On to Venice

 We are sorry that we only had a few hours in Gulfport but we need to make progress South in order to have a mooring ball in Boot Key for the holidays.  The weather was still going to be producing choppy (seasickness makers) waves so we opted to continue on inside the ICW for another day.  We had the ambition goal of Venice YC almost 50 miles away.  While that may not seem like much, we had 5 moveable bridges we need to negotiate.  Sometimes it can be a delay of less than 10 minutes or sometimes it can stretch to an hour all depending on times and opening schedules.  We left a little after 7 and had mostly good luck with currents and bridges so no complains.

Goodnight Gulfport.  See you next time

On our way to our first bridge, we saw this sad sight.  All it takes is a bit of bad luck

 or inattention to ruin your day and your boat.

Really sad day. We try to anticipate disaster but sometimes forget to always secure drinkware.  I had my favorite cup from Bristol, RI on the cockpit table and went below to wash dishes.  A RUDE powerboat came blasting by and caused a severe wake knocking my cup off.  I guess we'll just have to make it back to Bristol and buy a new one.

This was our weather the entire trip.  There is a sun in there somewhere.

Nice hacienda.  I guess we might consider this if we get around to buying a lottery ticket.

Osprey nest on a piling.  Nobody was home but I did see one across the canal on top of a mast.

Zoom in on this one.  We thought the trees looked like they were moving.  

Turns out they were!  Nice mermaid too.

Pelicans having a gabfest.

One of the bridges had this netting tucked away.  The notes said it was about to 

undergo maintenance.  Nets will keep tools and workers from dropping in the water.

What the side waterways look like in this part of the ICW.

Only swing bridge we have come across on this trip.  they are always fun to watch.

Zoom in on this one too to see the danger signs and the bridge tender operating the bridge from the middle of the bridge.

Fully open and good to go.

                                                    Our last bridge on the journey south.

Gulfport

 It was only 19 miles from Clearwater to Gulfport but that's 19 miles less to cover offshore.  We're still feeling a bit snakebit about offshore so we'll take it.  Plus, we could pick up a mooring ball and use the marina facilities and get to one of our favorite towns to visit even if only for a short time.  

This stretch of water has many opening bridges.  I never get tired of watching the process.  You call the bridge tender and request an opening, it opens and you pass through then you thank them.  It can be stressful if you have currents pushing you too fast towards a not quite open bridge but easy peasy today.

They open one side at a time.

The gears are massive as you can imagine.  They have to lift tons of roadway several times a day, every day.

The underside of the roadway.

Almost ready to let us through. 

The Gulfport Casino.  No, it's not a gambling spot.  The original definition of a casino is a community gathering place. The city dinghy docks are just behind it.

Somebody sure has a sense of humor naming this rundown place a resort!

The main street of Gulfport.

A snowy egret too busy hunting to notice us.

I love this sculpture but I couldn't get close enough for a better picture.  It is a flock of pelicans.

Our dinghy is now our mode of transportation from Blue Moon to shore or other boats.

David checking that the lines are secure.  It would really ruin our day only to see our dinghy drifting away in the wind.

The mooring field.  It's not huge compared to other's we've been to but 

it was a welcome spot for a night.

This is an art work in the shape of a rowing dinghy with a mural on the back and a quote carved into the side.  It wouldn't photograph well so you'll just have to visit and see for yourselves.

Mr Gecko skateboarding and listening to his tunes.

We have these headset which are awesome.  We tried several other, less expensive, options but there are worth every penny.  In a wind. we can talk to each other from one end of the boat to the other giving and taking clear instructions on where the boat needs to be maneuvered.  They're not billed as marriage savers for nothing! 

Clearwater and going South

 The yacht club had it's docks under repair and replacement so we just stayed on the boat. It rained all day and made for a good excuse to stay put.  It was drier and more relaxing anyway.  We slept well due to exhaustion and Nyquil.  We really feel the need to get to Boot Key soon in order to get a mooring ball so one day was all we allowed ourselves to rest.  We basically ate soup for 3 meals just so I didn't have to cook.  A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do (sorry John Wayne).  Anyway, in reviewing our options, we decided to press south in the ICW to avoid the rough water in the gulf and still make some progress south.

Captain David checking the next leg's weather.

We're not totally uncivilized.  I try to set the table for supper.

The tent heater really took the chill off the damp cabin.  We can't leave it on too long since it does burn oxygen.

Bombas, thank you Angela, kept my feet toasty warm.

A victim of the crossing was a flying fish.  It's out of focus but after the crossing, so was I.  We found another one in the dinghy the next day.

From our chartplotter you can see all the artificial canals dug by developers years ago to

 increase the amount of waterfront properties.

This is no longer allowed since it is truly horrible for the ecosystem.

An important part of navigation is knowing where you are.  These marks show that it is on the ICW thanks to the orange square.  The number corresponds to a spot on the chart so you can identify where you are in the grand scheme of things.  There are dozens of side channels to houses, marinas, etc so it's important to know which marks you need to follow.

Mangrove iles are everywhere and they provide important benefits.  They filter pollutants from the water, help prevent erosion and provide nesting areas for birds and spawning grounds for fish.  They used to be considered nuisances to be removed.

We saw quite a few houses with solar panels this time around.

Typical view of condos.

Clearwater bridge out to the Gulf.

Our quiet, blissfully calm nook of water.

