Day 108 Ft Myers Beach Family Visit

Ft Myers Beach Sunset





Grandson Keegan & girlfreind Kayla







Diann & Son Gary





Son Gary & Wife Cindy








Grandson Conner and his cousin Ben






Son Gary & family



The new replacement refrigerator showed up on Tue morning rather than Monday. Two techs from Felix Marine and Tom spent five hours working on removing the old one and installing the new. They also changed two antennas that had gone bad and they are coming back to replace the Raymarine VHF radio on the bridge. Fortunately we had planned a longer stay in Ft Myers, so the repair time worked out well. Hopefully that will take care of repairs for awhile. Felix Marine was prompt, on time, professionally executed and a fair price. If you need electronic or refrigeration service work, these are your guys. The new refrigerator (with an interior light) is up and running. Now to the grocery store for provisioning

Tuesday our son Gary and his family, along with our niece Kris and her family drove down from Siesta Key to spend the day with us. We had a very enjoyable time having lunch at Mantanza Inn and then walking the pier where we watched two dolphins chase a school of fish. Some of us checked out the shops and after exerting all that energy we found our favorite ice cream store. While seated at the ice cream patio tables we recognized the great photo opportunity of the beach sunset just a few steps away.

Also today, our good friends Luke & Jane (our immediate next door neighbors at home) stopped by for a short visit. We will reconnect with them later this week. Additionally, yesterday we had the pleasure of Mike & Corey Montgomery stopping by in their Boston Whaler for a nice afternoon visit. Thanks Mike & Corey.

When we returned to the boat my grandsons Keegan and Connor challenged me to a game of Rummy Cube and I’m sorry to say Connor got lucky and beat us. Today was a very fun day; we truly enjoyed the opportunity to visit with family and friends. The weather just seems to remain nice, no complaints.

Day 106 Naples with Johnsons

Clam Pass, Naples - Tom & Diann






Clam Pass, Doug & Diane





On the Beach, Doug, Diane & Diann




Sat morning Doug & Diane Johnson introduced us to Clam Pass, in Naples, where you catch a ride on a tram through ¾ of a mile of mangrove forest. There are three different types of mangrove trees and they are unique because they can tolerate salt water. Mangrove roots not only provide support in unstable soils to withstand currents and storms, but also breathe air. To avoid suffocation in the oxygen poor mud, mangrove trees snorkel for air. They develop aerial or air-breathing roots. Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes), and tsunamis. The mangrove's massive root system is efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal water enough that its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs. We walked the beach; collected sea shells and then had lunch at the Silver Slipper at Waterside Mall. We returned to our home away from home (“Noah Genda”) and found everything safe and sound. We had a wonderful time with Doug and Diane in Naples over the holidays and deeply appreciate their warm hospitality.

Sunday we rode bikes across the mile long San Carlos Pass Bridge and had lunch at Bonita Bills, then rode on to Salty Sam’s Marina. On our return we of course found ice cream in Ft Myers Beach and then Tom rode to a grocery store. We were both in agreement to go out to a restaurant for dinner this evening; however as evening approaches it seems easier, at times, just to dine on board. That was the case tonight, settled in for 60-minutes on the telly. Hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday the new refrigerator is installed.

We are looking forward to seeing our son Gary, wife Cindy, our grandsons, Keegan and Connor. We haven’t seen them since our departure last September. Also in the area are Kris & Craig Lennon (Niece) and sons Ben & Nick. Hopefully we can all connect this coming week.

Day 103 Naples 12/24

Captain Doug


View from Johnsons condo





Where we stopped for lunch on our boat ride.






Doug, Diane and Diann




Noah Genda remains at Moss Marine in Ft Myers Beach while we spend a few wonderful fun filled days in Naples, Fl. with our good friends Doug and Diane Johnson at their beautiful condominium. Doug and Diane have extended the warmest reception, introducing us to this highly desirable location with restaurants, shopping, sunsets, and sightseeing . We had a wonderful afternoon on their Tiara boat with Doug’s niece Erin. We saw some of the most spectacular residential areas of Naples with homes that are large enough to be hotels. Several large dolphins entertained us with huge leaps out of the water.

