- TONIGHT
NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 20 KNOTS INCREASING TO AROUND 30 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO GALE FORCE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET OCCASIONALLY UP TO 6 FEET.
BUILDING TO 4 TO 7 FEET OCCASIONALLY UP TO 9 FEET OUTSIDE OF APALACHEE BAY.
DOMINANT PERIOD 4 SECONDS.
PROTECTED WATERS CHOPPY INCREASING TO VERY ROUGH. - SATURDAY
NORTHWEST WIND AROUND 30 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO GALE FORCE...BECOMING 20 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON.
SEAS 4 TO 5 FEET IN APALACHEE BAY AND 5 TO 8 FEET OCCASIONALLY UP TO 10 FEET FURTHER OFFSHORE.
DOMINANT PERIOD 5 SECONDS.
PROTECTED WATERS VERY ROUGH BECOMING ROUGH.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Crossing weather
This why we spent so much effort and left a day earlier than expected. The sea is a mighty force not to be messed with! Here is one of the forecasting tools we used. We hope none of looper friends tried to cross today!
Night Passage!
October 29th, 2014
Wednesday morning the Gulf Crossing weather prognostications told us today was the day. An approaching cold front and north wind a would make the gulf a mess untill at least the 6 th of November! 15 to 20 knot winds with seas 3-5 which means occasional seas over 6. No place for small boats like ours.
At 8AM Brigitte and I started the process of cleaning the boat stowing all stuff breakable. We took the dingy motor off the dingy and lashing it down in the cockpit. To much weigh on the transom if we encounter heavy seas. I spent a couple hours in the engine room checking oil, sea strainers and change the Racor Primary fuel filters. The three primary failures on diesel engines are fuel issues, fuel issues, and fuel issues followed by clogged water intakes. Topside I loaded a series of latitude and longitude coordinates into the chart plotter. Gina one of our new travel companions was our naviator and she had plotted two courses depending on the weather we would face along the route.
At noon the crew of Island Time, Gina and Capt. Steve along with Master Capt. Glen and Brenda from Young at Heart, Brigitte and I assembled on Putz'n Arounds deck. We re-read weather reports, conferred with Eddy's Weather Wag. Eddy is the new crossing expert for all us loppers. Daily he collects all facets of weather date such as tides, wave highth, wind direction weather fronts etc. And he gives the thumbs up or down on our crossing. We matched time, speed, course approach and determined it was time to go. It was important to arrive after sunrise to be able to spot the crab pot bouys that litter the waters We said a prayer and Brigitte attended to casting off our lines. I was ask to lead as we had better radar capabilities and we are the faster boat.
At 12:40 we entered the bay and went out into the gulf. Once in the gulf we had 1-2 for waves, mostly off the bow with a 5-10 knot wind. Very doable weather! As expected I-2 foot waves means Mother Nature throws a few 3-4 footers at you. This was the first time I had used the Navigation function on my chart plotter with my Auto Pilot so it took a few miles to get them to talk to each other and as a result I zig-zagged like a drunk in sailer. Glen had the same issue. Finally out about 9 miles out we had our band of boater is a relatively straight line. We are in our 60's the next boat were in their late 50's and the last boat in their late 70's. None had done the golf crossing and only one of us had done a night crossing. So why are these experienced boaters asking me lead! I wore my new tee shirt that states on the back " no one much cares about the storms you incounter in life, only did you bring the ship into port! So that's my job!
