Getting into Position

Apalatchicola

Our original plan was to stay at the great South Point Marina in Panama City Beach for Thanksgiving but you should all know how plans go when it comes to boating. I had been keeping an eye on the Marine forecast looking for a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee.

When we planned to start it looked like there would not be a window for several days but I also saw a calming pattern developing. When I got up on Tuesday and checked the weather sites a window to cross would open for Thursday and possibly thru Saturday.

So to get into position we had to hastily depart South Point to get to Apalachicola, a 65 mile run. We pulled away from the dock a little after 8am with three other Loopers following. We knew we would be pushing daylight to get there.

The cruise turned out to be spectacular from both a weather and scenery standpoint. It was a sunny calm day with temps ion the mid 70’s. The cruise took us thru a remote section of the panhandle with coastal woodlands and swamps.

Slash pines, cypress, marsh grass and bush palms were the order of the day. Wildlife consisted of birds of all sizes and playful dolphin that seemed to play chicken with our boat. The cruise took us thru sounds, lakes and narrow canals.

Some places water was all around but you could not wander out of the channel as the depth immediately went to 2’. We arrived at our planned destination right about 5pm. After securing the boat we walked into the quaint little village of Apalachicola.

It is a quirky little place with a great community. We turned a corner and saw folks spilling from the sidewalk onto the street. Golf carts everywhere. The Oyster House was a happening spot. We immediately joined in rubbing elbows with the locals.

The town Sheriff pulled up in his cruiser and asked everyone to get back on the sidewalk which they did. Until he pulled away. Then everyone moved back onto the street. This is one of those old world Florida places unspoiled by the fast paced world.

Everybody seems to know everybody. Wednesday morning we delayed our departure to walk the town. We walked by picturesque old Florida homes and even a cool cemetery covered in live oaks draped in Spanish moss.

The town has an old hotel called the Gibson Inn established in 1827. It makes  you think chic Tommy Bahama with perfectly selected period light fixtures and furniture.

So much character.

We pulled away from the town wharf at noon headed for our staging spot at Alligator Point Anchorage 40 miles away. We no more that got a mile away and slipped into fog. Ugh! We had some visibility so we turned on our Radar and pressed ahead.

After about an hour of puckering, the fog lifted. The winds were nonexistent so the water was glass. Dolphin were everywhere. We had a number of hitch hikers riding the pressure wake in front of the bow. At one point we had five of them sometimes hanging for 20 minutes. They seriously roll onto their side and look you right in the eye. Sue was in her glory I was terrified she would fall of the bow! 

We made it to our anchorage at about 4:30 pm with three other boats in tow. Sue had offered to host a Thanksgiving Pot Luck aboard Next Chapter. The crew of Odyssey, Knot Dreaming, and It’s About Time joined for Looper Style Thanksgiving.

Although we seriously missed being with family this was the next best thing. We gave thanks for all the many blessings we have and enjoyed the meal together. Watching the dusk sky fade into the open Gulf was spectacular. We were lulled to sleep by a gentle rocking from a slight gulf swell. 

                    Town Wharf at Apalatchicola

Homes in Apalatchicola

Sunset at Alligator Point looking across the Gulf

                                                          Mini Pumpkin Pies

The spread

Spring Break Mecca

 Panama City Beach

So for many of us who passed thru college Panama City Beach was only second to Daytona Beach for spring break. Although Sue made it to the iconic Daytona Beach I managed to be head down trying to become some type of Dr so spring break did not line up with when I had break. Now you all know why I am on this “extended Spring Break” so I can make up for lost time with interest!. We actually took Anna and her friend to Panama City for a high school spring break. The thing that stood out from our memory was the blazing white sand and the emerald colored water. The thing we forgot was the fact that it was Panama City Beach really had no soul. It was just a long strand of high rise condos with a number of widely spaced restaurants and T-Shirt shops. Besides that it was a bit tired looking. Well it turns out the weather had been anything but beach weather so we only spent a couple of hours walking the beach. Florida to this point has not lived up to up to its sunny warm reputation. In fact we have experienced the coldest temps and most cloudy days as anywhere else on the Loop. Oh well, it had to end sometime. We only had about 5 miles to travel to get from Panama City to the South Bay Point marina in Panama City Beach. Our plan was only to stay one night but base on the weather forecast for crossing the Gulf it looked like we could be there for several days stretching over Thanksgiving. The marina was very nice and a lot of Loopers we there waiting for the magical weather window to open. There was a very nice neighborhood connected to the marina along with a golf course. We did manage to take a Dinghy ride up a small river that parallels the backside of the beach. We had a captains meeting on Monday to discuss the weather and all were in agreement that a good window for crossing would not likely open until Monday or so. So everyone planned to stay over Thanksgiving. Tuesday evening I checked the weather and found that a window would likely open on Friday. Wednesday morning my hunch was confirmed so we hurriedly readied Next Chapter for departure. If we were going to cross we would have to cover over 100 miles to into position to leave on Friday. 

