St. Andrews Marina to White City

Gulf Fishing  Boat

St. Andrews Marina was a bit different than most marinas in that about 1/3 of the marina is for commercial fishing boats. Some shrimp boats, some for oysters and others for sport fishing. I so enjoy looking at these very capable and functional boats with their nets and lockers to keep the catch fresh.

We are currently positioning for our Gulf crossing, the weather must be manageable for at least 24 hours. We expect it will require 22 hours to make the 170 mile crossing at 8 mph. The latest thinking is that a window will be present from about Monday noon to Tuesday noon, so to be in position we departed St. Andrews Marina this morning about 10:30 rather than leaving tomorrow. We are currently tied to a wall in a cove once used by the Army Corps of Engineers. A building, covered picnic area, boat launch and a wooden dock that feels quite secure, but a little shallow.

Bulk Carriers for deep in the Gulf, supplying oil rigs

The trip up was very interesting across a series of bays to a marsh with a channel and finally into the canal constructed for the Intracoastal Waterway. A large plant processing trees, I think to create chip board with three vessels that look like barges with a pointed end marked HOSMAX. Google shows them as an oil rig supply vessels that carry mud for sealing off the wells. I am sure they carry other supplies as well. I read that they have recently commissioned two additional vessels to the fleet and further up the bay we saw them being fabricated. One was still on shore and the second had been launched and is being completed in the slip. Several large cranes and some small ones as well were working, on a Saturday, on the boats.

A new dimension in waterways, grass marsh

The bay then narrows in a grassy area that is a strong contrast to the shore line that is covered with pine trees.  We saw several dolphins today and two jumped in the air right in front of the boat. Graying skies this afternoon, and dark settles quickly once the sunsets, we move to eastern time as we crossed the bridge about 500 feet from our current location.

Barbara and Curtis from White City stopped by the boat after we tied to the dock. We were pleased to show them our boat and tell them about our plans to do the Loop. We meet many pleasant and interesting people on this trip. 

The two new ships under construction

Marsh grass and pine trees