More Port St. Joe

This afternoon, we rode about another 5 miles but this time to the west.  Several years ago before the building bubble burst in Florida, there were a few upscale developments going in and we wanted to check them out.  From one perspective, we're glad that they are not the abominations that that infest the coast near us (guess how I really feel about zero lot line houses on top of dunes).  On the other hand, it's obvious that millions were spent on installing first class infrastructure and the houses are well set back from the shore with convenient walk-overs all along the way.  There are nicely done roads with broad sidewalks and a town center ready for more shops and restaurants.  As the economy picks back up and people come back to buy investment/rental property, I'm sure this place will take off.  Over the course of time we've lived in the panhandle, we've seen several waves of booms and busts. It seems to be the nature of the beast in a tourist driven area.  Hopefully Port St. Joe will stay a nice place from our point of view, unspoiled and friendly.

One of the many dune walk-overs from the beach side.

To get out the development, we had to cross the 65 foot high bridge.  This made we wish for my
road bike with its bigger wheels and more gears.  This is from the top looking up the cut
that goes from St. Joe's Bay to the intracoastal. To the left is the site of the former paper mill
and chemical plant.  They closed about 15 years ago and devastated the local economy.

The other side of the bridge is the bay.

These historic buildings and lighthouse used to be located on nearby
Cape San Blas.  There are shoals for miles offshore causing many groundings
and wrecks.  However, the natural movement of sand along the coast caused severe
erosion around the compound.  The buildings and lighthouse have been moved
farther inland over the years. They are now a tourist attraction in the downtown park.
We have climbed to the top in its previous location but didn't get here in time to do so
this trip.  I'm not sure what is out there guiding mariners now.  We'll have to come
back by car and check it out.

This is the bridge we rode our bikes over from the water side.  It

sure felt taller when we were climbing it!

The end of the peninsula and out into the gulf on our way to Crooked Island.

 

Port St. Joe

One of our favorite places by water or by road is Port St. Joe.  It is so picturesque and not polluted with over-development.  We started going to the state park located on the peninsula across from town when we were first stationed in the panhandle back in 1987.  To us, this place is soooo much better than a contrived theme park.  Dunes, starry skies, super nice people, nature at its best, all here!  Since we started coming to the city marina in 2008 with the Fling group from Fort Walton Yacht Club, it is a must visit spot whenever possible.  Blue Moon made her maiden voyage into the marina just fine!  The staff is extremely helpful besides being nice.  The restaurant has a killer view of the bay and good food to boot.  We like taking the bikes and riding all over town in both directions and the shops in the old downtown as worth browsing in.  Nice, nice, nice place to visit.

How can you not smile as you wait for a fantastic meal to arrive!

Port St. Joe City Marina.  They do a wonderful job maintaining their facilities and
making all welcome.  Lisa is the best!

Downtown Port St. Joe.

The front entrance of the historic Port Inn.  They offer breakfast to guests and
walk-ins.  Always a favorite place to stop

The place also has an outdoor seating section that was our choice on this
gorgeous morning.  Yesterday was stormy most of the day so we were
 happy to be out and about.

The trusty steeds patiently wait our return.

After breakfast we rode about 5 miles to the east.  The first part was along a bike path
then we took Hwy 98 back into town.

Port St. Joe was the site where the first Florida Constitution was written in 1838.
There are several roads, buildings and this monument commemorating the event
and its centennial celebration.

The museums were closed but we did get to walk around.  St. Joe Lumber Company
is no longer active in the lumber business but for decades the plant and all its
peripheral concerns were the driving economic force for this area.  They are now
mostly into land development as they own many thousands of acres in the panhandle.

We both like old trains, even if only in static display.

David couldn't resist playing with the levers.

Gulf Crossing

We've made the crossing many times before but each passage is unique.  This crossing was not the worst nor the best.  We started off with a light wind but coming from a good direction for motor sailing.  We both prefer to sail only but taking 3 days to cross with weather coming didn't seem prudent.  Alas, as we came farther across the gulf the wind dropped off even further and shifted causing the waves to also come from a different direction.  This confluence of conditions led to a rocky-rolly motion.  While this might be nice when gently rocking a cradle, not so nice on a boat!  This lasted for about another 16 hours but finally things improved and we were able to sail the last 5 hours in relative comfort.  The saving grace of this crossing were the milky way on full display and Blue Moon being the play toy of several large pods of dolphins.  The moon set early so we both gaped at the brillian display of constellations.  We stood short, two hour watches so we were able to track the movement of the stars across the sky.  Of course, sunrises and sunsets at sea are spectacular, especially with no storm clouds on the horizon.  We came in well after dark after about 32 hours out.  Ordinarily that is not a smart thing to do but the way in is well lit with bouys and we are familiar with St. Joseph's Bay.  We went straight to a lee shore, dropped anchor and gratefully went to sleep.