We just cannot get over the huge growth of this community over the last 35-40 years. The Naples history has been an education beyond comprehension. We extend a huge thank you to Doug & Diane for their gracious hospitality. It has been fun sharing the Xmas holiday with friends from home. We have so many great pictures; it will be hard to select ones for the blog.

A marine refrigerator that will fit through our boat door has been located in the Ft Myers area. It is scheduled to be installed on “Noah Genda” the week after Christmas. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is a success story and we won’t have to start our search over again.

The week after Christmas will be busy in Fr Myers connecting with family and friends from home. Our son Gary and family are due here 12/26 which we are looking forward to seeing them along with several friends from the Quad Cities. We certainly missed all of our family over the holiday.

The weather remains spectacular and we are truly enjoying south western Florida.
Merry Christmas to everyone.

Day 100, Ft Myers Beach

Our good friends, Bill & M.L. Coward.



Moss Marina is a great location for downtown Ft Myers Beach restaurants and shops, and a nice walk to the beach. Our boat is right next to a very large boater’s lounge that offers TV, daily paper, coffee, microwave, spacious laundry facilities and 4 individual lavatories with showers. I found a puzzle someone had left and since there are plenty of tables, I started it and got hooked. I had forgotten how much I enjoy working them. Even Tom would have to stop and add pieces on his way by. Since I completed it the 2nd day, I need to look for another one when we’re shopping. No complaints about this marina stay.

Sunday (yesterday) we had breakfast on board so we could remove items from the cooler. Until the new refrigerator is installed, we’ll have to eat out. Darn it!

Sunday afternoon Bill and M.L. Coward drove down from their home in Englewood, Fl. We spent a couple of hours on the boat catching up on “things”. Mary Linda was so sweet to bring us a Christmas tin full of HOME Baked cookies and brochures of things to do in the area. Later they drove us across the bridge to Parrot Key restaurant for dinner. (Located adjacent to Salty Sam’s Marina). Thank you Bill & M.L. for a very fun, enjoyable afternoon.

Day 98, Ft Myers Beach

All images of walking around Ft Myers Beach on Saturday afternoon.








We arrived at Moss Marina in Ft Myers Beach on Thursday afternoon. We had a heavy rain after midnight and continued through Friday morning. However it cleared off around noon so we walked to Matanzas restaurant for a great lunch. Awesome key line pie! We explored Estero Blvd by bicycles and Tom found an ice cream store. We found the IGA grocery store for a few provisioning. We also found the “Flying Fish Trading Company” introduced to us by Jane Casanova. You are not going to believe this, while we were in the store, Luke called on the cell phone. Is that ironic or what? Anyway, great store, nice conversation with the owner and a great conversation with Luke. Luke and Jane will be here in Ft Myers for a few weeks starting the last week in December. We look forward to seeing them.

Tom quickly made contact with Felix Marine Service to take a look at the failed Norcold Refrigerator as well as poor performance the bridge VHF radio. The mechanic showed up as promised, on time, Sat morning. The analysis is good news and bad news. The good news is the VHF radio problem can be solved with a new antenna. The bad news is the old refrigerator has seen it better days. It will be have to be replaced immediately. However with the holidays, that may not be real quick.

After meeting with the Felix Marine Tech we completed a few chores and continued our exploration of Ft Myers Beach. Turned out to be a very nice day, had lunch at an open air café, took the shuttle bus to Ft Myers, and back to Ft Myers Beach, walked the City Pier, listened to live steel band music and headed back to the boat about dark. We talked about going out to dinner, however after returning to the boat it always seems so easy to get into sweats, relax, watch TV and dine on board. This pause in travel has been very relaxing and we are enjoying it very much. Not to mention an opportunity to complete some repairs, after being on the go constantly for 98 days.