Where Naval Aviators are Made

 Pensacola

Tuesday morning was finally splash day. The yard guys maneuvered the travel lift under Next Chapter and gently hoisted her off the blocks and made the way to the water. Once in the water I jumped aboard to check the rudder seals to make sure there was no water coming in. Starboard side check. Port side, shit it was leaking. So back out of the water we go and back onto the blocks.

They left me in the slings to see if we could quickly resolve the issue. So I went into hyperdrive to drop the rudder out and Sue found a fellow Looper with a car to take her to get a new seal. Two hours later I had it all back together for “Take Two.” Fortunately this time the seal did it’s job and we were off for the 30 mile cruise to Pensacola.

On the way we decided to pull off 10 miles early to slip into a neat anchorage at the ruins of Fort McRee. The anchorage was between a high sand dune and barrier island to the south with brilliant white sand, emerald colored water and loads of dolphin about. It is also situated at the south end of the runway at Pensacola Naval Air Station home of the Blue Angles.

If we were there on a Tuesday we would have prime seats for the practice runs. As I’m sure some of you know Naval Air Station Pensacola is where the vast majority of Naval aviators are trained to fly. The Barrier afforded wild natural views of the Gulf of Mexico with remnants of the fort built back in the 1800’s. 

Wednesday morning we headed for the short 10 mile run to Pensacola. After we got settled we decided to go to the National Aviation Museum on the air base. We took an Uber ride there but were turned away at the gate.

The guard said, “Sorry the museum is not open to the public.” Where were all my Navy friends when I need them? So basically we ended up with an Uber ride to nowhere. When we got back to the marina we mounted up on our bikes and rode into the historic district of Pensacola. Later on we caught up with Karen and David Blakey from It’s About Time. They are from Norfolk.

We met up with them prior to starting the Loop. We last saw them in the Chesapeake and finally connected with them 3500+ miles later. We really liked the feel of the area and decided to stay another night. The next day we did a number of museums which were somewhat like a watered down Williamsburg like deal but included the history art museum. We spent the entire day walking around enjoying all that was offered. 

Destin

Friday we left early for a 49 mile cruise to Destin. We passed thru a number of bayous, sounds and lakes all on the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.

We arrived to Destin about 1:30 and dropped the anchor in the nicely protected harbor. Destin has a great waterfront development complete with all the usual trappings. We walked the boardwalk and struck up a conversation with a mate cleaning red snapper from a charter.

He indicated that the clients did not want the fish so as you can imagine I jumped at the opportunity. Fresh fish for dinner! We did not eat it that night but had dinner at a great meal at a restaurant called Bouchards. The next morning clouds moved in with the threat of rain. Later in the day our Boston friends from Odyssey joined us at the anchorage. We went to shore and bar hopped to all the local dive bars.

We got in a game of Bar Shuffle board, you know the table with the metal pucks that slide on the granular substance. They were mainstay fixtures in all the local dive bars from the 70’s. Anyhow back onboard Sue made a great fresh fish dinner that included some fresh caught Gulf shrimp. Many laughs later we called it a night. 

Red Door. Dive bar in Destin

                                             Destin beach

Some type of tower. No clue really but very cool looking

                                   Pensacola town square

The collection from Trader Jons. He had a bar in Pensacola that became one of the most famous bars in the US. He had a massive collection mostly Blue Angle memorabilia. It turned into a museum. He had 7 VIP rides in a Blue Angle jet. The most of any civilian. 

                                                                         Sidewalk in Pensacola

Blue Herons are everywhere around here

                    Mcguires Irish Pub in Destin. I know Shirley would reach out and pour his own beer. 

Back on the Hard

 Orange Beach

Thursday morning November 10th we pulled off the dock and headed to Saunders Marine to get the  bottom of the boat painted. The day before we had passed Saunders Marine on the way to the Wharf  only three miles back. So we pulled off at 7:30am so we would be there when they opened. Well when we arrived the guys were standing at the birth where they would pull us out. When they saw us they looked a little puzzled. Then they waived us off and told us to tie up in a slip. Then I noticed another boat behind us that was also getting hauled out of the water. So after we tied up I went and spoke with the lead guy. He said’ “let me make a call.” I heard him say, “yeah that’s what I thought.” Turns out there is another Saunders Marine in Orange Beach 13 miles away. So we pulled back off the dock and headed there. As soon as we arrived they plucked us out of the water and set us on blocks. The nice thing about this marina is that they let you stay on board while they work on the boat.