You can see how close the dolphin come to the boat.  We'll have 5 or more playing
in the bow wave.  Several gave us a good show by jumping high in the air.

It's so hard to capture the beauty of these mamals.  That wake in the water is from
its tail.

I will never tire of these magnificant creatures.  BTW, the yellow line running down the side of the boat are
called jack lines.  When offshore we always wear our life jackets and use tethers to clip ourselves
to the lines that run from the bow back to the cockpit.  That way a sudden shift of the boat doesn't throw us
overboard. 

Clear skies let us practice our sextant work.  I took the sights and David
worked the problem.  We came within 7 miles of our actual location which is
actually pretty good using the Local Area Noon method.

No green flash but it was our treat to watch.  This was our second sunset this crossing

This range mark really lit up the night on our approach to where we anchored.
It looks so different in the daylight!

Across the Gulf of Mexico

We are waiting for high tide to leave our cozy little bit of water and head back to the panhandle.  The weather looks acceptable and the waves are forecast to be manageable so off we go.  We should make the trip in somewhere around 35-40 hours.  This will be a bit longer than the trip down since we won't have the current going with us.  Once on the other side, we'll work our way back home and our alternate reality!

Merry Christmas

We hope you all enjoyed a peaceful, happy and loving Christmas.  We went to Mass early, talked with as many of our friends and family as we could and just had a wonderful day in general.

Christmas Eve

We are all tucked in safe and sound awaiting both a strong storm today and Christmas tomorrow.  Since the bad weather isn't due to arrive until the late afternoon, we decide to go for a dingy ride.  We found a great Frenchy's with a dock.  After a great meal, we dingyed over to the city dock we've visited a lot this trip and walked over to the store for last minute Christmas dinner items.  We were lucky enough to find a package with 2 slices of pecan pie.  Being a southern girl, it just wouldn't be Christmas without pecan pie!  We made it back in time to make sure all the boat was secure and waited for the storm to hit while we watched a movie.  Now we wait for Christmas!

The gate was open due to the high winds pushing the tiki hut around and
affecting the locking mechanism.  The dock staff was surprised to see us
just come in.  We were supposed to call and be buzzed in.

Christmas Eve south Florida style.

This pelican had such unusual coloring we had to get its picture.

The fishing boats for the Frenchy's chain use the dock.  These birds
are hoping they have a good day fishing so they can have the fish parts
we don't eat.

The storm was a strong one but fortunately lasted only about 4 hours.
The wind kept the windmill humming in the amps so not all bad.

We didn't actually have anything in them but hung them up anyway.
We did so much shopping for our kids before we left we ran out of
time for ourselves.  Truly, though, this trip has been a wonderful present
all by itself.

Last Sights of Tampa Bay

On Tuesday morning we left before dawn to try and get as far as we could down the bay and eventually over to Clearwater.  The plan is to be in Clearwater for Christmas and , if the forecast holds, leave for a gulf crossing on Friday.  We knew we had a long haul of over 50 miles so planned on the trip taking two days.  We wanted to get as far as possible due to a very severe storm heading our way.  We did not want to deal with wind and waves for too long a stretch.  As it turned out, the current carried us down Tampa Bay at such a rate that we made the gulf by 11 a.m. and were tucked into the anchorage across from the Clearwater YC by 3 p.m.  Thankfully, our wind generator and solar panels have kept the batteries topped off.  Overall, we're really happy with our decision to stay in the bay area and not press on south.  We know there are so many great things and people down that way but not having to always worry about making miles was a stress reliever.  We'll get down that way next time.

Sunrises can be so wonderful from a sailboat.

I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing these big ships.  The AIS said this one
was bound for Haiti

Range marks are all over the bay due to so many shipping channels.
They make popular roosting places for sea birds.  I just wouldn't want
the job of keeping them clean of all the poop!

Tugs help guide the big ships down the channel.  The ones here are
much larger than what we see pushing barges in the panhandle.

Pass-a-Grille and out to the gulf on our way back to Clearwater.

