Catching Up

We are currently in Carrabelle, Florida, on Apalachicola Bay. We will be starting around the "Big Bend" from here towards Tarpon Springs. How did we get here?

As you may know, we began the trip in May, 2008 from Rockport, Texas, and up to now have mainly travelled the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The GIWW is a somewhat-sheltered route around the Gulf coast and varies from dredged channels and rivers to some open stretches with occasional shelter behind barrier islands. We have sailed all we can, but have had to depend on our motor(s) for much of the way, as the wind usually seems to be coming at us on our bow. As we turn the "corner" of Florida's Gulf Coast, we look forward to being able to sail more.

We have enjoyed several stops along the way, mainly Galveston, Texas and Orange Beach, Alabama. Orange Beach was especially great, and the people very nice and friendly. We weathered several tropical storms there and recommend Ingram's Bayou as a great "hurricane hole." We also became aquainted with Tad and Sherry, former cruisers, of nearby Lillian, Alabama.

Brigadoon arrived in Destin, Florida in November, where we planned a short stop. This "brief stop" for supplies turned into our Winter layover, due to weather and motor concerns. (Our sturdy little British Seagull auxiliary had a short shaft, which would rise out of the water in anything other than smooth water.) After running aground often, we also decided we needed a depth sounder in order to continue through Florida's "thin water."

Winter in Destin. Don't be fooled; winter in Florida can get cold. We endured record low temperatures during our Destin stay. It dropped to 18 degrees F one night, with many in the 20's. We did use our time wisely, however. Among the projects we completed were: installed a new holding tank for the head; installed depth sounder; installed a wind turbine generator; built a new electrical panel and new wiring; made and installed a new anchor light atop the mast; installed LED lighting; found parts and modified motor to long shaft; did lots of small maintenance chores.

While in Destin we met, among others, cruisers: Russ aboard Ariel, Dave and Ray aboard Green Flash, Merrick and DeAnne of Rising Star South, and Brett and Kyla on Benevolence.

Underway Once More. We departed Destin on my birthday in April, after a small false start. We tried to leave several days prior, but discovered that we could not make steerageway (boat moving too slow to respond to her rudder,) and turned back to our anchorage spot. The next day we gently beached Brigadoon and while Caroline scraped and repainted our skiff's bottom, I scraped all the sea creatures off Brigadoon's bottom. Over the winter we had acquired several large colonies of barnacles, as well as "Sea Squirts." (Look up Sea Squirt in Google if you like; the Japanese eat them, but I hear they will eat anything...) Having a relatively clean bottom made all the difference, of course, and we proceeded to Panama City, Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, and hence to Carrabelle with few problems. It has been "hit and miss" so far due to very unsettled weather and contrary winds. We hope that soon the elements will straighten out and we can get to Crystal River and Tarpon Springs.