Apalachicola, FL -beginning to prepare for the crossing

We are 2 stops away from the "big crossing" which will be from Carrabelle, FL to Clearwater, FL across the Gulf.  The trip should take about 20 hours.  Today we went to Apalachicola from Panama City.  When we got here we met 5 other couples that are Loopers too.  When they saw our burgee we were instantly invited for docktails aboard a beautiful Back Cove 37. There they almost had me convinced that tomorrow would be the day to cross instead of Thursday as we have been planning. 

They are all going to leave tomorrow and follow one another and I thought "safety in numbers".  But after returning to our boat and reviewing all of our weather sources, we've decided that all the conditions are not as favorable as a Thursday into Friday crossing.  The factors that we look at include winds less than 12 knots, waves less than 2 feet, high/low tides in the area we are leaving from and going to, less than 20% chance of rain, and (at least for the last month) temperatures above 32 degrees. 

The group was successful, however, in convincing us to arrive in Clearwater as opposed to Tarpon Springs as we had planned; principally because water depths in the channel leading to the marina in Tarpon Springs were reported to be very thin. So, we will continue on to Carrabelle and plan to cross from there to Clearwater, Florida on Thursday night.

This just makes me laugh!!


These jet vapor trails are from planes flying out of Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City.  We have been buzzed by fighter jets since we left Pensacola (home of the Blue Angels) almost daily.  They are extremely loud.



These are the coordinates we will use for our Gulf crossing to Clearwater. Fortunately, Second Wave has autopilot. So we can enter these coordinates into our Chartplotter and the boat will automatically steer a course to the coordinates we provide. That sounds easy and it is. However, its not like a "set it and forget it" kind of thing. On such a trip, we have to consistently monitor the radar and AIS for other vessels and the sonar for depth of water as well as keeping a sharp eye on all of the critical mechanical gauges. 

We still haven't decided how we will share responsibilities during the long run to Clearwater. As I said, someone has to be at the helm at all times (on watch). But, we have to be rested to be alert. We may elect to stand watch in shifts (maybe every 2 or 3 hours) so the other person can sleep. In all likelihood, we'll bring our blankets and pillows up on the flybridge for convenience. I'll also brew some strong coffee. Brent wants Red Bull but he's never had that before in his life. Not sure what it will do to him. If it keeps him awake for 24 hours I'm all for it. But it will probably just make him need to pee every 15 minutes.




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