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