On the Boat again, just can't wait to be on the boat again!

Maderia Beach to Longboat Key Moorings

Great Christmas Boat Parade Party at Al and Charlie's Beach house. The parade was energetic and exciting and passed within 10 feet of the boat. Good stew, cheese, shredded beef, Christmas Music, old friends, new friends, Canadian Friends, a good time was had by all.

Today we departed about 10:30, warm morning with temps climbing to the 80's quite high for December, but definitely enjoyable. The wind increased and the sea state as well as we crossed the Tampa Bay entrance and passed the Sunshine Bridge. Then back to the intracoastal to the marina, a very fine marina, with a pool, good Italian restaurant, golf course all the amenities. Doug has joined us for the three day trip to Punta Gorda it is nice to have him aboard again.

Christmas at the Beach House

The Sunshine Bridge

Doug at Longboat Key Moorings Marina

Relaxing at the end of the day

Apalachicola to Maderia Beach

The crossing was great, Eddie call a perfect crossing day smooth for the first third, wind shifting to the southeast for the middle third and a gentle breeze off the shore and we entered. Twenty eight hours, 219 miles nice to have the crossing completed. When we arrived at Maderia Beach, Al and Charlie were there to great us with champagne and treats and the afternoon relaxing at the beach house. Tomorrow is the Zac Brown concert in Tampa and Saturday is RibFest. Reunion will stay here at the beach house for a few weeks while we go to Wisconsin to visit family and bring our car down to Florida. So this will be the last blog for a while, I will begin again when we return and move the boat to Punta Gorda.

Overcast but very calm at 8:00 AM

Shrimpers at Apalachicola

Museum's Classic Yacht

A shrimper returning with a few birds

I guess they like to ride on shrimp boats

Our hitch hiker 60 miles out in the Gulf

The sunsets on a beautiful day

Sunrise over Clearwater

Bait fish going nuts on the top of the water near the pass

John's Pass, Maderia Beach

Reunion tied to Al's Beach House Dock

Prep Day in Apalachicola

The weather forecast is still good for a crossing beginning Wednesday morning. Today I rode my bike to the NAPA for a gallon of engine oil, got a haircut, and stopped at the drug store. Carol washed clothes, and in general we prepared for the crossing. Carol is in contact with several other boater that are ready to cross and I discussed the crossing with Tim on Bodacious. The plan is to leave after 8:00 to arrive at Dog Island about noon and begin the crossing. Our plan is to go to St. John's pass and tie up in Madeira Beach at Al and Charlies beach house. We will activate SPOT every two hours to keep family updated on our progress.

Apalachicola Again

We saw the sun, scrubbed the flybridge, and ate oysters at the Owl Taproom. Wind has shifted to the north and temperature dropped 20 degrees over supper. We are here in Apalachicola at least another day waiting for a weather window.

Apalachicola

It rained. Really hard. All day. The Packers Lost.

Stuck in Apalachicola

We had hoped for a weather window for our crossing today but alas the weather moved in faster than expected and we could not cross. Now it looks like Thursday before the next weather window. This was quite a problem for Doug since he will fly home on Thursday. Our neighbors on Bodacious had a car in Port St. Joe and will need it transported to Marathon Key. Doug got a ride to the car and will take it as far as Fort Myers for Tim and Pat, a win-win for everyone. We did some reading today and stayed on the boat the rest of the day. The marina had a cooler full of fresh oysters they said any of us could have some, so Tim got some and we put them on the grill. Rodney Outlaw a RV camper from Alabama parked here at the marina came over to show us how to shuck the oysters. Sightly heated on the grill with a bit of horseradish and cocktail sauce they were delicious. Then a couple of steaks on the grill and it was dinner. 

Oysters on the charcoal grill

Docktails and dinner

Outlaw can shuck faster than

Dennis can eat oysters

Night approaches for Outlaw, Carol and Tim

Apalachicola Seafood Fest

Very warm and humid again today, we walked down to town to see the Seafood Fest just under the Highway 98 Bridge. A county fair like festival with arts and crafts, food and music this evening. We decided to have lunch in town where there was some air conditioning, it was quite warm and little protection from the sun. After lunch we checked out a couple of shops and looked for some transportation for Doug, since we are still unsure about the crossing conditions and he needs to catch a plane on Thursday, we will know more tomorrow. We returned to the boat cooled off, napped a bit and then walked over to the botanical garden across the street. Dinner on the boat was chicken and salad.

Festival Food

Sweetie after eyeing up the food

Kabobs

Sausage

Shark on a stick?

Loud Jambalaya Chef

A shopping stop, husbands waiting area

This fixer upper could be your shop!

Pelicans hanging out

Doug reviving on the foredeck

Lots of commercial shrimpers

The fleet blessing was this afternoon

Doug is lots of fun!!

Can you find Carol in this picture?

Hibiscus

A crane across from the marina

Apalachicola a Tourist Day

The day started off gray and windy but brightened considerably though the day.  We are in Apalachicola, Florida. The  Captain and First Mate decided not to pursue the gulf crossing due to a less than favorable forecast.  Therefore, we decided to see the town which was actually very interesting, and authentic.  There were quite a few excellent stores with high quality, unique merchandise.  Also the town had a very nice waterfront area with working shrimp and oyster boats.  Through various times in history this was a huge center for cotton shipping, sponge harvesting and shipping, lumber and the oyster industry.  It was a very significant port, and later, a crucial crossroads for the railroads.  During the Civil War it was occupied  by both the Union and Confederate sides at various times.  We also visited a good maritime museum that showed the history of the river and the gulf.  People are very friendly, and we were stopped on the street by people who told us about the history of the town and welcomed us to the area.....  "How y'all doin' and where y'all from?"

We had lunch at the Hole in the Wall restaurant, where we had more excellent local oysters.  And of course, we topped it off at an old fashioned ice cream parlor, where you order one dip, but really get two.  

After exhausting ourselves shopping we headed back to the marina where we had to move Reunion to raft up next to another trawler as they are expecting more boats and tens of thousands of people this weekend, due to their annual Seafood Festival.  Our trawler neighbors (M/V Bodacious) are trying to complete the Great Loop which they started in 2010.  But they started in San Diego, which means they came through the Panama Canal!  That is a lot of miles at 8 mph.  Tonight we ate on the boat with a delicious steak dinner grilled out, and watched the shrimping boats cruise past at sunset.  A very good and interesting day!

Orman House

Vietnam Memorial 

Doug and a Shrimper

Downtown Park on the River

Lunch Stop

The hat display includes a Wisconsin and Packer

Oysters on the half shell

Marine collectibles

Marker buoys

A shrimper heading out to the Gulf

Hard work for good food

Pirates Cove Marina to Apalachicola

A 60 plus mile day against the tide most of the day, beautiful travel day with highs in the mid to upper 80's very unusual for this time of year. We came back inland from the Gulf to St. Andrews Bay and then to the Wetappo River, through a canal to Lake Wimico and finally to the Apalachicola River. Not much boat traffic today, lots of pretty scenery, a surprise shipbuilding company tucked way up the bay 20 miles from Panama City in the country, a good location I think. Tonight the low is expected to be in the mid 70's with due points a few degrees below the low temperature, very unusual for this time of year. Tonight we went to the Owl Cafe, Doug and Carol had the Black Grouper and it was very good a bit sweeter than regular grouper they thought.

The hidden boatworks

Building crane ships like the Goliath

The Wetappo River Entrance

Home along the River

Doug and Dennis on the fly bridge

Doug providing navigation instructions

A cedar swamp

First siting of Apalachicola

Across the river from our mooring

Tonight's restaurant