3. Around Florida

Friday June 19, 2009 (Katie)

Rachel’s Widow’s Walk Moss Point, MS

 

We woke up around 7:30 in the guest bedroom of Kaos, Susann and Alan’s beautiful 46’ boat. They offered us breakfast and Alan give us the weather and wave report for the day – less than 2 foot waves . . . good news.  We filled up with gas and bought a chart of Mobile Bay.  As we left we talked to teenage boy working at the fuel dock.  He told us he and his girlfriend tried to kayak down the Tenn-Tombigbee but only made it a mile before their kayak flipped and his girlfriend demanded to go home.  He also described his experience during Katrina – sad and very eye-opening for two Seattleites who’ve never experience any real disasters.

We crossed Mobile Bay and headed towards Moss Point MS to visit Sam.  A few years ago Sam was looking for a good tender.  He found Duroboat on the Internet and decided he couldn’t settle for anything less.  In order to make delivery efficient, Sam bought 6 boats and walked into the local boat dealership, Johnson’s Marine, with a plan to convince Mr. Johnson to buy a lot of Duroboats too.  It didn’t take much convincing.  As it turned out, Mr. Johnson use to sell Duroboats back when the company had a factory in Florida.

Sam offered us a place to stay for the weekend at his marina and restaurant, Rachel’s Widow’s Walk.  The restaurant is new, but they have good food and a healthy Friday night crowd to show for it. We danced and enjoyed the blues band, Good Moon, and Sam’s own saxophone and piano performances. The evening went well past closing time and ending after the employees took an early morning swim off the end of the Marina pier.

Saturday June 20, 2009 (Elizabeth/Katie)

Moss Point MS

 

Today was our first non-travel day since Elizabeth’s graduation.  We slept in until nearly 9am, but we stayed up so late the night before that we continued to overdraw from our sleep bank.

We had another interview this morning, with the Moss Point newspaper. We routinely get the same 15 or 20 questions from reporters, dockhands, bartenders, and other loopers. Elizabeth and I both agree that we are getting more efficient in our answers and intend to brief Sammy, our next guest cruiser, with consistent answers.  My least favorite question, primarily because we don’t have a good answer, is “Why don’t you have a bimini top?”  Our favorite question is, “What? Are you crazy?”  We are some of the least crazy people we’ve meet on the river so far.  Our three-month summer cruise pales in comparison to the folks who have dedicated their entire lives to water.

Sam has been living on his sailboat for the last 18 years and owns Rachel’s Widow’s Walk.  The restaurant recently opened in Moss Point and from what Katie and I can tell will surely be a success.  The walls of the restaurant display interesting photos that tell maritime history.  The back of every menu tells the story of Rachel who in 1919 fulfilled her father’s dreams of construing a schooner that would carry lumber from Moss Point to California via the Panama Drop.  While the construction was a success the endeavor was not and the schooner Rachel ran aground when traveling to South America.  This could be attributed to the fact the schooner was renamed.  The last line of the story on the menu reads, “You should never change the name on a ship or a boat you’ll take away her dreams”.    The    Sam and his employees also boast much musical talent.  Between the scheduled band Good Moon and unscheduled jam sessions, the place was booming with music the whole night.

Sam and Anne were very hospitable throughout our stay.  They made sure we were fed, provided us with air conditioned sleeping arrangements, gave us showers, a car and means to do laundry.

Lucky who’s name really does read as lucky on his birth certificate, has been famed as the best fiberglass man around.  It was a pleasure talking with him because he interjected pirate “arrrrs” every so often and speaks with a gruff voice fitting of an old pirate.  We enjoyed listening to him perform Lynard Skinard on the guitar and watching him attempt a back dive off the pier piling.

Jen, a very outgoing Rachel’s Walk employee greeted Katie and I with high fives while shouting “y’all rock”.  Her enthusiasm was much appreciated and we tried to convince her to join us for a leg of the trip.  In addition to her enthusiasm I have much confidence in her resourcefulness.  While Katie and I were doing some planning Jen approached us with a tiny squid she had found.  After we took a picture of Jen and her new friend, she soon returned with bite size pieces of fried calamari.

Moss point is actually a small deviation from the loop route, but the good company and excellent food made it well worth it.  We took the detour because Sam is a fan of Duroboats and currently owns three.

We received much support from all of the people at Rachel’s Widow’s Walk.  A special thanks to Sam, Ann, and David.

Saturday, 20 June (Sammy)

Moss Point, Mississippi

I didn’t know what to expect when I got on the plane in Tulsa flying to Mobile.  Who would have guessed that the man sitting next to me on the plane would be a man from Baton Rouge who works for McGlasson Marine Service a company that deals with barges and other big boats.  He was full of information about barge traffic which would pertain to our trip around Florida.  He definitely was surprised to here the size of the boat we all are traveling in, and warned about big ships in Tampa Bay. This has become a common warning by most boaters who have traveled through Tampa.  Clay gave me his card and said if we ran into any trouble to give him a call and he could try to help us.  This was a great introduction to my trip around Florida.

Arriving in Mobile I was greeted by Elizabeth and Katie who both looked very tired and a little sunburned.  Our way back from the airport began a great adventure of finding our way to Moss Point.  Along the way we followed a small map that didn’t get us lost, it just took us to $1.00 snow cones and a scenic tour southern Mississippi and Alabama and then southern Mississippi and Alabama again.  We arrived at Moss Point where I was introduced to all the newfound friends at Rachel’s Widow’s Walk.  It wasn’t long before I felt like I had known them for years.  It seemed like everyone we met had a hidden musical talent. We ate good food that consisted of fried everything –shrimp, catfish, squid and even deep fried tomatoes.  When the restaurant customers began to leave the staff showed off their amazing musical talent.  They entertained us with an assortment of songs –they knew every key and every word to. I never got to meet the infamous Lucky that everyone had said so much about.

