Wednesday, January 11, 2012

WE MADE IT!!!!  We departed Carrabelle at 6:30am, no fog in sight (is that an oxymoron?) & said our goodbye's to Kim & James.  I did have one last impression of Carrabelle, which is surely the most serene, I got this great sunset pic Monday night before we left on Tuesday morning.  Thought ya'll would enjoy it, too.

After 3 days of Capt Bob getting up at 3am to check various weather web sites, on Tuesday he slept in & decided to check the weather reports around 4:30am - no fog and favorable conditions offshore until late in the day off the Panhandle coast with calm seas approaching Clearwater.

The Admiral gave the "go for it" order.  As we entered the Gulf the seas were not quite as calm as we had hoped!  What else is new! The chop was fierce & had no sense of direction! (Capt Bob's note; seas were 2-3 feet and we were not in any immediate danger, retaining the option to abort the trip before the approaching front and return to Carrabelle for beer and oysters.)

We were heading straight into the wind (& the giant waves) for about 3+ hours!  I proceeded to put on my bruise protection gear, I looked like a football player, & strapped myself into my seat!  After about 2 hours, I decided to start eating anything I could find without moving out of my seat.  I had thought ahead, for once, & had plenty of stuff to munch on. 

The challenge came when Capt. Bob had waited as long as humanly possible, but now needed to use the head.  That meant the fearless Admiral had to take the helm!  This became another of my greatest fears! Here again, I surprised myself (& the Capt.) because I loved it!  It was like riding a bucking horse, a roller coaster, surfing, & taking the helm on our former sailing vessel in a storm, all at the same time!  Can't wait to do it again (NOT)!

The Gulf finally got it's act together and calmed down, which was a blessing, since we still had 7 more hours to go before we reached Tarpon Springs (this was a fuel stop as the B&B had work up a strong thirst for disel from our 10 hour trip).  It was a long day, but not over yet, to the chagrin of my kitties (Sasha & Misty).  A strong storm was forecasted for Thursday, so not to have a repeat of getting stranded again, the Capt. made the choice to go on to Clearwater. 

We left Tarpon Springs at 6PM, so it got dark soon after we started onto Clearwater.  Here again, another of my greatest fears, maneuvering at night through unfamiliar waters!  When will my 'worst fears list' ever end!  Anyway, we traveled slowly & with the GPS we managed like pros, even passing through 2 bridges!  (Capt Bob's note - I will not travel the ICW again in the dark, the channel is 6-7 feet with no grace outside it's narrow cut.) We arrived at Clearwater Beach Marina, & with the help of a boater already docked next to our slip, we tied up & headed to the local restaurant Crabby Bill's for 2 + well deserved martini's. 

As promised, around 3am the forecasted storm arrived, with stirring wind gusts & lapping waves rocking the boat for the rest of night!  Are we having fun - YET?  So, today we will 'see what we see' - 'go with the flow' - & 'let you know what we know'.