The trip across Mobile Bay was wonderful. Was so great seeing dolphins again. Sailed past LuLu’s in Gulf Shores where we stayed last year.

Made it to The Wharf in Orange Beach, FL after a beautiful 61 mile run. Unfortunately, had to fill up:

Had been at anchor for a while, so we were really looking forward to walking and eating out. The Wharf marina and area were very cool.

Ate at a local joint and hit the hay early. The next day was chores. Had a TON of laundry. Walked over 3 miles just to and from the laundry room. Ubered to the grocery store to provision. Mike washed the boat, and I cleaned up inside. This took up the whole day. That night, Ubered to the Flora-Bama, known by many to be America’s last great roadhouse. Cue Jimmy Buffett’s “Bama Breeze.”

We luckily, again, happened upon this part of the country during the Frank Brown International Song Festival. There are numerous bars at the Bama-Breeze, and almost as many stages. We hit a couple of them.

The following day brought weather. Had good thunderstorms and rain, and gale force winds. It was COLD! The rain let up a bit early afternoon. We bundled up in our warmest clothes and met up with the crews of Jet Stream and Joy Girl for Happy Hour. There was a movie theater nearby so, after, Mike and I went to see Zombieland 2. First movie we had seen in a theater in years. Total disappointment. And, the popcorn wasn’t even that good.

Departed the next morning in dreary, windy weather. We had lots of dolphins beside us which always makes me happy. The sun finally came out. Crossed Pensacola Bay heading into some wind and chop. Our clean girl got super salty again (poor Mike). Back into the GICW, the seas were beautiful, the skies were sunny and the dolphins playful. Arrived at Spectre Island at 4:10pm and met up with Heartbeat and Scaliwag whom we hadn’t seen in months. Was a great rendezvous.

Did Happy Hour on Scaliwag and were treated to a great sunset. So fun getting the band back together again! Oh, and Parker treated us all to some Pappy Van Winkle. Mmmmmm.

The three boats departed the following morning to overcast and breezy skies.

During this trip, I decided to rent a car and drive to Lake Harding in Alabama to see my friend Betty’s mom for her birthday. This was Thursday. I booked a car for Saturday to Monday. Plan was for Mike to stay on the boat in Destin in the anchorage where I would return Monday.

Another salty trip, but a short one into Destin Harbor.

The crews of Scaliwag, Heartbeat and FF took our dinghies to a dock and hit some bars. It was cold and drizzly, but we made the best of it.

The following morning brought sunshine! Got to land and put some miles under our feet. Got a text from Kent and Parker to meet them at Hog’s Breath Saloon. Not to be rude, we joined.

Seemed like a good day for day drinking. So we did. Hit Boshamps and the Boathouse for live music. During the afternoon, there was a lot of discussion about crossing the Gulf of Mexico Sunday/Monday. The weather window looked really good. As is our way, we changed our plans again. Mike would drop me at the dock Saturday morning (for my planned road trip) and sail to Panama City with our buddy boats where they would stage to make the 234 mile trip across the Gulf to Tarpon Springs. Because Mike would be single-handing, FF would be the middle boat with the others keeping an eye on him.

Early Saturday morning, we did a touch and go to drop me at a dock in Destin.

Before you think I’m a horrible wife, I would not have booked my road trip had I known it was going to be the perfect weather window for a Gulf crossing. And, I could have easily canceled a car rental reservation. My friend Betty, however, had booked a flight from Texas to Destin where I was going to pick her up Saturday and we would drive together the 4 hours to her mom’s house for a surprise. I was then going to drop her late Sunday at Atlanta airport.

The surprise was totally worth it, and I got to spend some time with my crazy Southern family.

Thankfully, the boating community is awesome. Our friend Charlie found out about Mike crossing the Gulf alone and drove 7 hours from Tennessee to Panama City, FL to join him.

