To Key West for Christmas

After Thanksgiving, we left Mobile on Sunday for a short trip to Gulf Shores, AL. On the way we crossed our wake at bouy 125 of the Gulf Itracoastal Waterway, joining the course we used bringing ODYSSEE home from New Orleans. In Gulf Shores we had lunch at Lulu's with Al and Marilyn Smith aboard "Siris" who left Mobile with us and Dick and Mary Ellen Pugh from "Knot Home" who joined us by car. Lulu Buffet is Jimmy's sister. After lunch the Pugh's said their good bys, they were going home for two months in Idaho before the finish the "Loop" in Ft. Myers where they purchsed their boat.

Monday we moved further east to Ft. Walton Beach where we spent the night at their town dock. Tuesday we had Lunch at Destin and then anchored in Hogtown Bayou for the night. Wednesday we ended up anchored behind the gulf beach in St. Andrews sound, south of Panama City at 2:00. We launched the dingy and went ashore to walk the white sand beach. Today, Thursday 11/29, we stopped in Panama City to drop off the Willows at Jaci's cousins home, and then moved to the east to anchor in Laird Bayou. Tomorrow we will end up in Port St. Joe where Chuck will adjust the lines on an AirBerth boat lift on Saturday.

Actually got to Port St. Joe shortly after noon on Friday and was able to get most of the work done on the AirBerth Friday afternoon. Our next big task is to get accross the gulf in the short days of December. We really don't want to run at night. So at noon on Saturday we started looking for weather windows to cross to Crystal River, a 162 mile run from Apalachicola or a 150 mile run from Carrabelle. Low and behold their was going to be a promising day on Sunday, before the next cold front arrived. So we quickly got ready to leave for Apalachicola so we could leave at first light on Sunday. Well Sunday arrived with a forcast of 1 to 2' waves from the SE, so we left a 6:30 AM with "Siris" to do the crossing. When we got out to the gulf the waves were 3 to 5' and when the second one broke over our bow we turned around and headed for Carrabelle. By Sunday afternoon we had 16 "loopers" here. Tonight, Monday December 3 we got everybody together and roasted 60 pounds of oysters, boiled 10 pounds of scrimp, and baked 8 pounds of fresh fish. Everybody brought a dish to pass and the party was great. Tomorrow we are all planning to leave, four of us to Crystal River, and the rest to Steinhatchee. We'll see if the weather cooperates this time!

Well, we got up early on Tuesday, ready to cross the gulf. We looked at the flag at the marina and it was standing straight out, at 6:00 in the morning. Not a good sign. Next we looked at the data for a weather bouy out in the gulf, waves were 7.9 ft, not a good condition. Then we checked the marine forcast, and it indicated the wind would continue to blow 10-15 until mid afternoon. So, wait at least another day. The wind did die at about noon and the waves were decreasing and by mid afternoon were reported to be 3.9 ft. We reorganized for a Wednesday morning departure. The forcast was for the wind to pick up again on Wednesday afternoon.

We left at 4:30 this morning and made a 153 mile crossing to Crystal River. To bed early tonight!

Dolphins play in our wake as we cross the Gulf.

Crystal River was a delight, a community of residents who kayak through the manatees or fish the rivers. Absent were high rise condominiums typical of the west coast of Florida. We joined the locals visiting with the manatees at the protected preserve. Fasinating to watch some 50 manatees swim amongst our dingys.

Mother manatee with young calf.

From Crystal River we made a 71 mile run to Tarpon Springs. The marinas were all full of other "loopers" so we anchored just inside the entrance of the Anclote River. As it turned out this was actually better than being in town in the middle of their active waterfront. It was nice and quite at our anchorage. We dingied into town on Saturday, December 8, and saw everything we wanted to see.

We left again on Sunday for the Municipal Marina at Clearwater Beach. We got in before noon so were able to spend the afternoon on the beach.

Monday we proceed south through Tampa Bay and pulled into Weir's dock at about 2:00 PM. That evening we were treated to dinner at Pete and Nancy Weir's with Dick and Sally York joining us. A Minnetonka reunion!

Tuesday afternoon, at high tide, we moved the boat to the Fish Shack Marina, a short 8 miles away. Pete, Nancy, and Sally joined us for the short ride and Dick caught up with us at the Marina. Al and Marilyn Smith, "looper" friends from Canada joined us and the eight of us enjoyed dinner together.

Wednesday, "Siris", Smith's boat, and "Odyssee" left for a short 13 mile trip to Sarasota. We arrived just before lunch, anchored in their harbor, and rode the city bus to the Ringling Circus Musium. We returned to the boats as the sun was setting and spent a quiet evening aboard.

Thursday the two boats proceeded south on the Gulf ICW to Boca Grande, one of our favorite stops on the Florida west coast. We anchored behind the Gasperilli Inn Golf Course, anchoring the bow of the boat and tying the stern to the mangroves. Friday morning the four of us rented a golf cart and spent two hours touring the island. We topped off the morning with lunch at the Pink Elephant.

Today, Friday afternoon, December 14, we moved the boats to an anchorage at Cayo Costa with the hopes of going ashore at the State Park here and walking the beach, but the weather didn't cooperate, it rained all afternoon.

On Saturday, we moved to the Ft. Myers area, docking in Ft. Myers Beach at Fish Tale Marina. We reconnected with the Willows who have a condo close to the marina, and had dinner with two fraternity brothers and their wives. While here we have done our Christmas shopping and sent the gifts off to family in the north.