Sunday, 21 June (Sammy)

Lulu’s/Pirate’s Cove

So after sleeping on a sailboat that had been found, bought for one dollar and partally refurbished after hurricane Katrina; we started our journey that would be my second time traveling in the boat with the girls (even though they say the first time in Illinois didn’t count).  A man came walking down the dock before we left. He wanted to meet the girls because he had seen their story in the local newspaper.  His name was Richard and he had done the great loop on a Waverunner and was in the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest trip on a Waverunner.  After a short conversation with the girls he was on his way and so were we.  We stopped to get gas and ice at the only marina that seemed to be open on father’s day.  The girls barrowed a truck and went to the nearest convenience store for water.  They were surprised to find a follower on the short trip to the store that turned out to be the golden retriever from the marina.  He sprinted behind their truck the whole way there and then rode back sitting shotgun between the two in the cab of the truck.

The water was very calm and there was nearly no traffic.  The wind coming from the southwest blew us right along on the scorcher of a day.  It turned out to be one of many days that will reach over 100 degrees.  We were making great time.  The second time across Mobile Bay was more enjoyable is what Elizabeth and Katie both told me.  Entering the ICW after Mobile Bay was easy.  Since we were able to make such great time we decided that it would be fun to stop at Lulu’s which is a restaurant right on the ICW and is impossible to miss.  It is bright and huge.  The name Lulu’s comes from Lucy Buffet the owner.  Lulu is what her family calls her including her brother Jimmy Buffet the musician.  There was live music and ice cold drinks that tasted better than the bottled water on the boat that had become just as hot as it was outside.  We started a conversation with the bartender that later turned into a conversation with one of the managers and Lucy herself.  She was a very upbeat person who said she would love to tag along on the trip, but only if there was going to be air conditioning. After talking about the trip and Duroboat with the people sitting around us, the musician on the stage asked what song Elizabeth would like to hear. She suggested Hootie and the Blowfish.  After listening to the live music and cooling off for a while we were ready to finish the rest the mileage for the day.  We jumped back into the boat ready to be at Pirate’s Cove.  Katie fell asleep, waking only a couple of times due to choppy water.  I was driving at this point.  I had put my shirt on my head as a makeshift hat because the sun was roasting my head.  Elizabeth told me I looked like a pirate, which was very appropriate because we were headed to Pirate’s Cove.  We knew it wasn’t far to our final stop that day but Katie was asleep and I guess I was having too much fun driving so we went a little bit further than intended.  Pirate’s Cove was not well marked. All we had was an old picture of it in one of our travel books. That old picture put us into some pretty shallow water before finding the real Pirate’s Cove.

Once there, we found out that there was no fee to tie up for the night.  Actually the lady inside the restaurant said anyone could tie up for three days for free but no longer than that because they would have too many people living there.  While tying up the boat I heard two different people walk by and whisper to their friends “hey that’s that boat from the paper”.  It wasn’t five minutes before we had made a friend by the name of Tommy who seemed to know his way around because he himself had a 30 ft sailboat tied up on the other side of the restaurant.  After talking with Tom for a while on the dock we decided it was time to eat some dinner.  We had one of the best pizzas I have ever had in my life.  It was called the Karnivorous Karl.  It had every kind of meat on it with pineapple and a mound of cheese.  The pizza might have tasted so good due to my extreme hunger from not really eating all day, or the pizza was just that good.  Tommy told us he hopes to come back as a dog in his second life because dogs at Pirates Cove live like kings.  They play in the water, roll in the sand, and helped us finish our pizza. One was a giant English Mastiff and another was a little hound dog that seemed to be everywhere we were.

It quickly went from daylight to dark.  We decided to go for a swim in the shallow water right off the dock.  We all agreed that the water was a little bit too warm for a refreshing swim so it didn’t last long.  Pirate’s Cove had a bathhouse with laundry machines and four separate bathrooms with showers.  We all rinsed off the salt water and got ready to try to sleep.  Tom said we could sleep on his sailboat instead of camping on the Duroboat for the night.  We joined him on his sailboat where he had cleared the back room for the girls to sleep and I slept in the front room.  Tom popped in George Carlin’s comedy show in New York to the DVD player.  I struggled to stay awake despite the DVD.  Throughout the night I woke up frequently in a panic and then remembered where I was and fell back asleep just to do it again in ten minutes.  The next morning we all woke up early, planned our trip for the day with Tom’s help, and headed out.

Monday 22 June 2009 (Sammy)

Destin/Ft. Walton/Niceville

We traveled east on the ICW over to Choctawhatchee Bay.  This day was turning out to be another record setting day for temperatures in Florida. Florida has been experiencing unusually hot temperatures due to the high pressure front that is lingering over and the fact that it hasn’t been raining as often as it usually does but this is creating perfect weather for the trip – well, as perfect as 115 degrees can be.

As we entered the Bay we headed for a place that I have wanted to go since I was a little kid  – Crab Island.  It’s not really an Island at all it is actually a big sandbar that is below the Destin Bridge.  Due to the weather and vacationers in Destin the area was packed full of boaters all having a great time. The combination of music, hot weather, 80-degree water, an ice cream boat, and drinks made me want to get out and swim around for a while.  The crowd of people on this underwater island was made up of just about every age group.  The water was a crystal blue color and the sand was soft under our feet.  For it only being 2 ft deep there were a lot of big boats anchored all around us.  The girls both got stung by some mystery fish in the water that at times would send them jumping into the boat to escape whatever it was.  We never saw anything and I never got stung but its still a mystery on what it was that sent them flying back into the boat with no marks where the stings were.  After all of us felt like we had enough sunburns we headed across the Bay for a place called Rocky Bayou.