A few statistics for the statisticians:

Days since departure 98 Days, Days Traveling 48 Days
Miles traveled – 2,248, Fuel Consumed 898 Gal
Avg Cost of Diesel $2.73, Total MPG Avg 2.5 MPG (Statute Miles)
Nights at Anchor 10 Nights, Nights in Marina 88 Nights

Day 96, Ft Myers Beach

Boca Grande Harbor Entrance, Shoaling


Harbor Owner's Vessel








Adagio and Noah Genda at Boca Grande Marina






Last night at Boca Grande Marina we had very high winds causing boat owners to tighten and secure lines. We bounced around until about 1:00 A.M when it settled down to a comfortable level. It felt like we were out anchored with no wind protection.

You can see from the pictures how the water shoals severely for the entrance to Boca Grande Marina. They give very detail instructions for entering and exiting their Marina and suggested not leaving on a low tide.

The wind picked up again in the morning and with the low tide it was recommended we wait to head out to get some depth under our boats. As of last night our plan was to anchor one night at Useppa Island and then spend a night at Sanibel Marina but due to the weather that all changed quickly this morning. Rain, high winds and rough seas are projected for the next 3-days. We opted to skip Useppa Island anchorage, the overnight at Sanibel and head straight to Moss Marine at Ft Myers Beach for an extended stay. The seas were rough but the dolphins kept us entertained. What a nice feeling to know we are in one spot for the next month.

You can always count on something going wrong when you’re boating and our most recent something was the Norcold refrigerator quit working last night. (Wish Bill Wallace was here) We moved what we could to the cooler and fortunately, it wasn’t well stocked. Tom made phone calls right away and has a refrigeration technician coming on Saturday morning to evaluate the refrigerator for repair or replacement. The Raymarine bridge radio seems to have developed a problem also so the same tech will look at it.

Day 95 Boca Grande

Beach at Boca Grande




Leaving Venice Beach mid-morning we were blessed with a great travel day, calm seas and warm sunny 80’s degree weather. I cannot even begin to count the number of dolphins we saw on our way. Sometimes you couldn’t take the time to look because you’re busy reading the charts. They swam with us on our bow and beside us for a very long time. Four of them along side of us seem to be competing with each other, rolling over and swimming on their backs, looking up at us, leaping out of the water. What a show.

We arrived at the very first class Boca Grande Marina (MM 28.5) at 1:30 (the sign still has their old name of Millers Marina). This area is one of the world’s great tarpon fishing grounds. It is located on the south end of Gasparilla Island, located about 25 miles north of Fort Myers. Once we were secured and had water and power turned on, we unloaded bikes and headed for the four block area downtown. It is a very quaint, charming upscale Florida town with old and new money. Golf carts are a common mode of local transportation around town. We visited the post office, hardware store and of course located the “Pink Pony” ice cream store, not at all disappointed. This is one of our many pleasant stops along the GIWW of Florida. We were once asked what has been your favorite place. It is very difficult to give one simple answer. They all are very nice and unique in the own way. It all depends on what you are looking for to assess a valuation.

To our pleasant surprise upon arrival we spotted “Adagio” our friends Dave and Pam Feltner from Ohio. We settled down to a very pleasant evening enjoying dinner on board. Watched over the air TV, caught up on data entry and the blog. We wanted to anchor tomorrow at Useppa Island, however the weather may start deteriorating. If so we will probably go to Sanibel Island Marina and wait for the weather to settle down before heading to Ft Myers Beach.

