Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

Saturday-Sunday, November 29-30, 2014

Finally, after ten days of waiting in Apalachicola, the weather cooperated and we had a window of relatively calm seas and low winds in which to make the crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to the start of the Inter-Coastal Waterway (ICW) at R4, the day marker near Tarpon Springs.

 

Even a pelican came along to say goodbye

We would be cutting across from Apalachicola Bay to Tarpon Springs,
a straight course that kept us about 40 miles off the coast

Our friends on our buddy boat, Roger and Mary, had already left on Friday aboard TA TA to anchor out at Dog Island for the night. We were to meet them at the East Pass the next day. We started our morning with a group prayer and the first boat to leave on Saturday was Seahorse because they had to stop and take on fuel.

Dan and Angie on Seahorse glide off at slack tide

One last look at the Apalachicola waterfront

We joined another boat in our flotilla, Mara Beel, at the bridge to
Apalachicola; Seahorse is on the right

Photo taken from Seahorse of Mara Beel on right and Serenity on left  -
we had just come around the red buoy in the center and were still
in the protection of St. George Island

When we got to East Pass between St. George Island and Dog Island we joined with two boats, TA TA and another boat from Canada, Perfect Balance. The waves were a little daunting when we first got out on the open water but as predicted, the winds eventually died down and the rest of the ride was long but uneventful.

We were a group of five and we stuck close together, with Seahorse in the lead, TA TA following Mara Beel, Perfect Balance off to our starboard and we brought up the rear with our radar keeping an eye on everyone. We drove from the lower helm where we were out of the wind and weather and closer to the center of gravity. We took two hour shifts watching the instruments on the helm and staring out into the night. Everyone made radio contact with each other, checking in on the half hour.

The half moon set around 1 a.m. and it was dark, but seeing all of the running lights on the other boats around us was very reassuring. The first glow of the morning light in the east was a very welcome sight.

John's synopsis of our trip:

Just letting you know we finally crossed the Gulf.  Left Apalachicola, FL Sat am at 10.  Reached the East pass at 1pm and headed for R4 just north of Anclote Key.  At first the seas as we came out of the pass were 3 to 4 feet on our port bow. We rocked and rolled quite a bit.  However I felt the tide was going out and the wind was south east causing this and we had a forecast for calmer winds as the pm went on and into the night.  So after an hour or so the seas gradually settled down so by 5 pm or so we had 2’ or less and after sunset I believe we had 1’ or so.  This lasted until 1 am. The forecast was the winds would pick up then from the southeast and they did, but not above 15mph.  I watched the Tampa weather buoy, about 112 miles NW of Tampa station 42036, for most of the trip and it reported the winds at 1 a.m. increasing to 14 mph with 2’ seas.  We had those 2 footers with an occasional 3 through the dark hours, 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. But the wind stayed pretty much on our port bow so we had very little rolling.  As we got in closer to shore, the seas and wind gradually dropped off. When we got east of Anclote Key and all the way to Marker 1 Marina, Dunedin, FL we had calm seas and light and variable wind.  And it was 75 degrees and clear skies. What a nice ending!

Overall it was an ok crossing. 
We crossed with 4 others all staying within 2 miles. There were at least 8 – 10 other boats also crossing.  So it was a busy night. Our 5 boats checked in on the radio to each other every half hour, and I passed the buoy weather each hour as well.  One of our buddy boats was Ta Ta, 27’ Albin. Their ride was a little rough but they made it just fine.  Kathy and I feel this crossing is our biggest hurdle on this adventure.  We are quite happy to have it behind us and also that it went well. You can wish for calmer seas etc. but for this time of year I think we did quite well.

So today, Monday, we will clean the boat a bit, rent a car and drive home.  I will come back several times to do maintenance etc. on Serenity.  Serenity has served us quite well and deserves a little TLC.  Oh yes, I logged 28.1 engine hours and 194.6 miles on the crossing.  It took us 27 hours to cross from marina to marina, the extra engine hour is due to my having to wait to get to the pump out and refuel when I arrived.

At Marker One Marina we waited for our turn at the fuel dock

We ended our day with a champagne toast before enjoying a dinner which
was put on by a generous and thoughtful couple who had made the
crossing the week before. L-R: Dan, Angie of Seahorse, Mimi, Jim,
of Perfect Balance, Roger, Mary on TA TA, Kathy, John,
Becky, Mark from Mara Beel, Jean & Mel of Dovekie

 After a good night's sleep we packed up a car and made the 2 hour drive to our home. It was very hard to say good bye to all the wonderful people we bonded with on the loop but we were welcomed by a sweet sign on our front door from our great neighbors.

We will be taking a break during the holidays and are excited about having our family gather for Christmas week. We are at about the halfway point on our great Loop Trip. Check back in to this blog when we resume our  journey in mid-January and head for the Florida Keys.

 

Captain’s Log November 29 & 30, 2014

Departed: Water Street Hotel and Marina at Apalachicola, FL 10:00 a.m. Saturday
Engine hours: 28.1 hrs. Total for trip: 495.6 hrs.
Actual hours: 27 hr.
Miles covered 194.4   Total for trip: 3463
Arrived: Mile Marker One Marina, Dunedin, FL 1:00 p.m. Sunday
Wx: Calm, cool morning on departure, see above for details