degree, calm and sunny morning. Once we were out of the river and out into the main channel, we experienced NNE winds from 3 to 15 knots. We put up the headsail and took advantage of the breezes.

 

















 
 At 2 pm, we tied up to the dock at Frenchy’s Saltwater Café near Clearwater Beach. We had been here once before when we made our first crossing from Carabelle in 2009. At that time, we tried the grouper reuben at Frenchy’s, a sandwich we still talk about. This time, however, we had already had lunch so we ordered drinks and then went for a walk on the beach.

 
 






As evening approached, it was time to leave the dock and anchor. We rested for the night in a very peaceful and quiet place.

Sun, Oct 23 thru Mon, Oct 24 – Tarpon Springs, GIWW mile 150.7

 
 
 In the heading for this entry, the mile mark is shown on the GIWW which stands for the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The waterway runs from Brownsville, TX to Flamingo, FL with an open water gap between Carabelle (near Apalachicola) on the Florida panhandle and Tarpon Springs.

Sunday morning, we spent some time with a few chores aboard the boat. Gale decided to bait up a line and his first cast brought in a beautiful flounder. He caught a few small ladyfish for fun and then put the pole away.

 


 
 







After lunch on Sunday, we picked up Roger and Dita in our dinghy and motored over to Spring Bayou to explore old Tarpon Springs. We were especially interested in touring St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. As luck would have it, a baptism was about to begin and the priest invited us to stay for the ceremony. A 25-year old man was being baptized that day and his sponsor was his fiancée. The ceremony was very moving and the priest did a nice job of explaining the traditions.

 
 
 
 After our time at the Cathedral, we walked around town a bit and visited the Chamber of Commerce office. We pulled into an area back in a canal that had been the site of a new condo development but was abandoned when the economy fell. We were able to get on shore by climbing aboard a small barge and putting a plank up to the dock. Not the safest and we were, technically, trespassing, but sometimes you need to be a little creative get your shopping done. We left Dita with the dinghy and Roger, Gale and Maureen walked across the street to Winn Dixie to pick up a few needed groceries.


 
Sunday evening we shared a very tasty crab-stuffed flounder with Roger and Dita aboard Blue Heron. It was late by the time dinner was prepared and enjoyed but we declared the day to have been one of the best.

 













Monday was a day for relaxation. In the afternoon, Gale and Maureen decided to take a dinghy ride and went into the City Dock to pick up a few more sponges. We stepped into a few of the shops and then found ourselves at Mama’s Greek Cuisine restaurant where we shared an entrée of wonderful Greek chicken on pasta. Opa!!

 

Fri, Oct 21 to Sat, Oct 22, 2011 – Crossing the Gulf – Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs

 
 
 
 
 
 The first item of business for the morning was to confirm that the weather for the next two days was going to be good for our Gulf crossing. The Captain said we were “Good to Go” so at 8 am we hauled up the anchor and set our course for Tarpon Springs. S/V Zephyr was ready to go as well, but m/v Dual Dreams held tight. Sailboats can handle the wind and waves much better than most trawlers. Dual Dreams planned to wait it out for a forecast of calmer seas and less wind.

We began our trip with a temperature of 47 degrees, sunny skies and no wind. As the day progressed, the temperature rose towards 70 degrees and the wind steadily increased out of the northeast. We had both sails up and the motor running much of the time to be able to maintain a speed of 6 or 7 knots. The forecast was for the wind to keep up and increase even more overnight.
 
 
 
 
We trolled for fish as we sailed along. Captain Gale had three lines going at once. Our first fish hit at 1:30 pm and he was a ferocious fighter! It took several minutes to boat him and it turned out to be a Little Tunny, aka Blue Bonito, False Albacore or Little Tuna. The food value is not high, but the sport was worth the battle. After a photo, he was released and the line was baited up for the next one. It wasn’t long before we caught a small mahi mahi. We took a picture of that one and let him go, too, in hopes of catching a bigger one. The third strike was a Spanish Mackerel and he put up a good fight. In fact, he kept fighting all the way to the fillet table. Before the first cut, he slipped away and jumped back in the water!! Dang it!! At sunset we brought in all the lines and did not put them back in again for the rest of the trip.

About 3 pm, the wind and waves came up enough to make the ride a bit bumpy. We didn’t mind, though, since the wind was in our favor and we were moving along quite nicely. During the night, winds blew from 15 to 25 knots and for awhile, we even turned the motor off since we didn’t need it and we didn’t want to arrive at our destination before light. We were glad that we could sail and lift the lower unit out of the water as we were getting closer to shallow water and the possibility of crab pots being present. Sure enough, as the sun began to rise, we could see there were crab pots all around us.