The water in the Bay gets choppier in the afternoon so it was a slower ride back across the Bay.  We arrived at Rocky Bayou turning into Ward Cove to park the boat for the night and meet my Grandparents who would be hosting us for this part of the trip.  The Blue Water Bay Marina seems to be very large and well kept.  We were all ready to get out of the sun and take showers for the first time… well I wont say how long it was for the girls but it was my first real shower of the trip.

It was an inopportune time for something to break. The lock for the storage area broke.  After almost gluing my fingers to the boat we decided that it would be better to just install a new locking system.  I thought a Hasp Lock would be a good fix; my grandpa calls it the country boy way of locking something up.

We made a quick trip to CVS to pick up some much-needed deodorant.  While smelling sunscreen I accidentally squeezed too hard sending a flood of weird smells to stain my nose for the next three hours.  At least I know that the inside of my nose will not get sunburned. It was good to have a home cooked meal of pork chops, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and cranberry salad, topped with Florida’ favorite – Key Lime pie.  My grandparent’s house was a great place for the girls to catch up on rest in a real bed as well as catch up on all the other things that they have gotten behind on like this Blog that I am writing right now.

I still don’t have a grasp for all the nautical terms – something I’m practicing.  Also being the new guy I get to swab the poop-deck and other undesirable duties.  It’s okay though because so far everything has gone smoothly…let’s hope my luck continues.

Tuesday June 23, 2009 (Katie)

Niceville FL

 

Sammy’s Grandparents are well qualified for positions with the Destin chamber of commerce.  His grandmother gave us piles of maps and Destin area attraction brochures and his grandfather is well versed in Destin real estate.  Once snow birds from Indiana, the couple built their own house and moved to Niceville, a suburb of Destin, in 2005.

Destin’s main attraction is its white sandy beaches, but our skin needed a little recovery time out of the sun.  We toured Destin in 110-degree weather from the comfort of the air-conditioned car, jumping out just long enough to take pictures, visit an alligator exhibits, and stop for lunch on the beach.

It was wonderful to have another day of down time and a real bed to sleep in.

Wednesday June 24, 2009 (Katie)

Panama City, Florida

We left Destin around 8am.  The water was glassy, the air was cooler than the day before, and we made excellent time.  We crossed Choctawhatchee Bay and entered what we’re told is the “Grand Canyon” of the ICW – a narrow passage with tall rocky bluffs on both sides.  As we came out of the Grand Canyon and back into open water we saw pods of dolphins fishing all around us.  We slowed down and circled around several times.  I struggled to get good pictures because as quickly as the dolphins appeared they would dip back under and reappear in a completely different direction

We stopped for lunch at a very small waterfront restaurant called Joe’s Bayou.  We pulled the boat up to the dock and stepped off into the main dinning deck.  The boat was nearly at the table with us.  We split a fish basket and tried to re-hydrate and cool down.

After lunch we walked into town.  Panama City is a different experience than Panama City Beach during spring break. We strolled the sleepy streets and popped into a few antique stores (more for the air-conditioning than for the shopping.)

We cut back across the bay to the Bay Point Marina.  On our way there the wind picked up and the oil light came on – something we had been expecting as we got closer to logging another 100 engine hours.  The chop got bigger and we heard an oilrig over the VHF radio talking about a cyclone headed their direction.  Wet from the spray and with no interest in seeing a cyclone we booked it to shore as quickly has we could.

Wet and tired, we sat on the boat discussing our next move. After more perpetual reorganizing of the boat we showered and headed to the marina bar.  We had a couple drinks and a plate of nachos and brainstormed sleeping arrangements.  Our options were limited because we were not within walking distance of a motel and the tent does not easily accommodate three people. In the end it was a wet, uncomfortable night, which ended early when some fisherman returned to the docks around dawn, saw our tent, and yelled in a southern accent, “What the hell is this? Some Green Peace Gurus?!”

Thursday June 25 2009 (Katie)

Apalachicola, Florida

We stuck around Bay Point Marina most of the morning trying to figure out where to get our oil changed.  They had a breakfast shop near by that catered to elderly folks looking for a cup of coffee or a social atmosphere to collaborate on crossword puzzles.  We ordered egg sandwiches and started calling around to find a Suzuki dealership.  We nursed our meals and our drinks as we blogged and made phone calls. A few hours later we had a plan . . . wing-it is harder than one would imagine.

Suzuki contacted Wefing’s Marine in Apalachicola and arranged for a 100-hour service maintenance. Relieved to have a plan we head for Apalachicola, the last stop before our next major challenge – Florida’s Big Bend.

We arrived in Apalachicola around 4pm.  Following Mark, the owner of Wefing’s, instructions, we docked at Scipio Marina and walked over to the Water Street Hotel.  The three-bedroom condo suite was much classier than the three weather and sun burned patrons that came staggering into their lobby dripping with sweat.  After hearing about our unusual journey from Mark, the women at the front desk agreed to give us a discounted stay.  It was a deal we couldn’t pass up, although admittedly still a splurge outside our budget.  Our hotel room was actually several rooms – two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, and a screened porch with a view of the river.

After cleaning up, we all walked over to a restaurant called Up The Creek to meet Mark and his wife Anita for drinks and oysters on the half shell.  I did my best to enjoy the local fare, but I’m told raw oysters are an acquired taste – I’m two oysters closer.

Mark gave us an evening tour of the town.  We were pleased to see that everything was in walking distance from our hotel and there were several stores, restaurants, and some nightlife options for tomorrow night.

Friday June 26 2009 (Elizabeth)

Apalachicola, Florida

 

We enjoyed muffins and yogurt for breakfast at the Water Street Hotel then walked next door to the Scipio Marina to check the status of our motor maintenance.  The guys as Scipio had pulled the boat out of the water with a forklift so the guys at Wefing’s Marine could service the motor.  We truly appreciate the effort from both parties especially as we prepare for the Big Bend.  By late morning we were making our way into town for some lunch and air conditioning.  Apalachicola is the first town we have stopped at where everything is within walking distance.  It was nice not having to worry about transportation while making plans. We spent the rest of the afternoon overstaying our welcome in a seafood restaurant, ice cream parlor, and a café with Wifi.  Our visits were prolonged because at that point we had decided it was going to be another night on the boat and we were trying to beat the heat during the day.  We returned to Scipio Marina early evening where we met JD who was putting the Duroboat back in the water.  Seeing the boat on the forklift was fun to watch and made for an interesting picture.  JD –new to the marina– was friendly and helpful.  He showed us footage on his cell phone of a sea otter eating a crab on the boat ramp, gave us tie up suggestions, and talked about the marina business.  After we organized our stuff on the boat, all three of us freshened up with some deodorant and we made our way to Papa Joe’s where we sat at the bar and watched oyster shuckers working hard and quickly to meet the needs of the restaurant’s patrons.  That was the beginning of our self-organized Apalachicola Bar Crawl.  By the end of the night we had eaten oysters, played darts, met some locals, watched and sang karaoke, ate crab cakes, and danced.  In need of a little rest before our early start into the Gulf, we went back to the boat for bed.

Saturday June 27 2009 (Elizabeth)

Steinhatchee, Florida

We woke up after 4 short hours of un-restful sleep aboard the boat in our muggy overcrowded tent. It was 5:15am and we dragged ourselves out of bed to start packing up for a pre-sunrise departure.

We have been on the water for a few weeks now, but we expect the Big Bend of Florida to be one of our most challenging runs.   While we have been boaters for a long time we have not always been too involved with selecting our equipment. The types of gear we needed for this trip (particularly this portion of the trip) are very different from what we typically used to ski and wake board back home.

We have driven Duroboats now and then but most of our experience was with an inboard Century Resorter.  For those of you who have driven both inboards and outboards you know they are a bit different. This trip is by far the most outboard control time we have ever logged.  The inboard is like a big heavy car powerful and fairly cushy.   The outbords are a bit sportier.  The outboard with a light Duroboat sure uses a lot less gas than the Century.  Paying the wind, moving in reverse and docking in general are a bit different in the two types of boats.

Several companies have provided gear for us to test along the way and with 1500 miles under our belt we think we are starting to become qualified to talk a little bit about some of the items we are using.

Nervous for our first day of open water on the Gulf, we made special care to take every safety precaution we had available. We had our float plan ready, entered waypoints on the Lowrance GPS, sent our first Spot messages of the day, called my dad (3 am Seattle time), and buckled up our Mustang PFD’s.

The waves were large and rolling.  Katie felt ill so she spent the majority of the trip lying in the front of the boat.  It was difficult to see land, but the waypoints we had entered kept us on track when we could hardly see anything beyond water.  We used the coordinates provided on our charts and guidebooks to plot a route that would take us out away from rock and shallow areas.  This makes navigating as easy as keeping the arrow our your screen headed towards the waypoint.

I was frequently sending out Spot messages so our lat and longs would be well documented in case something went wrong.  We press an “okay” button and everyone on our contact list receives a text message or e-mail letting them know where we are.

We kept our Mustange survival gear on and clipped onto the emergency shut off switch.  Our PDF’s are self-inflating vest so they are very unobtrusive.  Even as Katie was laying on the front deck trying to recover from seasickness, we was able to rest comfortably in her life vest. I am accepting of the minor tan lines in exchange for extra safety.

We arrived safe and sound in Steinhatchee and stopped at Hungry Howie’s for a pizza and chicken strip lunch.  We met Pam from the Steinhatchee chamber of commerce.  She showed us around town and drove us down the Steinhatche waterfalls. There is a canoe trip that starts here and takes paddlers back into town. If we end up sticking around we might make that adventure. Katie and I were quickly reminded of Waupaca, Wisconsin –our favorite vacation spot.

The town is small and a quite river runs right to the center.  On both sides of the river there are small marina resorts and vacation homes.  Steinhactchee has one school that is k-8 with 150 enrolled students.  Pam told us the workings of scallop season, which starts the 1^sst of July.  We may get to stick around for that if the wave conditions worsen as expected.

Our last and final stop of the day was a Golf Stream Marina.  Our room was just a few steps away from the resorts restaurant that is named after Mel Tillis a famous country songwriter who happened to eat at the table next to us after a returning from a fishing trip.  Our stay was short, but the hospitality was wonderful, and the crab artichoke dip was delicious!

Sunday June 28, 2009 (Sammy)

Steinhatchee, Florida

We knew that the water had the potential to be rough with high wind and waves coming in from the west but we made a run for Cedar Keys anyway.  As we trolled through the calmer water of the Steinhatchee River we checked the weather and wave report with the VHF radio that has been a necessary tool for the trip.  The report said the water was going to get worse throughout the day due to the high winds that were gusting at 20 to 30 mph.

The boat has been great so far.  The versatility of the Duroboat combined with the Suzuki 50 hp four stroke has proven to be a seaworthy vessel.  We’ve had very few problems.  In fact, the few challenges we’ve encountered are due more to our learning curve than the boat itself.

As we entered the Gulf the waves rose and the periods in between waves shortened.  When we got out to our first previously plotted waypoint on our Lowrance GPS we turned south and the waves hit us hard from our starboard side.  Having three of us on the boat we all sat in the back to keep the bow up above the waves.  With the motor churning, waves crashing over, and the dual bilge pumps working hard we were faced with the decision to turn back and not risk the rougher waters later in the day.

I am almost positive that that the boat could have made it there but with the sharp rocks and shallow water further south the decision to turn around was the right one.  Why risk doing damage to the motor when we could just wait for better conditions.  If there has been any advice that locals who know these waters well have told us it is to respect the water and there is no shame in waiting for better conditions.

We have now spent more time in Steinhatchee than any other spot, and it is not a bad place to be stuck. The small community runs along the Steinhatchee river on both sides.  The river functions as main street, which has been very convenient for us.  Everything is within walking distance, but we have been using the boat as our primary method of transportation.

Sunday June 28, 2009 (Katie)

Steinhatchee, Florida

Unsure where to go after our unsuccessful attempt to leave Steinhatchee, we headed over to Fiddler’s – the bar and restaurant we had intended to try the night before.  Fiddler’s came highly recommended by Tom, an American Great Loop Cruisers Association member and Gulf crossing consultant.

Once secured to the dock we headed into the bar.  We ordered a couple beers and asked to speak with the owner.  Jim, the owner, chef, and comedic personality listened to our story and offered us a room at his hotel next-door – Pelican Point.  He suggested, well, almost required that we come back that evening.

We were happy to oblige and even happier to have a place to stay.  Dinner was in a quite dining room, but the size of the restaurant was obviously well equipped to handle the tourist season – which we would later learn started on July 1^st,  the opening day of scalloping.

As we paid our bill, our waiter whizzed passed our table and waved us to follow him into the bar.  Jim had one leg lunged on top of an overturned metal ice tub and was strumming a single string that stretched from the tub to the end of a broomstick.  In addition to his other talents, Jim also plays the Gut Bucket.

Jim’s wife and his son Jarrod were both working the bar too.  They made us a giant margarita while Jim sang along to a Floribama Boy’s CD.

Later that evening we ended up at another bar down the river called Crabbie Dad’s.  There was a surprisingly large crowd for a Sunday night in such a small town, but locals tell us that Steinhatchee is a “quiet drinking town with a fishing problem.”  I’ve heard this saying before, but Steinhatchee really lives up to its slogan.  Fisherman at the bar pulled out their maps and gave us drinks and unending advice.

We have relied heavily on local knowledge through out the entire trip, but everyone has a different opinion of how to approach the next leg of our route.  As we’ve written in earlier blogs, the Florida bend is probably the most treacherous portion of the Great Loop.  Some have suggested that we hug the coast as closely as possible, others have suggested that we set way points far enough off shore that we avoid collision with sandbars, oyster beds, and other shallow hazards, and skeptics have suggested that we trailer across to Jackson FL to avoid the risk all together.  We must weight all these opinions, judge our advisor’s credibility, check weather conditions religiously, and in the end make the best plan we can.

Monday June 29, 2009 (Katie)

Steinhatchee, Florida

Advised not to attempt traveling due to weather conditions, we slept in – a rare treat this summer. We made what had become our daily stop at Hungary Howie’s, an inexpensive pizza joint with WiFi, AC, and TV – perfect for transients like ourselves.

That afternoon we took a boat ride upstream as far as we could go before the water got too shallow.  The Steinhatchee River is lined with quaint privately owned vacation cabins, and floating docks with a fishing or pontoon boat parked on the end.  The fish were jumping and we saw trees full of white tropical looking cranes.

On our return trip we saw a pontoon boat with its paddles out and several other boats floating near by.  Thinking the pontoon was experiencing technical trouble and the others were there to help, we got closer.  Engine trouble was not the issue; all the boats were floating quietly to avoid disturbing the manatees.  Maybe our motor scared them away.  We floated with the group for a few minutes but never saw any manatees.

We returned to Fiddler’s again that night and the crowed continued to prove the Steinhatchee slogan (“drinking town with a fishing problem”), but we met some really friendly people that offered to entertain us for as long as we were stuck, in fact, they invited us to be “stuck” all summer.

Tuesday June 30, 2009 (Katie)

Steinhatchee, Florida

The decision to stay was not up to us.  We got ready to go and loaded the boat at 5:30am.  We were still tied to the dock and busy entering our GPS waypoints when the sky opened up and continued to storm until later that afternoon.  We grabbed our stuff and headed back to bed.

That afternoon Jarrod, Fiddler’s bartender and inheritor, drove us to Perry about 30 miles away to do laundry. Scott, the former owner of another marina in town, drove us up to the Steinhatchee falls and let us borrow his Kayaks to paddle the upper portion of the river, too shallow and rocky for any motored boat.

That night we returned to Fiddler’s where we were enticed by our new friends to stay for Scalloping season starting tomorrow. After 5 days in one spot we’ve nearly forgotten we are still on a boat trip.  If the water is good we’ll leave tomorrow, if the water is not good we won’t be that disappointed.

Wednesday July 1, 2009 (Sammy)

Cedar Keys, Florida

Five days, one alligator, lots of beers, and a scary tornado later . . . we finally made it!

We woke up before the sun expecting the water and weather to cooperate.  We checked the weather on the Lowrance GPS with the weather overlay turned on.  This feature has been helpful the last couple of days because it shows us the waypoints, channel markers, and updates while you move.  It shows the weather in different categories of intensity that are color coated.  The map looked clear for the beginning part of the trip but there was what looked like a small patch of storms moving into Cedar Keys.  Eager to make progress we were all willing to beat the weather and make to our destination

The water was a little bit rough but not unbearable.  The Suzuki 50 powered us up and over the three-foot swells with ease.  Making great time we began to see the storm clouds that we had previously seen on the GPS looking very ominous in front of us.

