Log 68; Day 181; Nov. 18, 2008; Apalachicola, FL

Log 68
Day 181
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

4:50 AM CST
Location: Apalachicola, FL...Mile 351 on the GIWW
Weather: 52* with light winds...forecasted to be 56; sunny; and windy

I got up very early this morning...even by my standards. I woke up about 3 and could not go back to sleep so finally got up about 4:30. We are in Apalachicola, FL this morning, and planning on heading to Carrabelle. The route will take us out in Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, and they are predicting strong winds out of the north (depends who you listen to...they are going to be between 15 and 25 MPH) and I have been wondering/worried how that will affect our trip today. So when I woke up at 3, I kept thinking about the winds and what kind of a trip it would be. I also thought I could feel the boat being tossed a little bit...and assumed the wind had picked up as forecasted. Laying there I told myself that if the winds had picked up that much we would just stay here one more day, and let the winds settle down, and go tomorrow. So, I was certainly surprised when I got up to see that the winds were light and variable...barely moving the trees. Like most worries...wasted time.

Yesterday...we again hooked up with Good News (they caught back up to us), and made the 60+ mile inside run from Panama City to Apalachicola. We left the dock at 7:30, and the journey took us through wide open sounds...to small interior lakes...to narrow man made ditches cut through the swamps. Much of the way was not very pretty, and somewhat boring...but I’m not complaining, this certainly beats working. We arrived at Miller Marine in Apalachicola about 3 PM. Miller Marine is a just a couple of docks in the water, right on the main channel. While they do accept transients...they are really in business to support the local shrimp boats with fuel and supplies, so there is not much here for the pleasure boater. That said, they are very nice folks and made us (Good News is here too) feel very welcome. The town itself is not bad. It is a small port town that has been built around the boating world. It is also a big departure and destination point for those crossing the Gulf to and from the West Coast of Florida. It also boasts one of the top 10 oyster bars in the US (who rates these things?) so Andy, Mary, Deb and I walked a short block from the dock to see if they were right in their rating. It turned out the only person who really eats oysters is me, but it was entertaining to see the other 3 try to figure out how they could order oysters...so they would not look, or taste, like oysters. They ended up ordering them baked, with something like garlic, spinach, and other things mixed in and were very happy the only thing that resembled an oyster was the shell they served them in. I ordered a 1/2 dozen raw oysters...and they brought me 9 (for $4.50). They were very good. We were back at the boat by 6:15, and for dinner Mary made chicken with capers, and Deb made rice, and we ate on Good News. It was a good day.

Today...we are going a short 30 miles to Carrabelle, FL, the final jumping off spot between here and Florida’s west coast. From this point, the cruising gets a lot more “puckering”. Depending on where we decide to go, it will take us 1 very long day and over 170 miles to reach Clearwater, or 3 travel days of 80 miles each. Neither one is a great option, but we have to pick one, so we’ll spend a couple nights in Carrabelle getting ready. The forecast calls for a good day on Thursday (at least at this point)...but remember that is the same forecast that called for 18 MPH winds after midnight, and it’s now 5:45 and there is just a light breeze. But I’m sure the winds will be here shortly.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob