Appalachicola to Carrabelle

We took so many great pictures, we just wanted to share.  If you want a closer look, click on the picture to enlarge.

Morning Star with all 4 sails flying. 

Don't know why, but I love this old RR bridge.  It is now permanently
locked into the open position.

This barge and tug were tied up to one side of the river.  Hopefully
the crew is enjoying Thanksgiving with family.

The cargo on the barges was large freeway sections.  In the background is
an osprey nest.

Appalachicola.  We really like the town but no time to stop today!

Sad, old wharehouse.  I'm always amazed to see it still standing
whenever we pass it.

Not a great day for this poor derelict.

The current was ripping along at 2 knots or better.  Thankfully it
was going our direction!!

The sea grasses along the water's edge look stately standing up to the breeze.

Highway 98 bridge.

This long bridge crosses over to St. George's Island.  There is a great
state park there and many touristy inns.

The city docks at Appalachicola.  They seem in good shape but the water
is very shallow in the city marina.

This creek feeds into the Carrabelle River.

The town of Carrabelle was trying to position itself as a darling of the developers.
Many water side houses were built speculating on being the next big thing.
When the market collapsed, so did the dreams. 

Marks make all the difference in preventing a boat from running aground.

I imagine you get your exercise getting to the top floor.

He was taking a picture of us so I thought I'd return the favor.

We sailed alongside this boat for most of the way.  She was really
heeled over in the strong breeze as we approached Carrabelle.




 

Almost to C-quarters and Thanksgiving Dinner!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Ya'll

The day started early as we expected a long, long day. We planned to make it to Carrabelle which is about 45 miles away.  If the current is against you, that can make for a long, slow slog.  Since we will have to negotiate up a river and then get into slips against the current, we really want to arrive in daylight.  As it turned out, we had a ripping current most of the way as well as a favorable wind.  We arrived at C-Quarters Marina almost 2 hours ahead of our expected arrival time.  Morning Star is hosting a bodacious meal.  We all have so much to be thankful for today. 

We left just before dawn to some spectacularly calm water. 

We couldn't resist taking pictures of the mirror reflection with the mist in the
background.  So peaceful and calm.  A great start to the day.

More mirror sailing!

One of my better ideas, his and hers coffee.  We like our coffe but radically
different from each other.  West Marine has these great coffee presses so we
each can have the strength of coffee we like.

As we got closer to Lake Wimico and the last stretch before Appalachicola,
there were lots of islands along the way.

Our sailing companion, Morning Star.

From Panama City to White City Along ICW

The rain we endured on our travels on Tuesday cleared overnight.  This left us with clear, sunny skies but not a lot of heat.  Once the boat was off shorepower, no more heater.  We had packed plenty of warm clothes so no problem.  The thing with traveling is the number of times you change your clothing configuration.  Thermal underwear with another 2-3 layers, warm hat and gloves give way to few layers to a whole different layer of lighter weight clothes then it all goes back on as the sun goes down.  Not terribly efficent but then neither is being so uncomfortable you long to be someplace else!  We had a great trip that took about 6 hours all along the east end of St. Andrew's Bay, along a series of creeks that have been dredged to create the intracoastal to sections that were created to link the creeks and finally to White City.  You can't actually see any city from the water but they have generously made their waterside park available to transient boaters.  There is no electricity but you can take jerry cans to the restrooms and fill them from a spigot.  Of course having a potty that doesn't flush into your holding tank is always a bonus.  As we arrived at just past sunset, we were glad to see Brenda and John on the dock waiting to help with lines.  Another great sight was a bunch of river otters playing right beside the boat.  Cocktails and snacks finished off a great day!

All along the Intracoastal there are shifts of the course from long and straight
passages to lots of curves.  Even when you've traveled the route many times
there is always something to see to delight the traveler.  Eagles, dolphins, osprey
jumping fish are just of few things you can expect to see over the course of a day.

A happy man makes for a happy boat!

More hardwood color among the pines.

All the rain has made the creeks feeing into the ICW mini-torrents.
We saw several of these throughout our trip.

One of those long straight sections.

 

The open water sections were a bit rolly due to the wind but Blue Moon
is heavy enough to allow for a comfortable ride.

The blend of marsh and forests is so strikingly beautiful.
  Even with deadvtrees, it always delights.

Outside of Panama City is a successful shipbuilding concern.  It
is always interesting to see what project they have going.

A fairly large vessel is currently under construction.  This is a real
jobs boon for the area.

Cypress knees show themselves at low tide

This rickety old dock leads one of the many fish camps found
along the way.

This cut is about 5 miles straight down to Port St. Joe. 

Sunset through the trees couldn't be prettier!

Almost at the end of the day.  This is the highway bridge leading to White City.

The dock is park of the city park.  Unfortunately, there was a large section
that had collapsed due to soil erosion.

Really Underway

We traveled the whole of Tuesday in rain so not many pictures.  We made it in to the city marina at Panama City to meet up with new cruising friends Brenda and John.  They were transiting at our club on their way from Houston to the Bahamas.  They are on a Shannon 38 named Morning Star.  She is a beautiful labor of love and their craftsmanship is excellent.  For now, we'll be tagging along with them enjoying good company.  We left Panama City heading to a tie up at the White City docks.  I won't have wifi strong enough to post from there so this may be the last from this side of the gulf.  The plan is to head to Dog Island cut from White City and then head to either Tarpon Spring or Clearwater.  Those plans all depend on weather both here, in the middle of the gulf and on the penninsula.  Please keep us in your prayers!!

The cockpit is fully enclosed, a super nice feature.  When it is raining or
cold we are protected.  It's especially nice on long passages in open water.

It may feel like winter but the trees know it's only Fall.

So long Choctawhatchee Bay for now.

First Day Out

We managed to get away from the docks about 10:30 a.m. so our day was necessarily a short one.  We made it to the NE side of the Hwy 331 bridge near the opening of the intracoatal cut.  The weather was due to turn windy and rainy and the forecasters were right.  We were especially gratefull for the cockpit enclosure.  It is not completely waterproofed but sure beats nothing.  We were able to get in before the rain and enjoy a relaxing toast to the beginning of the journey.

So long Fort Walton Yacht Club for now.  See you next year!

Great sailing wing and wing.  First time the spinaker pole was used for sailing.



Usually he's a standup guy but the site doesn't recognize my photo editing.
 He's studying a new whipping technique for lines.

The Hwy. 331 bridge is having an extra pair of lanes added, ostensibly for
hurricane evacuation but really to get tourists to their condos faster.

Whatever the reason for expansion, it is a cool sight to see the new lanes
under construction.  The cranes and barges working the project are huge
and impressive.  They had to sink several, large metal pilings off from the
bridge to secure supply barges when not in use.  They are not on a chart so
good thing we had daylight to come past them.

These buoys are huge.

Just a beautiful sun in the clouds picture.

Of course those clouds have rain!