The other nice thing was that the surrounding area was very nice with a great restaurant onsite, a funky bar across the street and a couple miles of bike paths. We had electricity and water but because the boat was out of the water we did not have any heat. Did I forget to mention we were back in the land of palm trees and clear water teaming with dolphins? Normally that would be served with warm weather. Well anyhow they got right to work on the bottom.

After they were done I gat a call from the service writer. He told me that the whole bottom would need to be stripped to guarantee the new paint job. He said this was necessary because not all of the defective paint came off. It was only going to cost a mere $10,000 to do it. I asked for option 2. They said they could try to sand off the remaining paint but they were unsure that would work.

So feeling a little dejected the  next morning I got up and went to work trying to find what would get the old paint off. Turned out a simple paint scraper did the trick. I scraped the majority of the paint off while one of the yard guys sanded behind me. The good news was when we were done the bottom was free of 95% of the old paint and ready for new paint. In the mean time I inspected the props and discovered the one that was repaired in Canada was failing  where it was welded. In all fairness the guy who repaired it said that the prop was in bad shape and that it might fail. We called a local prop shop and the owner Mike came by to look at the prop.

Nice good ole country boy who loves to hunt and fish. He unfortunately confirmed the diagnosis. DOA! He went to work to find us replacements. He told us the used prop market had depleted due to supply chain issues and that finding new ones would be tough. Ugh!!! Time was ticking as we wanted to be back in the water on Saturday.

By 4:30 pm Friday he called me to let me know that he found a new pair in Florida and that if we ordered them now they would be delivered on Monday. So much for getting back in the water on Saturday. The yard had worked really hard and completed the bottom paint by the end of the day on Friday. Progress was being made. Our UK friends came to visit us late in the day to see the progress. We decided to take a dinghy ride for happy hour through the canals that branched out from the marina. We had a great dinner at Fishers, the restaurant onsite. 

On Saturday the day started out sunny and warm. Sue handled some domestic duties and I went to work replacing both rudder seals that at various times were leaking.  Keeping water on the outside of the boat is one of the main laws of buoyancy or better put keeping the boat from sinking. Even a small leak means you are slowly sinking. So the process went pretty good until it came to installing the new seals. After an hour of trying to get them to seat I went to the tool shed that the yard manager, Brett, kindly left open for me.

I was able to devise a press from a simple threaded rod and a couple of big washers. Worked like a charm. By then unfortunately it clouded over and there was a slight misty intermittent rain. We decided to get in the dinghy anyway and head to the famous FloraBama bar. It was a 25 min ride but well worth it. It is a rustic multi-building bar/entertainment complex that stretches from the intercoastal to the gulf with only the beach road in between. It sits right on the Florida Alabama line thus the name. Turns out Alabama was playing and the crowd was into it. College football in this part of the country is a religion. They could care less about the NFL for the most part. Well the weather deteriorated a bit in that the winds picked up and the temp plummeted into the low 50’s. So we were faced with a decision. We can leave before dark and honor all the no wake zones or we can have another beer or two and leave in the cover of darkness and run the gauntlet. Well what do you think we did???

I will give you a clue. We made it back to the boat yard in 14 minutes flat! FloraBama lived up to it’s lore. 

The temps that night dropped into the low 40s.  Remember we were on the hard and no way to run the heaters. Fortunately we had one space heater that kept the stateroom somewhat warm. Getting up in the cold was not much fun.

About 9 am the crew from Irish Lass stopped by and offered another space heater and an invite over for a dinner of beef stew. We gladly accepted both. This is the of type comraderie  we have experienced all along the Loop. It is simply amazing. Sue and I spent part of the day washing the boat and preparing to be splashed hopefully on Monday. We then took a long  bike ride through a seaside park. We had a great time sharing a meal with Wade and Kathleen on Irish Lass. 

On Monday we spent half of the day waxing the hullsides of Next Chapter. They had nice rolling scaffolding that made the job pretty easy. I was getting anxious as the day went on waiting for the props. At 3:30 I called Mike to check on the status. He said, “Man I just got off the phone with the Gulf Shores location and the trucking company dropped them there.” Shit! I started to scramble to get the props so I could get them mounted so we could splash in the morning. Mike stepped up and went and picked them up and brought them to us. He even helped me mount them. So by 5:00pm Next Chapter had her new shoes. It was getting dark so I scrambled and got a coat of anti fouling paint on them so we were ready to go in the morning. I was a half hour late to a gathering of Loopers at Fishers but was elated that this odyssey was almost over, or at least so I thought. Yep you guessed it. Another cliff hanger!