Trip Across The Gulf

We sailed in company with two other boats.  Besides Morning Star, a Catalina 42 named Free Bird joined us for the crossing in Carrabelle.  It's always nice to have someone to call if things go wrong.  Fortunately, nothing did for any of us.  Being different boats, we each had a different experience.  Having an enclosure allowed us to wear a few less layer of clothes and not traveling with any animals made one less stressed being on board.  The winds, of course, did not do act predicted but that was a good thing. They had been forecast to become light head winds sometime in the night and that never happened.  As it turned out, we reached across the gulf and ended up in Clearwater in only 26 hours.  Not a bad run!  We never saw any waves over 4 feet and those only rarely.  Definitely one of the best crossing under our keel, this being our 9th if my count is correct.  Our second in Blue Moon.  We look forward to many more like this one.

This house is the last habitation you see up close when you exit the Dog Island Cut.
The cut is wide and deep so is a popular entrance point.

Apparently this poor captain didn't see a shoal or had other problems causing
the boat to sink.  Not sure how much boat is under that mast but you can see
that it has turned into a fish haven if not a warning to other boaters.

We do lean over (heel) a bit but nothing too uncomfortable.  I tend to plant myself
when the angle is over 20 degrees.  You can see the water was relatively flat.

Free Bird flying all her sail.  They have made their way down from Wisconsin.
They have cruised the Great Lakes extensively and are now looking for new
waters to explore.

This was a gorgeous sunset.  The amazing thing about it was the almost Green Flash.
Just as the sun was hitting the horizon, the air around the sun took on a green hue but
at the moment of sunset, no flash.  The camera couldn't capture the glow very well, sorry.