Thursday - December 2, 2010

Lat 29 49 70 Long 85 19 24, Fuel 206 gal; Eng 585.3

Well we left Port St. Joe this morning at 8:30 for Carrabelle. The weather for the night crossing on Friday night is looking good and there is about a two day window before another cold front moves in to stir up the Gulf. The initial part of the trip was uneventful until we hit this little lake which was quite well channel marked. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing us out of the channel even though it looked like we were in the centre of the channel by reference to the markers ahead of us. Not so, we again rubbed a mud bottom and had to power our way back to the middle of the channel. After that I steered a course for the red markers which counteracted the effect of the wind. I got on the radio and told the 6 boats behind me to be careful to stay in the middle and follow the cruising line. However the first boat to enter the lake got into the same trouble, but got out without any apparent damage. Our boat is a single engine and propeller and rudder are quite well protected by a keel which extends right under the rudder. So the keel rubs on the mud not the propeller. Not so for twin engine boats. Their props hand right down from the boat and can be quite exposed to any touching of the bottom.

We passed through Apalachicola and began following the inter coastal out into the waterway. I was the first boat and was some distance ahead of the rest of the group. As we were going down the channel, a sailboat had gone aground and asked for help to get him off. He said he was barely on the shoal, so it should be easy.Of course the law of the sea says that we have to render assistance. We turned to help him and he through us an old line which when attached to our boat promptly broke. I took a second swing at him and he tossed us another line which we tied to the bow and we attempted to back up and pull him. Well we did pull him a bit but he was buried deeper than the let on. I almost went aground myself doing this and at this point I had had enough. he was not in danger of sinking and I told him to phone Boat US which of course he didn't have. I don't understand why someone would not pay the 100 or so dollars for the security it provides. I gave him the number and went on our way. I heard him later asking Boat US what they charged for a tow and he told them he couldn't afford their charge. I think some other fool came along and pulled him off.

Anyways we reached Carrabelle and settled in at the Moorings Marina where we met Buddy who we first hear about on the Tennessee River as being the man who provides the best weather predictions for the Gulf. A little rough around the edges, but he sat down at the computer, pulled up the NOAA weather site and the weather maps and started explaining the weather patterns for the next few days and later next week. He said tomorrow would be excellent and Saturday also but that it would start to deteriorate after that. He will talk to us tomorrow about any changes but he thinks the weather will remain good, so it will be a go tomorrow afternoon for our 18 trip across the Gulf. A couple of people in go-fast boats are going first think in the morning to arrive in Clearwater in the daylight. We have to leave in the afternoon and travel all night to arrive around 10 or 11 on Saturday. Have to arrive in the daylight because of crab pots all along the coast from Tarpon Springs south. They can make a mess of your propeller.

So we are set to go.