Day 94 Venice, FL

Lots of nice homes along the GIWW


Us at the Beach, Venice


Us at Caseys Pass (Beach) in Venice


Dolphins are too fast to get a good picture


Bradenton is a very nice upscale area that I could enjoy spending some time at but instead we left at 8:30 am with no fog. That was a surprise. Today was an exceptional morning of Dolphin sightings. We saw dolphins all day long; in fact 4 of them swam beside us for quite a distance. We both took turns driving while the other had the opportunity to look at them up close off of the aft-deck as them kept pace with our boat. Just amazingly beautiful, never get tired of them. They just rise up slowly like they are on display. We traveled 42 miles to Venice through some of the most expensive real estate we have seen since entering Florida. Sarasota, Longboat Key, Siesta Key were absolutely gorgeous. So many beautiful homes on the waterway along with nice looking boats also.
We are amazed at the number of mistakes in the different waterway guides we have purchased. Today was a mess trying to find Crow’s-Nest Marina since the waterway guide ocation was about 2-miles off as well as on the wrong side of the Intracoastal Waterway. A phone call to Crow’s-nest straightened it out and the staff said that it has been wrong in the guide as long as he has worked here. He said they get telephone calls all the time from confused transients. Crow nest Marina is a nice stop.

We are the only transient boat here at this marina tonight. I suspect on the week-ends this place rocks. Since we are moored on the Venice Gulf “Inlet”, we have been entertained watching the fishing boats come in from the Gulf as evening approaches. There are a ton of Center Console manufactures here in Florida. We see a lot of Pursuits, Key West’s, Edgewater’s and Grady Whites.

We rode bicycles to the beach area and on into downtown area. We rode for so long that I decided to go back to the boat and missed everything. Venice is a very nice community with a very upscale quaint downtown business district including lots of specialty shops, cafés and restaurants. And of course Tom found the “Soda Fountain” and old fashioned theme ice cream specialty store. He rates it very high on the rating scale.

Day 93 Bradenton Florida

Meeting Carnival Cruise Line in Tampa Bay.


Holly & Gloria


Gloria & Diann at Cafe


Tom, Gloria, Holly at thier beautiful Florida home


The dense fog rolled in early A.M. and did not lift until 11:00 A.M. Starting this late in the day makes for a short day of daylight opportunity. Our destination today was Bradenton FL at Twin Dolphins Marina. Our good friend Gloria Hollingsworth and her husband Holly live in Bradenton and were gracious enough to spend the afternoon/evening with us sharing their beautiful home. They drove us over to the Gulf Beach area to dine at the Gulf Drive Café, excellent open air waterfront dining. We had an absolutely wonderful time as well as good food. Gloria and Diann had an opportunity to catch up and have lots of laughs over past experiences. Thank you Holly & Gloria.

Pretty uneventful afternoon cruising down Tampa Bay and under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that crosses Tamp Bay. We met a Carnival Cruise Line vessel right under the bridge. Pretty massive. The bay was like a sheet of glass and there were several center counsel boats fishing the Bay.

Bradenton marina is beautiful and very accommodating, with lots of amenities. While backing into the slip the staff asked where in the world is Hampton, IL. They reflected that there is a boat here in the marina from Bettendorf Iowa. We ask who the owners were. They couldn’t remember so Tom went over to find out. The boat belongs to George Spore. Tom & George had a nice afternoon conversation at pool side. Small boating community, small mid-west.

This stretch of Florida is so fascinating and the towns of interest are so close together we are struggling making distance in order to reach Ft Myers in the next few days. Oh well.

Day 92, St Petersburg Florida

View off "Noah Genda"


View off "Noah Genda" St Pete Skyine


Diann, Shopping Downtown St Pete


Tom, Tampa Bay in background/horizon


Socked in this morning with dense fog, but it didn’t matter since we weren’t moving on. Coffee on board and Sunday morning news on TV. While waiting for laundry to finish we had breakfast at the local marina dockside deli/café, sat outdoors, a very nice morning. We did a little exterior salt spray removal from the boat; I scrubbed the deck with the new “Shurehold” stiff brush Tom bought us. It works great; much better than my hand brush. We unloaded bicycles off the boat and headed out around noon for a fun day exploring downtown St Petersburg on two wheels. We have certainly used our bicycles a lot more than we anticipated. Things are never close enough to a marina to walk comfortably, let alone carry things back to the boat.