At 7:30 PM the sun went down and at 7:30 AM the sun came up and that was a very good thing. We had dinner, snacks, lots of caffeine and took two hour watches. We had a little moon light on the starboard side for a while. It was mostly overcast but when the clouds broke the stars where amazing. Mostly we watched the chart plotter to make sure we where on course, checked the AIS and Radar other ships, and monitored engine gages. It was a mild night so we sat on and slept on the flybridge with all the front curtains wide open. It was very strange look out the window and seeing nothing but black. I spotted only 2 other boats all night . I picked up a commercial tug on AIS about 10 miles out before his lights came into view. We talked and tracked our courses which showed he would pass behind us about 1.2 miles. The second boat I picked up as a radar blip about 6 miles out. I tracked him on radar and about 4 miles out I could see his white Nav. light. I tracked him until daylight as he narrowed his distance between us to 1.2 miles then he turned further south. We did have to slow to idle for about an our in the morning as it was getting down to about 30 ft of depth which is about the depth start dropping crab pots and it was to dark to proceed. We arrived into our marina at 10:20 AM
We took Cody off the boat, what a boat dog. He mostly slept the entire trip! Yup he made it 22 hours without relieving himself. We both took a shower and went to bed for 3 hours.
Statistics
175 statute miles Carrabella ,FL to Tarpon Springs
22 hours
Speed 7.1 knots
Fuel burn approximately 55 gallons
Observations:
Cross with a buddy boat
Putz'n rolls less at 10 12 knots but burns
Wednesday morning the Gulf Crossing weather prognostications told us today was the day. An approaching cold front and north wind a would make the gulf a mess untill at least the 6 th of November! 15 to 20 knot winds with seas 3-5 which means occasional seas over 6. No place for small boats like ours.
At 8AM Brigitte and I started the process of cleaning the boat stowing all stuff breakable. We took the dingy motor off the dingy and lashing it down in the cockpit. To much weigh on the transom if we encounter heavy seas. I spent a couple hours in the engine room checking oil, sea strainers and change the Racor Primary fuel filters. The three primary failures on diesel engines are fuel issues, fuel issues, and fuel issues followed by clogged water intakes. Topside I loaded a series of latitude and longitude coordinates into the chart plotter. Gina one of our new travel companions was our naviator and she had plotted two courses depending on the weather we would face along the route.
At noon the crew of Island Time, Gina and Capt. Steve along with Master Capt. Glen and Brenda from Young at Heart, Brigitte and I assembled on Putz'n Arounds deck. We re-read weather reports, conferred with Eddy's Weather Wag. Eddy is the new crossing expert for all us loppers. Daily he collects all facets of weather date such as tides, wave highth, wind direction weather fronts etc. And he gives the thumbs up or down on our crossing. We matched time, speed, course approach and determined it was time to go. It was important to arrive after sunrise to be able to spot the crab pot bouys that litter the waters We said a prayer and Brigitte attended to casting off our lines. I was ask to lead as we had better radar capabilities and we are the faster boat.
At 12:40 we entered the bay and went out into the gulf. Once in the gulf we had 1-2 for waves, mostly off the bow with a 5-10 knot wind. Very doable weather! As expected I-2 foot waves means Mother Nature throws a few 3-4 footers at you. This was the first time I had used the Navigation function on my chart plotter with my Auto Pilot so it took a few miles to get them to talk to each other and as a result I zig-zagged like a drunk in sailer. Glen had the same issue. Finally out about 9 miles out we had our band of boater is a relatively straight line. We are in our 60's the next boat were in their late 50's and the last boat in their late 70's. None had done the golf crossing and only one of us had done a night crossing. So why are these experienced boaters asking me lead! I wore my new tee shirt that states on the back " no one much cares about the storms you incounter in life, only did you bring the ship into port! So that's my job!