 
 
 
 
 
 At 11:30 am Saturday morning, after 27-1/2 hours and 181 statute miles, we pulled into a slip at the Tarpon Springs City Marina and went to shore for the afternoon. The Captain and the Admiral both agreed that we had just completed our most comfortable “big water” crossing to date. The wind was to our advantage and the waves were “ok” even though they were on our beam. Neither the Captain nor the Admiral got seasick at any point.

The Tarpon Springs Marina allows vessels to tie up during the day for a small ($10) fee as long as the boat is not there overnight. You can even use the water, electricity, showers, etc. Blue Heron and Zephyr both took a slip and we went for a walk. We found a charming waterfront community filled with little shops selling sponges, antiques, excursion boat operators handing out flyers, and Greek restaurants and bakeries galore. We were enchanted with the place and couldn’t believe we had passed by this way twice before without coming in to discover the town.

Tarpon Springs is hailed as the “Sponge Capital of the World” and is the oldest town in Pinellas County. It is located five miles up the Anclote River where it intersects with the Gulf of Mexico. In 1905 six Greek men started a prosperous sponge diving business there. Word of their success spread to Greece quickly and the migration of Greek people to Tarpon Springs continues to this day.

On our walk, it didn’t take Roger long to find a cigar store and select his favorite indulgence for the day. We checked out a few sponge shops, tasted some Greek wine and then chose The Parthenonas Restaurant for lunch. Gale and Maureen shared an appetizer of Spanakopita, a blend of spinach, onions and feta cheese baked in a flaky phyllo dough, that was, to put it mildly, Fabulouso! Our entrée was also “to die for” – homemade Greek spaghetti topped with lamb shank and served with Greek style potatoes and fresh bread. There were no regrets at the table whatsoever.

 

The four of us strolled back to the boats and made our way to an anchorage a local sailor had told us about. The anchorage was not mentioned in any of our guidebooks and we were happy to learn that we didn’t have to travel all the way out to the power plant (4 or 5 miles back down the river) and could anchor closer to the action. We settled in and watched the evening activity on the water.

Thursday, October 20, 2011 – Apalachicola, mile 351.3

It felt like a typical fall morning – cool and dry air, leaves dry, turning and falling from the trees and a sunny sky. We met a couple of the locals who come out to fish on the pier or bring their fishing boats and launch them there on a regular basis. One lady pulled in a nice flounder and said she catches them all the time.

At 11 am, we untied the dock lines and headed east toward Apalachicola. The winds were out of the north northwest from 10-20 mph so we used our headsail to help us along. We followed Zephyr and let them set the pace. In the middle of Lake Wimico, we saw Dual Dreams coming up behind us. As we exited the lake and entered the canal, Dual Dreams passed and went on to the anchorage at Apalachicola.

At 3 pm, we were anchored and secure just before the Gorrie Memorial Bridge and planning for a crossing in the morning. Gale took the dinghy over and picked up Roger and Dita and went into town. Maureen opted to stay aboard the boat and work on the blog while Gale went in search of some extra fishing line.

 

When Gale returned, he had fresh shrimp and scallops with him. We combined that with the bass that was thawed and grilled a feast for our dinner.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 – White City free dock, mile 329.5

The wind came up during the night as forecast and was blowing 25 to 30 knots out of the northwest. We had paid for a week at the marina and it was now over. We were eager to move on and the plan was to join Roger and Dita at the White City dock for the night – just a few miles away.

We spent the morning with our last minute chores including another stop at the hardware, sporting goods, liquor and grocery stores. Gale also had Roger’s boat propane tank filled for him. A special treat was a pancake breakfast at McDonald’s before going back to the boat.


 
 
 The wind was blowing a steady 30 mph when we left the dock at 11:15 am. The waves were 3 to 4 feet in the bay and it was a crazy one mile ride to the safety of the canal. In retrospect, we said we wouldn’t do it again because the risk of finding ourselves aground or up on the rocks was too great. Fortunately, we didn’t have any mishaps. Once we were in the canal, it was a slow ride. We weren’t fighting the wind and waves anymore, but the tide was against us and we had a 2-1/2 to 3 knot current to contend with. It took us two hours to travel the seven miles to the free dock.

At 1:15 pm, we were tucked on the inside of the fixed docks at White City. The canal had been quite wavy with a few white caps when we turned the corner to travel east on the ICW, but the inside dock was very well protected and we had no wave or wind action whatsoever. The sun was shining and it was a lovely afternoon with temps in the upper 60’s.

Dita and Roger invited us to dinner on their boat. During the afternoon, Dita baked a fresh loaf of bread and shared a piece with us. The evening meal was absolutely wonderful and very much appreciated. We enjoyed pork roast, baby red potatoes, fresh cole slaw and giant sliced tomatoes. Roger made Bloody Marys and served some fabulous French red wine with our meal. What a lovely evening with friends.