The Crossing

 We had such a lovely forecast from our weather routing service we actually thought about making it all the way to the keys.  Oh well, reality just didn't match the forecast.  For the blog, I'll just focus on the good things because the bad was, well, bad.

 We had spent a great night at the St. Andrew's Bay Yacht Club enjoying one more night of heat and a fabulous dinner. Coming out the St. Andrew's Bay pass was great. Wind and waves were exactly as forecast.  Strong, steady but not overpowering winds with flat seas, a sailor's dream.  We had pods of 30-40 dolphins taking turns cruising with us and playing in our bow wake.  One juvenile even did spectacular flips and leaps for us.  Just a wonderful start.  We saw some pelicans and seagulls too.  We had a rod in the holder so I think they were looking for scraps but we weren't fishing.  We were surprised that we saw no other boats until the middle of the night and they were on the reverse course to Choctawhatchee bay.  What a small world that two small boats would pass on reciprocal courses.  

Cut to coming in the pass at Clearwater.  It was just at sundown and the pass was full of tourist boats taking their fares to watch the sunset. On one classic schooner, a bridal couple was being photographed with the bowsprit and sunset as background.  I'm sure they were stunning pictures.  We made it in to our anchorage and filled with gratitude dropped anchor and stopped moving!  We like to anchor just off the Clearwater Yacht Club where we have reciprocal privileges.  It rained all day so we took a day off to clean us and the boat.  David also continued tweaking the generator for the alternator.  It was a great and much needed respite.

St.Andrew's Bay Yacht Club.  The club's docks were destroyed by Hurricane Michael but they now have this long dock and power.

Blue Moon ready for the next leg of the journey.

Beautiful grounds and club.

Getting ready to go offshore means securing items from being tossed about in rough seas.

No one likes to think about it, but sinking is a

possibility.  We fill our ditch bag with important papers, cash and wallets.  We also include water and an

emergency signaling device.  We were going farther offshore we'd include more survival gear.  Realistically, in the Gulf we could expect a rescue within 24 hours once we set off our EPIRB.

Water starting to get a bit active.  So long flat seas.

Before things got rough, David was able to work on the engine.

Back to Cruising

 It has been way too long since my last post but a lot has happened since early 2020.  We've all had to endure the COVID insanity of lockdowns, don't lock down, get innoculated, don't get innoculated, etc.  For the record, we grew up in a time where people we knew suffered polio and we all had measles, mumps, chickenpox, etc and vaccines were seen as a gift from God.  That's how we looked at the this latest vaccine.  Get it and pray for the best.

Not being excited about lockdown, we went camping.  There were still 7 states of the 50 we had never visited and what better way to socially distance than camping!  We bought a fixer-upper Coleman pop-up trailer and fixed her up.  Ironically, it was the same year and model as the one we owned and toured the US in back in the early 2000s when we lived in New Mexico.  It was a great trip overall.  Except, (wait for it) I developed a lot of pain in my shoulders and upper back.  Long story short, I spent the rest of 2020 being diagnosed, poked and prodded all at a snail's pace.  Remember COVID?  It took an act of congress to be seen in person and get the necessary MRIs, X-rays, etc.  What a pain, literally.  Anyway, I had rotator cuff repair in January and neck fusion in August.  Lots of  caring and attentive PT and excellent surgeons made a crummy situation bearable.  2022 opened with slow healing but improvement enough to start considering another cruise to the Keys and The Bahamas for the winter/spring time.

Lest you think we sat around bemoaning our lack of cruising, fear not.  Besides all the crummy stuff we had some great times welcoming new grandkids, Alder Palace and Gloria Eleanor to the family tree.  We always enjoy visiting our kids and grandkids.  Hopefully we'll also be able to get back to Australia and see those kids and grandkids.  We have so many blessings and we're grateful.  

Ok, back to cruising.  There have been a few hiccups along the way but the boat and our bodies are now just as ready as our minds and imaginations.  I hope you enjoy the journey along with us.

The club heron sees us off.

Making lists helps me not forget anything.  I update the list at the end of each trip,

A cushion blew off the boat this summer so I made new ones.  We replaced the foam in the cockpit cushions so I had extra foam to use.

I have a diagram of where everything in "woman land" goes.  Helps me remember where that extra can of olives is lurking.

And the gathering begins.

Our cockpit surround is so wonderful in the

winter.  The greenhouse effect is great.

A view down Choctawhatchee Bay, our home waters.

Low tide along the way shows the muddy banks of grass.

A warm cup on a cold day was awesome.

The ditch is actually part of the Intra-coastal Waterway or ICW for short.  This runs from Brownsville, TX to Carrabelle, FL then picks up again at the Anclote Rive in Central Florida and runs through Lake Okeechobee up to Norfolk, VA.  We have traveled all but the stretch east of far eastern Mississippi.  Someday....

An old landing for some long ago business.

The banks always have something interesting to see.  We often see eagles, deer and other wildlife but today it was too cold I guess.  It's in the 50s and that's hunkering with hot chocolate weather in Florida!

What we see as we navigate.  This is a shot of the ditch on our chartplotter.

And they says cruisers have no luxuries!  My indoor clothes dryer in action.

The outside view of our awesome enclosure..  The solar panels help keep up with our power usage.  We have two more folded down for travel that we'll use at anchor or on a mooring ball.  We also have a wind generator.

You can see signs of previous floods.

 David is repositioning gear for heading offshore to points south.  We try to have Blue Moon set up for as many wind conditions as we can before we head out.  We plan to go at least 220 miles so the conditions will vary along the way.