<Insert by Mike:

While following Heartbeat & Scaliway through the GICW enroute Panama City, I figured I would give our good friend Charlie a call just to see how he was. I told Charlie that I would be crossing solo (albeit in close company to my two buddy boats) and indicated that I would get a short nap every once in a while and let Mr. Autohelm do the driving. Charlie was calculating driving mileage as we spoke, and informed me that he could get to Panama City in 7 hours–and that he was already packing a bag. Would I like him to cross with me? Heck yes! So, fast forward to our 3 boats dropping anchor near St. Andrews State Park at Panama City Beach at about 3 PM. Charlie called and let me know he’d be arriving near me at 7 PM. I motored our dinghy 1 1/2 miles in the dark (navigating with iPhone in a zip lock with Aqua Maps) and picked Charlie up at a marina. Back on the boat, we discussed our Gulf crossing route with crews of Heartbeat & Scaliwag. It was agreed upon that–barring any weather developments overnight–we would depart at 10:30 AM from Panama Beach. Last year we made our way to Apalachicola where we waited through stormy weather for 6 days before finally crossing the Gulf from Dog Island, near Carrabelle. Crossing from Panama (220 NM), vs Dog Island (170 NM), would be a 25 hour trip. Fingers were crossed that the forecasted weather & benign seas would materialize. Sunday morning was bright & sunny, seas were fairly flat, and there was a light northerly breeze. The 3 of us pulled in our anchors and headed through the inlet into the Gulf. We traveled south for about 25 miles to clear some shoals, before turning east towards are destination. Using the “track” function of our chart plotter/autopilot, we were able to engage the autopilot and not touch the steering wheel for 16 hours. Love it when the boat drives herself!

Pretty soon it was dark. Really dark…as in pitch black. I have always loved night passages, where one’s skills (radar, navigation, etc) are put to use. Being that we were “tracking” on auto, the hardest part of the job was making sure we kept our distance from the boat ahead of us (between 1/4 and 1/2 mile separation), keeping our speed matched to theirs, watching the radar screen for other targets, and of course–not falling asleep. The entire night we had following seas and were smoothly surfing down small waves. This passage was better than I had hoped for–and light years better than our last crossing. Last year we battled crab pots for the last 40 or so miles from Tarpon Springs, dodging left and right. This year we saw so few and had to actually dodge maybe half a dozen. There probably wasn’t any less out there, but we believe that our route circumvented most of the traps.

25 hours after setting out, we arrived at Anclote Bay, just outside of Tarpon Springs. Being that we arrived near low tide, the 3 of us decided to anchor for a couple hours to let the tide rise a bit. Kent on Heartbeat dropped his anchor and we rafted to his port side, while Scaliwag rafted to his starboard. We later made our way into Turtle Cove Marina and found our assigned slip.

<Back to Mary>

Monday morning, I set off from Valley, Alabama en route to Tarpon Springs, FL. The drive through Georgia was beautiful through cotton fields and pecan orchards. This is the south and they take their football seriously.

8 hours later, I made it to Tarpon Springs. We went out to an early dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant from last year. The crews of HB, Scaliwag and FF were exhausted after their 25 hour boat ride and all crashed around 7:30.

Following day was beautiful. Took the rental car to provision, then Charlie drove it 6 hours back to Panama City to pick up his truck. Charlie is the best. Not surprisingly, Parker and Kent again texted us all to advise they were at a waterfront bar.

Walked to a local joint for dinner and stayed up late playing Golden Tee, a video golf game. When in Florida…

Next day was the luxurious Uber trip to the laundry mat, and boat chores. Hosted the crews of Scaliwag and HB aboard FF for steak dinner. HB will be continuing south. The Wags are leaving their boat in Tarpon Springs to fly home to Texas for 5 weeks. We will miss them (and Leslie’s baking).

Took off Thursday morning from Tarpon Springs and headed south on the ICW. Was a beautiful day with sunny skies and calm seas. Dolphins accompanied us on pretty much the whole trip.

Arrived Redington Shores yesterday afternoon. We anchored here last year and loved it. Went ashore for a late lunch, then back to the boat for a lazy afternoon with a book.

Binge watched Stranger Things. Going to chill here for a few days, then head to St. Pete for Thanksgiving week.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. Cheers! M&M