At 7:30 PM the sun went down and at 7:30 AM the sun came up and that was a very good thing. We had dinner, snacks, lots of caffeine and took two hour watches. We had a little moon light on the starboard side for a while. It was mostly overcast but when the clouds broke the stars where amazing. Mostly we watched the chart plotter to make sure we where on course, checked the AIS and Radar other ships, and monitored engine gages. It was a mild night so we sat on and slept on the flybridge with all the front curtains wide open. It was very strange look out the window and seeing nothing but black. I spotted only 2 other boats all night . I picked up a commercial tug on AIS about 10 miles out before his lights came into view. We talked and tracked our courses which showed he would pass behind us about 1.2 miles. The second boat I picked up as a radar blip about 6 miles out. I tracked him on radar and about 4 miles out I could see his white Nav. light. I tracked him until daylight as he narrowed his distance between us to 1.2 miles then he turned further south. We did have to slow to idle for about an our in the morning as it was getting down to about 30 ft of depth which is about the depth start dropping crab pots and it was to dark to proceed. We arrived into our marina at 10:20 AM
We took Cody off the boat, what a boat dog. He mostly slept the entire trip! Yup he made it 22 hours without relieving himself. We both took a shower and went to bed for 3 hours.
Statistics
175 statute miles Carrabella ,FL to Tarpon Springs
22 hours
Speed 7.1 knots
Fuel burn approximately 55 gallons
Observations:
Cross with a buddy boat
Putz'n rolls less at 10 12 knots but burns
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Sunday Oct 26 - Tuesday Oct 27
Sunday we pulled out of Pennsicola and end up some 60 miles latter at Baytown Marina in Sandestin. We were the small boat in the Marina , this a 2800 acre resort which included Golf , a village with all kinds of shops, resteraunt, bars, and the beach. You could even rent a golf cart for $80 per day that you could drive to your slip. We wish we could have stayed longer but we were trying to catch a weather windows to cross. Rates were $ 3.25 per foot but because we are loopers it dropped it to $2 a ft. Life styles of the rich and famous they even proved you with charge card to use on the property----not!
We left before sunrise the next morning for a 99.1 mile run to Port St Joe, Fl. We started the morning with dolphins surfing or bow wake on and off again all day. It was so cool to watch, every once in a while they would roll on their side so that they could look you right in the eye! We stopped in Panama City to fuel up on $3.39 diesel. From Mobile to Panama City we got 3.18 miles to the gallon! I underestimated the time and miles for today so we ended up running for 11.5 hours to get to Port St Joe FL, 99.1 miles. We ran out of the ICW into the bay at 19.1 knots to get to our slip as the sun dropped into the ocean at 7:30 Eastern. So here comes the fun part! As we entered the Marina at dusk, a guy was fishing off the pier and we snagged his line and spooled his reel on to the prop. Just terrific, I am tired, qranky and pissed! We have a few words and after being accused of being a Northerner, we get tied up, so nothing to do till morning. I talk to the Mariana manager at 7 AM and he had a kid in a dive suit in the water at 8:30 AM. No issue he cuts off the line and we are out of the Marina at 9:05.
We have been talking with two other boats behind us that want to cross the gulf weather permitting, on Wed. So after 2 days or texts and VHF talk we dock in Carabella, Fl and meet for the first time. We had Docktails on our boat, then walked into town for dinner. We stopped at the local grocery store borrowed a cart and took our collective provisions back to the boat. Tomorrow is the big day!
We are planning to leave the Marine around noon and will run for 22 hours straight to Tarpon Springs This is about a 181 mile over night passage. wish us luck and Gods speed and protection! We will talk to you on the other side!!!
Putz'n Around!
We left before sunrise the next morning for a 99.1 mile run to Port St Joe, Fl. We started the morning with dolphins surfing or bow wake on and off again all day. It was so cool to watch, every once in a while they would roll on their side so that they could look you right in the eye! We stopped in Panama City to fuel up on $3.39 diesel. From Mobile to Panama City we got 3.18 miles to the gallon! I underestimated the time and miles for today so we ended up running for 11.5 hours to get to Port St Joe FL, 99.1 miles. We ran out of the ICW into the bay at 19.1 knots to get to our slip as the sun dropped into the ocean at 7:30 Eastern. So here comes the fun part! As we entered the Marina at dusk, a guy was fishing off the pier and we snagged his line and spooled his reel on to the prop. Just terrific, I am tired, qranky and pissed! We have a few words and after being accused of being a Northerner, we get tied up, so nothing to do till morning. I talk to the Mariana manager at 7 AM and he had a kid in a dive suit in the water at 8:30 AM. No issue he cuts off the line and we are out of the Marina at 9:05.
We have been talking with two other boats behind us that want to cross the gulf weather permitting, on Wed. So after 2 days or texts and VHF talk we dock in Carabella, Fl and meet for the first time. We had Docktails on our boat, then walked into town for dinner. We stopped at the local grocery store borrowed a cart and took our collective provisions back to the boat. Tomorrow is the big day!
We are planning to leave the Marine around noon and will run for 22 hours straight to Tarpon Springs This is about a 181 mile over night passage. wish us luck and Gods speed and protection! We will talk to you on the other side!!!
Putz'n Around!
Saturday, October 25, 2014
We made it to Florida!!!
Saturday, we cruised at 6.4 knots only planing to make 30 - 40 miles. As we passed through an extremely narrow pass we contacted an approaching boat 60 ft at least. We discussed the approach and agreed to pass on the one whistle ( port to port). Further conversations lead to recommendations that we needed to stay in downtown Pensacola Fl. Yes we have crossed the line into Florida!!! Our new friend " Shell Cracker" radioed that he was not using his slip tonight so we were welcome to use his slip! We only made about 28 miles today. The Marina / yacht club is right in the middle of town.The downtown is a lovely area. I took the bike to the liquor store as we had run out of rum to make lum and remonades . We will need to make some miles for the next couple of days to make a passage from Carabella to Tarpon Springs on Wed or Thursday. Weather permitting! Will,post again as we can based on internet availability ! We hope all is well with you and yours! God bless!
Putz'n Around
Putz'n Around
Friday, October 24, 2014
On the water again ! Friday the 24th of October.
Today we cast off from Turner Marine at 7:15 am and chased a beautiful sunrise! We headed down the shipping channel of Mobile Bay to channel marker 60 and turned to a heading of 135 degrees. Several hours latter we intersected the intercostal (ICW) with in 100 ft of my plotted course! We shared the channel with a shrimp boat and assorted commercial boats. When we turned off the channel I crossed a mile or so ahead of a container ship traveling at 12 knots. A little latter on we caught the container ships wake! Holly S@&$! It was a minimum of 6 feet! The good news they where widely spaced and we just rode up and over them!
While cruising the ICW a 65 ft sport fisher called and ask to pass us as we were only traveling at 6.3 knots. We BS'd for a bit before he hit the throttle and he was gone. I asking what he had in it for power, ttwin 2000 hp MTU's. The boat will run 40 knots! Can't fathom the fuel burn.
We pulled into a bayou a little NE of Orange Beach AL. Anchored in a beautiful spot about 2:30 we covered about 46 miles today. Absolutely perfect cruising. After a nice dingy ride we took the Dingy over to Pirates Cove for dinner. Pulled the dingy up on a white sand beach and went into the joint!
We befriended the Bar Tender ( always a good move). We had intended to go out side on the deck but after being bushwacked, we stayed at the bar for possibly the best pizza in the world and got bushwhacked again! A Bushwack is three kinds of rum, Kalua, and ice cream. After dark we headed back to the anchorage in the Bayou and found our boat with the trusty anchor light on! Gotta love being in the sticks!
While cruising the ICW a 65 ft sport fisher called and ask to pass us as we were only traveling at 6.3 knots. We BS'd for a bit before he hit the throttle and he was gone. I asking what he had in it for power, ttwin 2000 hp MTU's. The boat will run 40 knots! Can't fathom the fuel burn.
We pulled into a bayou a little NE of Orange Beach AL. Anchored in a beautiful spot about 2:30 we covered about 46 miles today. Absolutely perfect cruising. After a nice dingy ride we took the Dingy over to Pirates Cove for dinner. Pulled the dingy up on a white sand beach and went into the joint!
We befriended the Bar Tender ( always a good move). We had intended to go out side on the deck but after being bushwacked, we stayed at the bar for possibly the best pizza in the world and got bushwhacked again! A Bushwack is three kinds of rum, Kalua, and ice cream. After dark we headed back to the anchorage in the Bayou and found our boat with the trusty anchor light on! Gotta love being in the sticks!
Turner Marine Recap
As most know Brigitte went home for 8 days to keep up with her Partylite Business and see the kids. While home she went with Jillian and Eric for Jillian's ultrasound. We now know we will be the proud Grandparents of Soren Jane Helleloid in Feb. So what did I do for eight days. I will be brief in my recap. I day in the engine room changing oil and filters. A couple of days waxing. Visiting the USS Alabama . Going out to dinner with new friends, watching in credible sunsets and sunrises, and a solar eclipse . Wed night was Potluck night. Grocery shopping. Cody and I both got haircuts! BSing at the dock with other loopers and an group of live aboard sale boaters. Yes and come this morning, I could not wait to leave port!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Marina life!
This might be the last post until a week from Friday. Monday evening after getting settled in I cracked open a bottle of 18 year old Scotch and Brigitte and I and enjoyed a toast to our successful voyage down the rivers to Mobile Bay. One of the locals gave me a tip that the shrimp boat comes into the Marina and for about 15 minutes he will sell shrimp off the boat! Wednesday we saw him coming in so we ran over and bought 6 pounds of shrimp at $4 per pound! Our friend JB was I town so he joined us with Shrimp on the Barbecue amazing! Brigitte flew home today so Cody and I are on our own until next Thursday night!
Putz'n Around
Putz'n Around
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Mobile here we come!
After 26 days and 1603 miles we made it to Turner Marine on Mobile Bay. We pulled anchor about 8:15 and headed out of the bayou and down the Mobile River for 16 miles, the scenery was spectacular, a river running through miles and miles of swamp. We came around a bend in the river and on the horizon were the high rise buildings of downtown Mobile. With a couple of more turns we were in the middle of one of the busiest sea ports in America! The winds kicked up to about 20-25 knots. We past the port and headed out into the bay with 2 ft plus wind chop on our nose, spray was coming up and almost into the Flybridge! Putz'n Around is now a salt water boat!
We cruised 7 miles out into the bay before turning west into the channel running to Dog River and our Marina. As we entered the cut the winds where kicking up to 25 knots and hitting on the beam. we rolled around a bit but made 4 miles back to the protected harbor in Dog River!
Wow, what a trip of a life time! I will hold up here for 10 days as Brigitte heads home Thursday for 8 days. When she comes back we will head for part two of our adventure and Florida!
We cruised 7 miles out into the bay before turning west into the channel running to Dog River and our Marina. As we entered the cut the winds where kicking up to 25 knots and hitting on the beam. we rolled around a bit but made 4 miles back to the protected harbor in Dog River!
Wow, what a trip of a life time! I will hold up here for 10 days as Brigitte heads home Thursday for 8 days. When she comes back we will head for part two of our adventure and Florida!
Big Bayou Canot
Sunday we again ran hard to get within striking distance of Mobile by Noon on Monday. (106 miles) The water is getting brackish and saw our first alligator at mile mark 99. We also started seeing lots of hanging moss in the trees and small palm trees along the bank. By the time we pulled back a 1/4 mile back in the bayou and dropped bow and stern anchors it was getting dark. Poor Cody by now he has not been off the boat in 12 hours and no way am I taking the Dog to shore in the swamp. The anchorage guide warned us to be wary of gators and pets! We tried everything including spraying the pee pad with scent, but do go still. By now I am getting eaten up by the mosquito squad. So I spray down with bug repellant and start walking the dog around and around the deck, finally Cody feels better. As I put stuff away on the deck I realize I did not use the bug repellant but I had sprayed myself liberally with dog scent!! The last two days I have had every dog in the marina following me around and I keep ,looking at fire hydrants!
Cheers.
Cheers.
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