We had a weather window to move the boat to Naples, which we have to do out in the Gulf of Mexico, on, Thursday, December 20. Daughter Mary and family arrived from Michigan on Saturday. With all aboard, we headed south to Marco Island on Christmas Eve day. Found a Presbyterian Church accross the street from our marina on Marco and enjoyed their Christmas Eve service. In our endeavour to get to Key West, we left Marco on Christmas Day and went to Dismal Key Pass to anchor for the night. We were having very low tides every morning and we needed to find an anchorage that was deep enough to get out of at low tide, - 1.1 ft. Diusmal Key Pass worked and we were able to leave for Key West at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, December 26, on a calm Gulf, to make our 89 mile run. We arrived in Key West shortly after 3:00 PM. Two days on the beach, one day looking around town, daytime temperatures in the 80's, and we were ready to move on.

Here we are in "Yurtel the turtel" on our way home from the beach. In the back, Pete, Anya and Elisabeth. Mary is with me in the front seat.

On, Friday, December 28, we moved to an anchorage at Bahia Honda State Park, and spent the last hour of the day at the beach. Again on Saturday morning we were at the beach. After noon we moved to Marathon for fuel and food.

The weather had been summer like the entire time Mary's family was with us, and it was another nice day on Sunday. We used the nice day to motor up to Everglades City, where Mary and her family would leave from on News Year day for their trip back to Michigan. As we came off the Gulf into Indian Key Pass we picked up about 4 dalphins who were playing in our bow wave and wake, so much so that the National Park tour boat came up and traveled along side so all the passengers could see the show.

Dalphin jumping from our stern wake.

Once in the town, we tied up to the wall at the historic Rod and Gun Club, once owned by Collier, from whence Collier County got it's name. Over the years this lodge has hosted several presidents and their huntung and fishing buddies. Lots of history here. The lodge has a pool and community playground across the street so the kids had a great time.

On New Years day the airport limosene picked up Mary's family at about noon, their vacation over, time to go back to the snow and cold of Detroit.

South to the Gulf of Mexico

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom) is fed from the water of Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River. The first part that leaves the Tennessee is Yellow Creek, 450 miles from Mobile, AL. Yellow Creek empties into the Divide Cut section, which at it's widest point is 175' deep and 1300' feet wide. The waterway is flat for the first 38 miles. The first lock lowered us 85 feet, and then six more locks within the next 77 miles lower us from an elevation of 414 feet to 163 feet. At mile 366, 84 miles from the Tennessee River headwaters the canal joins the Tombigbee river and then basicall follows the riverbed toward the Gulf. Because the top part of the canal is fed by the waters of the Tennessee, the dams are fixed with only a lock through them. The rest of the Tennessee River water flows down through the TVA dam system where hydro power plants and flood control dams are used as the Tennessee flows to the Ohio, it's natural course.

Today, Friday November 9 was our first day on the Tenn-Tom. We are anchored just off the channel near Fulton, MS just above Fulton Lock. In the three locks we passed through today, we were lowered 144' closer to sea level.

Saturday we traveled to Columbus, MS and spent the next two nights at Weaverly Marina. What an experience that was! Upon arriving Clint, the owner suggested if we wanted to see Weaverly Manson we should go right now, it might not be open on Sunday. "Take the van and go." The van was an old Dodge Caravan with 192,000 miles on the odeometer. It got us there. Weaverly Manson has an interesting history and the second owner, now 82 still lives there. When the first owner died, none of the heires were interested in the house and property so it was left vacated for many years with little vandelism. Finally, an antique dealer bought the house for a song 40 years ago and put substantial money into restoring it. It was probably in pretty good shape 20 years ago but now is quite run down. We assume the state will buy the house when the present owned dies and restore it again. It is a beautiful site and antibellum home that needs lots of TLC. When we got back, the Saturday afternoon neighborhood party was well under way, with kareoke singing and the Mississippi football game going on the TV. Hamburgers and fries was the menu. A real experience in small town Mississippi social life! Sunday we used the van again to go to Columbus to look at their historic district and do some grocery shopping.

As the Tenn-Tom Waterway became more of the Tombigbee River and less of an excavated canal and we crossed the state line into Alabama, we started seeing "White Bluffs", high banks of lime rock. There are large deposites lime in this part of Alabama and a cement plant in Demopolis.

The "White Cliffs of Epes"

On Monday afternoon we arrived in Demopolis, AL. On Tuesday we deployed our bikes and spent the day visiting the historic sites and visit to the grocery store.

Wednesday morning we started our four day run to Mobile. We arrived at our selected anchorage at about 3:00 PM, and we weren't happy with exposure we had to the river so we traveled another 15 miles down the river to Bashi Creek. "Time Out" another looper was already here but we found a secure place in the creek itself. Thursday morning was cold and we had frost on the decks and the river was fogged in. By 8:00 AM the fog was lifting so we started down the river with "Time Out" for Coffeeville Lock. The lock was free when we got there so went went right through. For us it was our 129th and last lock, at the bottom of the drop we were back in tidal, salt water again. We spent the night anchored at mile 67 with "Time Out", about 30 miles further down the river than our original plan. Friday morning was again cool and the river again fogged in. Again by 8:00 AM the fog was lifting, so we proceeded down the river towards Mobile with a plan to get to an anchorage at mile 12. The tide here has one cycle every24 hours and it was low at 4:00 PM so we got a nice push all day. We arrived at mile 12 at 3:30 PM and found two other Loopers already anchored there. So four of us enjoyed the anchorge. Today, Sunday November 18, we pulled into Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, AL at about noon.

On Wednesday we are going back accross Mobile Bay to Grand Mariner Marina for our Thanksgiving cebration with other boaters. the Grand Mariner closes their restauraunt, prepairs the turkey, ham, and potatoes and the boaters bring all the other side dishes.