Manatee Viewing Center

On Monday, friends from FWYC, Ric and Katy came and picked us up for a day of sight seeing and boat part shopping.  They were down visiting relatives and it was greating spending the day with them.  Ric had read about a marine surplus store in Sarasota so off we went.  On the way down, we stopped at the Manatee Viewing Center built and maintained by the Tampa Power Plant.  All types of critters like to luxuriate in the warm waters that are created as a byproduct of electricity being produced.  Manatees are especially drawn to the warm, calm waters.  The center is a must-see for anyone visiting central Florida!

Cute statue of manatee mama and calf.

This is what you typically see, the snouts taking in air.  On a sunnier
day, you can clearly see their outline in the water.  This day, we
saw dozens of them around the area near the viewing platform.
My camera just couldn't capture them all.

I've never been so close to such a collassol piece of engineering.

These solar panels help to power the visitors center and recharge the
fleet of electric vehicles used by staff.  Interestingly, most of the staff
are volunteers who are retired from the power plant.

These were tarpon that I could get a picture of for you.

Great way to welcome visitors.

Tampa

We arrived at David Island YC on Saturday afternoon and once we had things squared away we pulled out the bikes and then went upstairs to the lounge for a late lunch. The club was full of kids for the annual party and we watched the fun.  We went for a short ride around the area just to get our land legs back.  On Sunday we rode to Mass at a treasure of an old church in downtown Tampa.  It was dedicated in 1860 and is one of the most magnificent works of art I've ever seen.  Granted, I've never been to Rome, but I have been around!  Some people might see only excessive architecture but I would argue that the Church provided much needed work for artisans and laborers alike.  If not for the "Palaces to God" built around the world, many families would not have been provided for or even starved.  Of course, it gave many talented artists meaningful work as well.  I think of these grand places as early public works projects.  The parishes didn't just dole out money, they provided work with dignity.
Besides church, we rode around and ate at a cafe recommended by one of the parishioners who was preparing to ship out the day after Christmas.  We rode around the downtown area and along the waterfront while we kept a wary eye on the approaching storm.  As it turns out, we had time to explore downtown, throw the discs and ride all over David Island before the light show came.  By the time it really hit hard we were all snug in cabin watching Dallas seal their playoff bid.  Great day all around!

The art work was so beautiful.  Before literacy was common, stained glass
windows were used to tell the most important stories from the Bible.  The details
of these windows was amazing.  You can only begin to imagine the work required.

The front facade was intricately carved and beautifully executed.

Those huge round windows were on three sides of the church.

The Tampa River has walkways and parks on both sides running through
the downtown area.  You can tell the city makes a real effort to keep the open
spaces nice.

Just some of the big buildings in downtown.  It was a bit intimidating riding our
bikes there.  I sure wouldn't want to do it on any day but Sunday.

This is a draw bridge looking back towards town.

Davis Island YC

This club is the last on our list for Florida Council of Yacht Clubs on the west coast of Florida.  Too bad we waited so long to visit.  It is a superb place to meet some extremely nice and friendly people.  This is a sailing/racing club par excellence.  They have a wide variety of boat types and they host many nationally famous regattas.  All the people were so inviiting and made us feel so welcome.  When the storm was due to hit, one of the past commodores arranged for us to be in a more comfortable slip.  We really enjoyed our time there.  With bicycles we were able to get out and explore downtown Tampa and the surrounding neigborhoods.  If we weren't trying to jump on a weather window to cross the gulf, we would definitely stayed longer.

Our view from our first slip.  The club is located in a small, circular
basin that is theoretically a seaplane basin.  There is an airport just across the
basin from the club so we had fun watching the comings and goings of some
very unique and interesting planes.  Seaplanes are extremely rare but
boats still have to avoid anchoring in certain areas.

The main Tampa ship channel runs the other side of the little spit of land that
joins the main part of David Island with the club area. We saw quite a few ships
using the channel.  Still looks funny!

The DIYC club house from across the water.

We had front row seats to watch the weather roll in from
the safety and comfort of the bar stools on the second floor.

I took the official photo of David for the upcoming newsletter introducing the
new Fort Walton YC officers.  He had on shorts and flipflops that you can't see.

The houses on David Island ranged from overblown mansions to quirky cottages.
This was one of my favorites.  A gardener's yard with creative accents.

I loved her Florida santa and sleigh.

Sadly, the basin near the club is full of boats that have seen their better days.
This boat obviously burned to the waterline yet still remains to impede the
movement of other boats.  The city is trying to clean things up but it's slow going.
Some homeless people have squatted on some of the derelict boats creating a whole
other layer of beaucracy to deal with.
 

This boat was aptly named Shoestring.  I guess rather than rescue is original
dingy when it sank, he just got another one.