At this point there was only one option and that was to keep on going and hope for the best.  The storm was moving west and we were racing it to the channel markers that lead into Cedar Keys.  As we made our approach about 500 yards from the storm, Elizabeth asked in a concerned voice, “is that a water spout?”

We all looked to the backside of the storm and sure enough there was what looked like a tornado.  As we got closer there was definitely growing concern because now we could see the twister on the water and it was headed for the same area we were.  We quickly turned up the volume on the VHF to channel 16 for emergency updates.  The tornado, or waterspout, was being reported.  I turned inward and headed for land.  We zoomed in on our GPS location and used it to navigate around the bad part of the storm following markers very closely all the way into Cedar Keys.

After driving through a storm we were all soaked, cold and ready to get off the boat.  The public docks had 3hr and 24hr spaces.  We pulled up to the first one we could find and got off the boat before the second wave of storms moved in.  The bilge pumps were working hard to keep all the buckets of rainwater out of our boat.  Still soaking, wet we ate breakfast at a local restaurant.

Our next stop was The Island Place.  It is a group of well-furnished condos right on the water that makes you feel right at home.  The condos are literally adjacent to the little downtown area of the island and provide a great view.

Wednesday July 1 2009 (Katie)

Cedar Keys, Florida

One of our favorite things about Cedar Keys is their successful ability to fend off chains and franchises.  You won’t find a McDonald’s or Walmart anywhere on the Island – every single business in Cedar Keys is privately owned.  Even their groceries arnd convenient stores are neighborhood businesses.

We walked down the dock street and ate lunch at Frog’s – a laidback Parrot-Head-style restaurant, that came highly recommended by the friends we met in Steinhatchee.

After lunch, we walked through a few shops. Limit space on the boat diminishes the excitement for accumulating souvenirs, but I can fit more memories in a journal than a suitcase anyway.

After lunch, we grabbed one of the 9-gallon fuel tanks from the boat and carried it 6 blocks into town.  Elizabeth and I have been spoiled with Sammy on the trip – he declined our offers to help carry and chivalrously decided to tote the tank both ways.

Fortunately he didn’t have to.  An off-duty law enforcement officer stopped us just after we filled up and had begau walking back to the dock.  He drove a pick-up truck with only enough room for one passenger – Sammy and the tank went with him and Elizabeth and I walked.

The officer was just pulling away when we arrived back at the dock.  He yelled, “good luck on the trip!” as he passed.  Sammy is fairly confident the officer will someday buy a Duroboat.  Apparently he was really excited by the no-rivets-no-weld concept and liked how we had customized the interior.  Our bright yellow Duroboat is atypical here in Florida and has received a lot of attention through out the trip.

That night we stood on the balcony of our condo at The Island Place, which overlooked the small bridge leading into the public dock.  We watched the last fishing boats rush under the bridge and dock for the night and sunset over Cedar Keys.

July 2, 2009 (Katie)

Tarpon Spring, Florida

Another 5:30 alarm! I can’t wait to be back on the ICW so we won’t have to leave every morning at dawn still dreaming of calm seas. We are getting fairly good at packing the boat quickly, even in our groggy condition.

The day started out unbelievably well – the water seemed too calm to be true and we hopefully talked of reaching Tarpon Springs.  We made it past Crystal River and Homosassa in great time, but shortly after the waves pick up again.

The boat was slamming down hard and water was spraying over the gunwale and slapping the front-deck passenger (me) in the face.  Even bundled in my Mustange gear, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, I was still feeling the sting of pelting water on my cheeks and the burn of saltwater in my eyes.  I felt sick again and tried to spit the taste of salt out of my mouth.

Two menacing storm clouds loomed in front of us – one slightly to the right and one slightly the left, but both moving inshore.  We pointed our bow dead center at the one on our left, nearest to shore.  Our logic was to slip between the two systems (or rather Sammy’s logic, because we joke that Oklahoma weather has better equipped him to read storm conditions than our experience with the monotonous cloud cover and mild weather of Seattle).

It worked! . . . well almost.  The tail end of the first nasty cloud hit us, but I was already soaked, so I appreciated the freshwater rinse, which helped to remove the salt caked onto the exposed portions of my face.

The boat took a beating during our three days on the gulf.  We were relieved to learn that John Stamas the owner of Stamas Yachts was willing to have his guys pull our boat out of the water for a structural once-over before we continued.  I’m familiar with the construction of Duroboats, but I appreciated the expert opinion of a boat builder.

The whole crew at Stamas Yachts was great – good people!  John offered to leave our boat in the sling over night so we wouldn’t have to worry about moorage.  He also offered to give our wet baggage and us a lift to a nearby motel.  But, John really impressed us with his trust and generosity when he also lent us his car for the night!

After a stop at the Motel we went out to explore Tarpon Spring.  The town is famous for sponges and Greeks!  Natural seas sponges are gathered by fishing boats and sold everywhere – apparently and industry started by the Greeks.  Greek restaurants, bakeries, and bath sponge stores line the touristy portion of the Tarpons Springs, appropriately called the Sponge Docks.

July 3, 2009 (Katie)

Bradington, Florida

Wrong! We weren’t back to calm water just yet. Tampa Bay was as nearly as rough as the Gulf.  Unlike the open sea, the chop in Tampa Bay comes at you from every direction.  The waves are unpredictable and chaotic, and there is no time to position the boat to minimize the impact.  We took a wiggle-wobbly route across the bay and tried to follow larger boats whenever possible.  Staying between the wake of other boats helped to smooth our path a little, but our speeds rarely matched, so this technique only worked temporarily.

