We are starting to see dolphins often since leaving Mobile. Always exciting! Never gets old.
We returned to Mobile Bay December 28, took one day to provision, then stopped one night at each of the following:
· Pensacola Bay Marina (Dec 30, 71.1 miles). Friendly harbor master and active boardwalk with restaurants, shops, and beach access. Passed Lulu’s (Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s) restaurant. Sunny day, lots of dolphin sitings along the trip.
· Anchorage at mile 250.3, immediately past the Choctawatchee Bridge (Dec 31, 63.1 miles). Happy New Year! Fireworks and music from the shore. Passed by a few small boats during the night and one barge in the morinig.
· Anchorage at mile 335, oxbow along the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW), just before Lake Wimico (Jan 1, 82.3 miles). Quiet, peaceful and at least 2 eagles nests. Recommend. Our reception wasn’t the best for watching the Rose Bowl so we ended up listening and from time to time watching plays 2-3 minutes after they happened. A good game and great outcome!
· A marina at Carrabelle (Jan 2, 45.6 miles). This time what is said is more important that what is not. We understand that finger docks are small. However, I was not prepared for wobbly, and the concrete sidewalk adjacent to it dropped 6” when Rob took a step onto the ‘concrete shore’. The base supporting the concrete had mostly eroded. The bathroom/shower facilities were not good either. All of this for the most expensive marina fees we’ve paid so far. We made it one night and left the next morning for the Gulf crossing. If the marina was a little nicer we may have delayed the crossing for a better weather window.
· Steinhatchee Marina (Jan 3, 81.5 miles). Steinhatchee Marina, rebuilt after Hurricane Idalia in late 2023, is a really nice facility (wide docks, diesel available at every slip…no pumpouts or laundry but they’re working on it). This is one of the best marina we’ve stayed at and one of the least expensive.
[The long story: On our way to Pensacola, we recognized there was an excellent Gulf crossing weather window December 31 and Jan 1. We envied the many Loopers we watched on Nebo (our boat tracking app) as they crossed in mild conditions. At Destin the next day, we would be farther than the usual launch point, but with the conditions as they were, Rob wanted to do a 28-30 hr crossing from Destin with the calm wind and smooth seas. I hemmed and hawed and considered the negatives until the opportunity passed. At that point, Jan 2 looked okay-ish for crossing, Jan 3 looked less okay-ish and the weather from there on deteriorated for many days. We thought we’d just hole-up in Carrabelle – I’ve since learned not to make such a decision before seeing the marina. On Jan 2, while grimacing at the thought of a week-long stay or more at the Carrabelle marina, another Looper couple texted us about crossing the next day. Wind/wave/current/weather checks throughout the night and morning left us with the thought: The boat will make it but it could be a bit uncomfortable for us and we’d likely dock in rain. This is exactly what happened. We left at 6:30 AM in darkness, and after ~11 hours of lumpy seas, and avoiding many crab pots upon entering the channel, we tied up in the rain. There are few better sites than seeing other boaters (Loopers in this case) at your slip waiting to help you with your lines. I can’t express how happy I was to wake up in sunny Steinhatchee this morning!]
The plan is to continue south at the first available weather window – Sunday, Jan 7, is looking like a decent departure date.
We hope everyone is enjoying the New Year.
Fair winds …and Go Blue!
Amy
Leaving Mobile Bay, entering the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
Leaving Mobile Bay, entering the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
Passing LuLu’s (Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s restaurant)
Passing LuLu’s (Jimmy Buffet’s sister’s restaurant)
Dolphins!
Dolphins!
Early morning walk around Pensacola before leaving
Early morning walk around Pensacola before leaving
Leaving Pensacola the water was like glass
Leaving Pensacola the water was like glass
Like glass
Like glass
Like glass
Like glass
Leaving our ancorage January 1, 2024
Leaving our ancorage January 1, 2024
Along the way…
Along the way…
Along the way…
Along the way…
Along the way…
Along the way…
Gulf crossing (it may not look like it here, but the waves were big, HONESTLY)
Gulf crossing (it may not look like it here, but the waves were big, HONESTLY)
Gulf crossing - choppy seas
Gulf crossing - choppy seas
Gulf crossing - waves finally began to settle about 3 miles from shore
Gulf crossing - waves finally began to settle about 3 miles from shore
On the look out for crab pots
On the look out for crab pots
Fog and rain followed us in to Steinhatchee
Fog and rain followed us in to Steinhatchee
Gulf crossing route
Gulf crossing route
30% complete! (1,781 miles traveled, 2,277 miles including Chattanooga sidetrip
30% complete! (1,781 miles traveled, 2,277 miles including Chattanooga sidetrip