Wouldn’t you know, Tom spotted a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store, and we indulged. Life is good. I have been trying to find some Christmas decorations for the boat and we searched a CVS, a Walgreens and a Publix. We decided on one at the CVS and went back to purchase it, but the one small table tree I wanted was gone. In the meantime I put up some lights around the window and that makes it seem more like the holidays. We went to the pool for an hour after we got back but it was kind of hot!
After dark we rode bicycles to Fresco’s waterfront dining next door to St Pete Municipal Marina. Open air dining overlooking the marina, it just doesn’t get any better. The food was superb.

We rode back through downtown to get back to our marina. St Petersburg is experiencing a serious homeless population in the downtown area. Certainly is sad to see the devastation of the human mind. What is it that city management should do? I certainly don’t have the answer, but it is not good for any given city.

Tomorrow, after the fog lifts we are off to Bradenton, FL to Twin Dolphins Marina.

Day 91 at St Petersburg, Harborage Marina

Cruisin down GIWW


Diann at Red Mesa Restaurant


St Pete Muni Pier


Tom, Found vintage auto, go figure.

After a nice dinner and watching TV we woke up to high wind and felt things were not just quite right. They weren’t. We had drug our anchor about a ½ mile into a bay and ended up against some private pilings/docks. No harm done, started engines and worked our way back in the dark with the aid of chart plotter and depth finder to our original point of anchorage where we re-hooked. We thought the boat anchored near us had left but actually we were the one who had left! When we lifted the anchor in the daylight we discovered we were in a mud-flat and the anchor and chain were a mess. The Waterway Guide reflected that this was a good protected anchorage. Not in our opinion, we were exposed to easterly winds and they were strong last night.

Pulled anchor, headed south to St Petersburg Harborage Marina arriving about 1:00 PM. Our good friends Nancy and Ross Hiner were here at this marina packing up for an air-trip back home Sunday morning. We had the pleasure of a short visit before their departure. We hope to connect with them again in Marathon, FL Jan/Feb.

Our cruise across Tampa Bay was a pretty sloppy ride with a chop of 2-3 feet on our starboard beam and then a trailing sea after the turn. After visiting with Nancy and Ross we rode our bicycles to downtown St Pete, past the Publix and several restaurants and finding a wonderful place called Red Mesa Cantina. We sat in the outdoor courtyard complete with waterfall. Food & weather were superb. Continued our bike ride into town and headed toward the Municipal Pier and marina. St Pete has a nice downtown area with lots of amenities, parks, bicycle paths and waterfront activity. There was a live concert in the park. Passed by this vintage vehicle that Tom could not resist a photo opp. We stayed aboard tonight and will continue our St Pete exploring tomorrow before leaving Monday for Bradenton. There is a City trolley available with a pick-up right in front of the marina office for 25 cents to tour the entire downtown business district. Sounds like a plan for tomorrow.

Clearwater to anchorage - Day 90

We woke up this morning here at Clearwater Municipal Marina, made coffee, watched TV , had breakfast and discussed staying another day or moving on to an anchorage. We went for a bicycle ride to the Publix about two miles away on the very nice bicycle path along the waterway. The grocery store was located in an upscale business park, well landscaped with other stores offering supplies and provisions. Clearwater has been a nice visit, lots of restaurants, and retail opportunities. Marina costs are escalating as we travel farther south into Florida. We will look for an extended stay somewhere in Ft. Myers, as well as Marathon, reducing overall cost of daily transient fees.

Brought groceries back to the boat, stored them away and I went for a bicycle tour of downtown business district while Tom caught up on some phone calls to friends back home. When I got back to the boat, we both decided let’s pick up and head down the coast. We left Clearwater around 1:30. I feel bad for the vacationers that you see on the beach regardless that it is cold (High 66) and windy today. I enjoyed myself because I had a wide bicycle path all to myself along a beautiful white sand beach.