Again the boat was swamped and my eyes burned from the sting of salt water and dribble of sunscreen. Everything is wet all the time, and we are all learning to live with the musty crusty smell of dried seawater.

As we entered the channel into Bradenton we had our closest encounter with a dolphin.  It was not the majestic experience I had hoped for.  Watching dolphins jump along side a 42-foot boat is very different than a dolphin jumping above the gunwale when you’re not expecting it.  He only jumped once – just enough to scare me.

We stopped at the first Marina we came to – Twin Dolphin Marina. Charlie, the Harbor Master, hooked us up with a free stay and all the marina perks. We were lucky to get a spot because Twin Dolphin is a popular place.  The marina was packed! Five boat clubs had made reservations to spend the holiday weekend here and the place was alive with festivities.

After a dip in the pool, cold showers, and a couple drinks at the marina bar we got ready to meet two former loopers, Ray and Camille.

Ray and Camille are followers of our blog and completed the loop with their 8-year-old son back in 2003.  They are a fun loving couple that sold their house in order to upgrade from a 19-foot boat to 43-foot boat.  Near the tail-end of their loop they stopped in Bradenton and ended up buying a house. Ten months later they sold their boat and resumed life on land.  We enjoyed dinner, conversation, and a slide show of their Great Loop.

July 4th 2009 (Katie)

Bradington, Florida

We began our Independence Day with some delicious blueberry pancakes prepared by Camille.  Ray and Camille let us borrow their car for the day so we could sightsee and make a stop at West Marine.  Our trip to West Marine was unsuccessful –we have had trouble getting our hands on Skipper Bob Books.  We returned to Twin Dolphin Marina for the 4^th of July celebration.  We spent the afternoon hanging out on the boat, and we eventually made our way up to the pool area for a swim and potluck.  The food was great –I have never seen so many different kinds of pasta salad.

We got cleaned up and walked to downtown Bradenton.  The streets were closed for a concert, and were filled with people decked out in red, white and blue.  At dusk we returned to the boat for the fireworks show.  We stretched out on the front deck with all of our backs leaning on the starboard bow rail.  That put us in a perfectly reclined position to watch the show that was directly in front of us.  We returned to Ray and Camille’s for another night in a comfy bed.

July 5th 2009 (Sammy)

Ft. Myers, Florida

When we left Twin Dolphin Marina, Camille shot aerial photos of us from the Green Bridge.  Since she and her family did The Great Loop, they have started a photography business that has become a passion.

Our trip to Ft. Myers turned out to be a very eventful day on the water.  Because of the cigarette boat races in Sarasota there was a lot of boat traffic headed in the opposite direction.  Everyone with a boat was traveling past us to go see the big event.  We were battling large wakes all day, including the wakes of two police boats. We were almost swamped by two police boats that flew up from behind us and passed on each side, only leaving about 5ft of space between our boat and theirs.  The wakes came crashing together right on us but thanks to some expert defensive boat driving by Elizabeth we were just fine.

Today we saw just how playful the dolphins can be.  One dolphin swam right up to the driver’s side and put one fin out of the water waving at Katie and I’m pretty sure he had a smile on his face.  Other dolphins came up and played in our wake as we were motoring along.  We also witnessed stingrays jumping up to 4ft out of the water.  The day seemed very long due to the extreme heat and humidity, as well as the no wake zones that are in place to protect the manatees.  Manatees are like huge sea cows that like to lounge around and eat sea grass. We arrived in Ft. Myers late in the day just before the Legacy Harbor Marina and everything else in town closed.  We found refuge in the marina’s upstairs lounge room.  The area was nicely furnished, had a computer and we thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioning and the opportunity to do more laundry.  One of the only restaurants open was a small Italian place.  We camped on the boat and were ready to sleep in until 7:00 the next morning.

July 6^th 2009 (Katie)

Pahokee, Florida

We woke up cramped, ready to leave the tent and stretch out our legs.  We made another early start with the challenge of crossing Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway ahead of us.  We had been told throughout the last couple weeks that one lock, all locks, and even the lake itself would be closed.  Obviously something along today’s stretch would be blocked, but the varying reports left us wondering what.

The first lock, purported to be closed, was actually closing NOW!  We asked the gentleman at the visitor’s center if he could radio our last minute request to the lockmaster.  After receiving the begrudging “OK”, we took off running back to the boat.  We locked through, but it was obvious the lockmaster was not pleased.  He told us he was taking a big risk letting us pass.  If there was a manatee in the camber with us he’d be in trouble – they were drying out the tanks for the rest of the season.

The second lock was business as usual.

The third lock was just after Moore Haven.  We pulled off at the City Marina and went into City Hall to inquire about marina services.  There have none.  Basically you dock your boat and leave money in a drop box.  Fortunately, someone in the office called a mechanic in the area with a fishing boat.  He agreed to “come take a look” in a few hours.

While we waited, we walked down to find something to eat and escape the heat.  After walking several blocks, we realized the rest of town would be much further away.  We stopped at restaurant that barely looked like a business, beside the word “restaurant” hand scribble on the back of a placemat hanging in the window.  I would have given them a plug here (food was decent and the people were nice), but I’m not sure the place even had a name.

After eating we returned to the dock to meet today’s hero – the mechanic with the fishing boat.  He agreed to launch his boat, pull ours, and drop us on the other side of the lock. The whole process took less than 20 minutes – problem solved!  We offered him a little cash and a T-shirt as thanks.

We pressed on and reached Lake Okeechobee quickly.  We opted for the rig route with took us passed the town of Pahokee and Loggerhead Club and Marina.  They have recently reopened since the hurricane-rebuild.  We stayed in a very cute, cedar two-bedroom cabin a quick walk from town.

