Tuesday, March 29^th

After the captains had a conference about the weather, it was decided that we should scoot over to Apalachicola today while the weather was marginal.  It’s supposed to get really bad Wednesday through Friday, with a possible window for crossing the Gulf on the weekend. 

Again, we went on the “inside”; this time because it’s MUCH shorter than going on the “outside” in the Gulf.  We left at 10:05, and pulled into the Scipio Creek Marina at 3:00. The weather was overcast and chilly all day, but with calm winds.

 I think this might prove to be one of my favorite days of the whole trip.  We spent the whole day traveling through cypress swamps, Wimico Lake, and salt marshes.  I love cypress trees with their lacy leaves, spread-out roots, and knees (little trunk-bumps that sprout out away from the tree).  There were egrets and water-birds on stumps and in the cat tails throughout the marshes.  There were flocks of migrating ducks along the way.  There were beautiful flowering trees in little pockets throughout the swamp.   I didn’t spot any alligators, but we saw something that looked like an otter swimming across the channel – that was cool!

The best thing was a wildlife drama right beside us in Lake Wimico.  Over to starboard was a large flock of black ducks floating on the water; maybe sixty of them.  They appeared to be exhausted since they were unable to fly more than a foot or two before re-landing back into the water.  Suddenly, two bald eagles came soaring over and started dive-bombing them.  The eagles soared and struck over and over, until one of them finally nabbed a duck and carried it away.  It was sad, but amazing to watch!

We ended the day with dinner on Sanctuary and a DVD on Mariah. 

Another great day!

Wednesday, March 30th

We had a huge storm all night and almost the whole day.  It was ferocious!  Thank goodness we were tied up at a marina instead of out on the hook!  As it was, Sam got soaked to the bone when he went out to adjust the lines and the fenders.  We just hunkered down in the boat and spent the day reading. 

By evening, though, it cleared up so we went to the marina for dinner.  After dinner we played another fierce game of dominoes.  The results were nearly the same as the last time.  Pat and I have just cause to sulk!

Cypress trees and their "knees"

Bird on channel marker

Cool bridge!

Sanctuary sailing into Apalachicola

Floating house!

Tucked in at Scipio Creek Marina

Sunday, March 27^th

We had a slow morning, chatting over coffee for quite awhile.  Consequently, we didn’t take off until 10:15.  We decided to head for Port St Joe, where we’ll probably spend a couple of days.  The weather forecast was pretty dicey, so we decided to continue along “on the inside” through the West Bay and along the Ditch rather than sailing “outside” in the Gulf.  Thankfully, the winds had died down somewhat, so we managed to leave the yacht club dock safely.

Our route was very “twisty” and the winds shifted a lot, but we did manage to sail about half the trip.  In fact, the wind gusts were so strong at times that we’d find ourselves over-canvassed and listing at 30 to 35 degrees.  I couldn’t take the extreme heeling, so Sam had to spill the wind from the sails when it got extreme.  We only bounced the lantern across the cabin once though, and luckily it still works.

Wow!  Sam spotted a bald eagle that had just caught a fish!  We watched as the eagle flew up into a tree and started tearing the fish apart.  The fish was so big it draped down over the branch.  How wonderful!

Good news:  The knot meter worked great!  Bad news:  The depth meter is still wacky.  Not good!

We docked at the Port St. Joe marina at 6:30 (we crossed into the Eastern time zone), and were met by our friends Theresa and Ernie who had driven over from Ft. Walton Beach.  We had happy hour, and then went to dinner at the marina.  Great burgers! 

Monday, March 28^th

We got up late, had a leisurely breakfast, and did some chores.  Sam and David Tye worked on the depth meter while I did two loads of laundry.  Then we walked over to the sports store, the Sweet Shop (had ice cream cones to fortify ourselves), and the grocery store. 

Later we borrowed the marina bikes and went for a ride.  Pat and I got the privilege of riding the three-wheelers, and that was an experience.  They steer weird, and Pat kept careening off the path.  My seat wouldn’t adjust so my knee muscles got a vigorous workout.  We rode along the city bike paths and it was beautiful!  A really neat thing happened when we passed a house with a pot-bellied pig in the yard.  He came running to see us, wagging his tail like crazy and grunting all the way.  He was so cute!

We had a great dinner on Sanctuary and then played dominoes.  David and Sam were competing for first place, while Pat and I competed for last.  No need to be explicit about the outcome!

Mariah sailing along

Port St Joe Marina

In the Ditch

Susan at the helm

Sam on folding bike

Friday, March 25th

We pulled up anchor at 8:30 and headed East into the Ditch (the Intercoastal Waterway).   The good news is, both our knot and depth meters started working!  They were intermittent in the beginning, but were nice and steady by the end of the day.  There must have been some creature stuck on them, and our fast speed gradually tore it off.

Once again we had good speed all day – there must have a beefy current going our way in the ditch.   The wind was on the nose all day until we approached the bridge in St Andrews Bay; then we were finally able to sail.  We did well all the way to the Panama City St Andrews Bay Yacht Club, but had lots of trouble docking there because the winds were so terrible.  With the help of two guys on the dock, however, we finally got tied off.  Boy, did we need a drink!

Lesson learned:  When you've been rocking back and forth on the water for two days, don't have a large gin and tonic before taking a shower.  I also TKOed myself in the shower stall!

That evening we had a fine dinner at the club, and then a good deep sleep during the night.  We were sure beat after the night before!

Saturday, March 26th

We spent the day lounging around the boat and exploring the town on our folding bikes.  Boy, are they ever nifty!  They fold up to about a third their normal size, both vertically and horizontally.  They have seven speeds, suspension, and a bike rack.  AND, they are bright red!  We toddled all over the place.  The old part of town along the bay has beautiful, stately mansions and hundreds of azaleas all over the place.  It was gorgeous.

In the evening our friends, the Tyes (in Sanctuary) came sailing in.  They weren’t able to leave Ft. Walton on Thursday, so they left Saturday and made it all the way to Panama City.  We caught up on all our sailing experiences, then decided to hit the hay.

Thursday, March 24^th

Well, we’re finally off!  I have mixed feelings about this trip - partly I'm really excited, and partly I'm a little scared.  This is an awfully big undertaking!

We pulled out at 10:00 this morning.  We’re so loaded down that the stern is buried in the water.  We look like a whale that’s about to breach!  We’ll be sleeping up front in the bow berth.  I’ve heard you have to pay big bucks at fancy health spas to hang down so the blood flows to your head, and just think, we’ll be getting that treat for free!

We had a FAST run all day; the wind was blowing fiercely.  The bad news is that our knot meter didn’t work all day.  We decided to spend the night at the 331 bridge near the east end of Choctawhatchee Bay.  Just as we pulled into shallow waters to anchor, our depth meter quit.    VERY BAD!  Luckily we had marked waypoints on a previous trip, so we followed those in safely.  We anchored, and started to tidy up the boat.  Sam just happened to look back, and we were careening toward a channel marker!  We rushed to start the engine and just missed hitting the buoy.  Apparently we had failed to set the anchor properly.  So, we made another approach and this time got it well set. 

The night was very rough from fierce winds, but our anchor held fine and things were good.

Butt in the water!

Pulling away from the dock

Under way!!!