Thurs, Oct 13 thru Tues, Oct 18, 2011 - Port St Joe Marina

 

Since we had dropped off our car in Port St Joe before leaving Florence, Alabama, we decided to take a drive along the main highway to Mexico Beach on Thursday. We did not try to tackle much in the way of boat projects that day and simply enjoyed the wonderfully warm fall weather. In the afternoon, Mike and Harriet arrived on m/v Dual Dreams and took a side tie along the north dock. Late afternoon we walked over to the Haughty Heron which is a bar, a liquor store and a cigar store. Lucky us! Happy Hour was just about to begin so we had a cocktail before going back to our boat for a light fish supper.

Friday was another lovely day. The marina was sponsoring a gathering for the local Humane Society and provided hot dogs, chips, drinks and a place to bring a few of the animals from their facility. We had been thinking about getting another dog for the last few months but the representatives hadn’t brought any small ones. No problem, we found out where the Humane Society was located and drove out to see what we could see. They had a lot of big dogs and one really cute rat terrier / blue heeler puppy they called ‘Finch.’ Finch’s previous owner’s last name was Finch and the name seemed to fit him well. If Finch had been a female, ‘she’ might have gone home with us that day. That evening, we met Mike and Harriet for happy hour up by the marina building before walking over to the Haughty Heron. After we’d had enough, we made a quick stroll to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store and picked up some freshly steamed shrimp to share for our dinner.


 

On Saturday morning, Maureen and Harriet loaded up the laundry and headed over to the local coin operated laundromat. As our clothes were washing, we walked across the street to check out the Farmers Market. Neither of us bought anything since the only cash we had on us were the quarters we needed for the machines. It was just as well – Maureen was drawn to the sweets and we had been doing such a good job of avoiding them lately.

 

We learned there was a Wine and Art Festival taking place in Mexico Beach. It sounded like a good time, so at 3 pm, with Mike and Harriet, we piled in the car and drove to the Driftwood Inn where the festival was taking place. There was a $5 entrance fee and if you wanted a commemorative wine glass, that was another $5. Oh, and if you wanted wine, it was another $5 for about a 5 oz serving. Thankfully, we didn’t buy any glasses. The wine that was being served was not very good and there were only a few artists displaying their wares. Our first clue that we might be disappointed was from the guy who walked out about the time we were coming in and plopped his commemorative glass on the ticket table telling them to resell it. He said, “It was a complete waste!”

 

Not to be deterred, we decided to try out some other places. Toucan’s was a fun sports bar / tiki bar on the beach; we stopped at the Windmark property between Port St Joe and Mexico Beach and were pleasantly surprised by the happy hour prices. From there it was on to the Haughty Heron for the Songwriters’ Festival that had started the night before and various artists were singing at different venues in the area. The singing began at 7 pm and we stayed for a little over an hour. We were all getting hungry and planned on going to the Mexican Restaurant, Peppers, because we had heard it was very good. However, Gale got hung up trying to purchase CDs and asking questions about some of the songs. Mike and Harriet decided they were ready to go home and make something quick for dinner. We soon followed suit and went home ourselves.


 

 


Sunday morning was spent on chores and picking up a few groceries. At 3:30 pm, the two of us took a dinghy ride out into the bay and a short distance up the Gulf Canal. Gale threw in his fishing line and it wasn’t long before something hit.  
 
After a few minutes’ fight, he brought a small (30-inch) shark up to the dinghy. He didn’t want to get close to those teeth, so he cut the line and let it go with his hook. The next hit was a large lizard fish – Yuk! Then something REALLY big snapped his line after swallowing the lure and an 18-inch steel leader. These three hits were all out in the bay. While in the canal, he hooked a big catfish. It was time to quit and call it a day. About 6 pm, one of the charter fishing boats came in after 12 hours and unloaded its catch at the fuel dock. There were about six guys that had been out all day and each of them must have had at least five large fish. Most of the catch was red grouper, amberjack and mackerel.

Monday was a day dedicated to relaxation. Gale went shopping – he stopped at all the “guy places;” i.e., hardware store, automotive store and sporting goods store. Maureen got to read most of the afternoon. In the evening, we went out with Mike and Harriet to the Haughty Heron for a happy hour drink and then to Pepper’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Afterwards, we walked into the Port St Joe Bar for a game of pool but didn’t stay long – it was definitely a bar for the locals.

It started raining around 4 am Tuesday morning and rained hard until the middle of the afternoon. Early in the afternoon, Gale drove over to White City to check out the free city dock. We knew Roger and Dita, s/v Zephyr, were about four hours away and were interested in tying up there if it were suitable. Gale let them know that it was a nice place to stop and offered to pick them up once they had settled in and bring them back to Port St Joe for a shower and to grab some dinner. At 4:30 pm, we drove out to the White City dock thinking that their cell phones might not work there – we were correct. We loaded them up and drove back to the marina where they took some nice hot showers. From there, it was back to Peppers for a great meal and home to our respective vessels for the night.