The walk to town was heavy with mosquitoes – big mosquitoes! They attacked us through a heavy layer of bug spray and long sleeve clothing.

Town was run down and didn’t offer many dinner choices.  We ate at an old Burger King that had been converted to a Chinese restaurant. We weren’t missing any local ambiance, so we opted to take our food to-go and eat in the more comfortable cabin at Loggerhead Marina formerly the Pahokee Marina.

July 7 2009 (Elizabeth)

Sebastian, Florida

It was hard to leave the comfort of our cabin at Loggerhead Club and Marina.  All of us stalled our departure by sleeping in, eating left over Chinese food, and talking with Captain Tadpole – who claimed to be the first black captain in 500 years to travel the Okeechobee Waterway.  We admired the size of a dead alligator on the marina wall, and then saw a real one as we loaded up the boat.

The last bit of the Okeechobee rim route was choppy to say the least.  Water was coming aboard at rapid rates, and our bilge did not get a break until we entered the first lock of the day.  The importance of a properly functioning bilge must be noted –especially in a small boat and big water.  We have been keeping a close eye on ours, because in the past it has auto ran when there was no water to be pumped.

We locked through with a Manatee. We heard the Manatees are the reason some of the Okeechobee locks are closed this year.  While fueling up, the dock attendant told us the male manatees will follow the females into the locks and get crushed in the doors as the locks close.  I guess until I hear otherwise I will believe this theory

We once again found ourselves tying up to a dock much to tall for our boat at Capt Hiram’s Resort in Sebastian.  We were pleasantly surprised to have coincidentally chosen a marina that was hosting a concert on a Tuesday night.  The outdoor bar where the band Rehab played was a great setting and was packed with people.  We stayed at the resort hotel.

July 9, 2009 (Katie)

St Augustine, Florida

Today was a pretty uneventful boat ride.  We had to pull out the Mustange jackets that were still wet for the downpour the day before. But we knew the storm was coming so we lay them up on deck before we needed them hoping they would air out a bit.

We watched the weather on our Lowrance, which allows us to see the elevation of the systems, the direction they are traveling, and how fast.  It’s like a high school math problem.  If storm A is traveling West at X mph, and the boat is traveling North at 22 mph, what time will we be soaking wet AGAIN?

We slipped between to West moving rainstorms catching the tail end of one and the beginning of the next. We tolerated about and hour of light to moderate rain, but avoided torrential downpours and lightening.

When we arrived in St Augustine we saw the oldest bridge on the ICW.  We took a short trip down a side river and parked at a seafood and burger joint called Hurricane Patty’s. It was already about 6pm and the Oyster Creek Marina next-door was closed.  We walked into Hurricane Patty’s and the manager “Okayed” us to tie up at the dock and camp on the boat overnight.

We hadn’t eaten all day, so before showering or trying to clean up we headed into Patty’s. Sammy and I ordered the “all you could eat catfish.”  I think our stomachs got the best of us, because we both had at least a pound of leftovers – unfortunately with no where to store them.

After dinner we walked into town to check out the guided ghost tours, but it started down pouring. We headed towards to a hotel purported to be haunted. Female guests that stay in room 3A often have their purses knocked over in the middle of the night. We were excited to test this.  Rooms at the haunted inn were way outside our budget.  Maybe it would stop raining and we could still camp on the boat. It didn’t.

We decided it was too wet to camp and didn’t want to risk a lightening strike.  The second hotel we tried to stay at had crazy women working the front desk – no need to relive the details, but after our horrible check-in experience we decided not to stay here either.  After nearly wrestling my credit card back, we left and took a cab to a chain motel a little outside of town.

Still upset by the earlier altercation with the crazy receptionist, and feeling guilty that we’d wussed out and left the boat, I went to bed unsatisfied with our experience in St. Augustine.

July 10, 2009 (Katie)

St. Augustine – Jacksonville, Florida

Our second day in St. Augustine was much better.  Unfortunately Sammy missed it.  We pack our bags and had the cabbie drop Sammy at the bus stop before taking Elizabeth and I back to the boat.

We had tentative plans to meet with Ron from Turning Point Propeller in Jacksonville that night. Since Jacksonville was less than 40 miles, we had time and were determined to redeem our experience in St. Augustine.  We also needed to do a little more trip planning.

Elizabeth and I walked into town about and found a little café we WiFi.  Later we walked around St. Augustine, ate ice-cream, and took pictures.  The lady at the Ice Cream counter told us we “smelled beachy.” Not sure whether to say “thank you” or “sorry” we just laughed a little and told her about the boat trip.

Before leaving we had one last beer at Hurrincane Patty’s.  I think we were both stalling and enjoying the air conditioning.  This trip has been a blast, but exhausting – sometimes it’s hard to get yourself psyched up for another boat ride.

When we pulled up at the Landing Marina in Jacksonville a small group of live-aboards helped us tie up and encouraged us to come share a drink with them.

We showered and met Ron, a Turning Point Propeller contact, and his family for dinner.  They are avid boaters and really nice folks.

After dinner we went back to the boat and were invited over to the sailboat docked next-door for drinks. Wayne, the boats owner hosts a happy hours every Friday night.  His friends were eager to hear our story and share their own sailing stories.

We began setting up our tent, but were persuaded to stay with one of our new friends from the sailboat.  Kyle was our age – a rare find at marinas.

Boating seems to increasingly become a hobby reserved for the middle-aged and older. It’s a shame, but our age makes us a novelty amongst loopers.  The cost and time it takes most boats to complete the loop makes the trip inaccessible to those on a budget and constrained by work responsibilities. We are told time and time again that we are “rushing” the loop experience. We are rushed, but it’s the only way we can do it.  Our Duroboat makes the trip feasible and affordable – even for us!

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