We are anchored for the night at MM 121 looking off our stern at the Don Cesar Hotel located in St Petersburg Beach. Tonight on board, I prepared the fresh tilapia purchased this morning in Clearwater and it was delicious. Nice evening on anchor. Watched a little TV, brought blog up to date and called it a night. It is an extremely windy night and of course we didn’t select the most protected anchorage. A little anxiety about the anchor slipping through the night. One other boat anchored here near us.

No images today.

Day 89 Clearwater

A chance to have both of us in the picture

Tom and cousin Ron

Not a name that I would pick for a restaurant Rusty Bellies.

Tarpon Landing Marina

Tom below statue of a sponge diver

Tuesday night in Tarpon Springs, we elected to eat on board and relax with the A/C on since we were still so tired from the crossing . Wed we rode bikes around Tarpon Springs "sponge harbor" and had lunch at the Rusty Bellies restaurant. Tom decided to dive under the boat to sucessully remove the crab pot line that was tangled on the rudder. Tom's cousin Ronnie Scheffler, from Crystal River FL, drove to Tarpon this afternoon. After an enjoyable afternoon catching up and just enjoying the day, we went to dinner at Captn Jack's and had a great time. We hadn’t seen him for 8 years so that was a very enjoyable visit.

It was raining Thursday morning but we decided to move on to Clearwater anyway. We left at 11:00 am but it was a slow trip due to the shallow intracoastal water of 5 to 7 feet. At the Clearwater Municipal Harbor we docked across from Biddi and the Beast. They have been here for a week and are leaving the boat here while they go home for Christmas.

There is a post office right at the marina so I was able to mail packages and post cards home for the holidays. That was a relief since finding a post office within walking or biking is few and far between. We walked over to looper friends Dave & Pam Feltner aboard "Adagio" and caught up on the latest since we haven't seen them since Dog River Marina in Mobile, Al. After conversation aboard "Adagio" we decided to walk over to "Frenchy's Sea Food Company" for dinner. Fun night. Came back to the boat, bring the Blog up to date, and enter trip data in spreadsheets. Tomorrow ? "Noah Genda"

Day 87 Gulf crossing

Sunrise at Carrabelle

Tom at 2 Al's Head qtrs

Crab pot tagging a ride

Anclote River

Captain Jacks

Cheri Mueller told me to be sure and get up early enough to see some sunrises. because they are as inspiring as the sunsets. Since we are still waking up before the crack of dawn, (still in work mode I guess) I’ve included a picture from Sunday morning. This was right before we watched our friends head out for the 180-200 mile gulf crossing. There is not much to do in Carrabelle but eat, ride bicycles, read and TV. Tony from the “Moorings” harbor told us we had to have a permit to ride bicycles in town. If we get stopped tell them we’re traveling by boat and they should leave us alone. Sunday Tony gave us a ride across the river to eat at 2 Al’s restaurant. Tom is standing in front of their office headquarters. All the restaurants look questionable from the outside but the food is always great.

Monday morning Jim Polson, the mechanic from Crawfordsville, Florida, completed our engine coolant repairs, addressed some salt water corrosion resistance maintenance and painted both engines. Engine room looks like a surgery center.

After he finished we stopped by the marina office on our way to town to inquire about the Gulf crossing weather. Patty informed us we need to go today or wait until Friday at the earliest. One thing we have learned about the crossing, you have to be prepared to leave the dock in a moments notice. Weather is difficult to predict with 100% accuracy. Her opinion/analysis of available infomation, lead us to believe the seas would be flat, flat, flat, however that did not prove to be an accurate projection. Mark and Carol off the boat “Grateful” were leaving in a couple of hours for the overnight Gulf crossing. Tom and I had already decided to go the Big Bend route (daylight travel and closer to shore) but we weren’t too excited about waiting another week so we took the plunge and proceeded to secure every item that could possibly fly through the cabin. Decorations, glassware, books, galley equipment, TV’s, tables and chairs, deck chairs, coolers, dinghy, bicycles boat poles, etc. All of this in about a 1-1/2 hours before a 3:00 P.M. departure.

I’m not sure how to describe the next 21 hours. Since we left at 3:15 P.M we had two daylight hours and the seas appeared to be 1-2 feet. I think it was around midnight when they changed to 3’-5’? seas. Since it was dark you couldn’t see the waves but I held the arms of my chair and my feet were hooked around the foot rest to stay in my seat.. Julie Groves once shared her experience of a rough gulf ride and recommended a cooler on the bridge so you wouldn’t need to go below for food or beverages. Even though I thought this was going to be a calm ride, I’m glad I followed her advice. When one of us had to move around you ALWAYS had at least one hand secured to a rail or safety bar at all times and kept talking as you moved to assure the other that you were okay. We shared driving duties one hour on one hour off through the night. Somehow we managed to take cat naps and finally around 4:00 am the seas calmed down. Then what we wanted was sunrise and it finally came at 6:30 One phrase around the boating community that is quite accurate “The boat can handle the seas a lot better than you can”

At daybreak, I noticed a crab pot float trailing our boat. Fortunately it was only the float and line (not the cage) and wherever it was attached to the boat it wasn’t hindering the boat performance. Once we were in neutral, Tom managed to hook the line with a boat pole and pull the loose end into the boat. He cut the float and much to my dismay didn’t keep it. Hurrah! the sun is up and we can see where we are going but only temporarily since the fog had set in. The fog came and went not once but 5 different times so that we had to use radar to locate our companion boat.
There must be a dozen marinas to choose from as you travel up the Anclote River. We tied up at “The Landing at Tarpon Springs” around 12:30. We’re absolutely exhausted but the boat was totally encrusted with salt water from the 21 hours of Gulf of Mexico spray. We both dug in, soap scrubbed the boat and rinsed from top to bottom. I put the inside of the boat back in order. When that was accomplished we went to Captain Jacks for lunch and then a well deserved nap. I’m glad I have had the experience of the Gulf crossing but if I have to make the decision again, it will be daylight travel around the big bend. We made it, the boat performed well, and the crossing is behind us. An experience we will never forget and have fun telling the story over again.

We were given a preformance of 10 dolphins all leaping out of the water at the same time right in front of our boat. Maybe that made it all worthwhile.

Day 84, Carrabelle, FL

Weather breifing, Buddy (Red Jacket), Nancy & Ross Hiner


Bob DeGroot, Buddy Venable & Ross


Carrabelle Police Station


Tom & Diann aboard "Spirit Dancer"

It is a good thing Carrabelle has a low crime rate because the Police Station here is the smallest in the world (see picture). In 1960 the police phone was located in a call box bolted to a building. Tourists were making unauthorized long distance calls on the police phone. In 1963 the sheriff decided to put in this phone booth to curtail illegal calls as well as provide officers shelter from the weather. It has been featured on TV programs Real People; Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Today Show.

After breakfast with 6 other loopers, we had a meeting with Buddy Venable, the weather guru here at the Moorings. (He is in the blue cap and red jacket.) He has been advising boaters for 19 years on when it is safe to cross the gulf. Currently his weather readings say there might be a window Sunday afternoon or Monday but recommends waiting to cross if you have the time. We have a mechanic coming Monday morning to look at an engine antifreeze leak. So we will wait for the next opportunity.

After the morning weather meeting Nancy and I rode our bikes to town to spend some money but the best thing happening was the Dollar Store. Carrabelle has 2 hardware stores, 1 IGA grocery, a coffee house, some restaurants and a couple of bars. Tonight we had happy hour aboard “Spirit Dancer” a beautiful 49’ Defever owned by Bob & Kemba DeGroot from Texas, along with Nancy & Ross "Oddysea", and Alan & Peggy Hill ("Muriel June").