Crossing the Gulf of America

 Monday, Dec 8:

It rained most of the night and it was still cloudy.  We had a short day, so we didn't start to untie until about 0800.  Our anchor was muddy, so it took us a bit, but we managed.  We made it to Appalachia around 1030.  We dropped our anchor then Our Journey and Dragon the Line each rafted to us.  We enjoyed brunch on Dragon the Line.  They made banana's foster pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and sausage.  Our Journey had some real Canadian maple syrup and we brought some bacon.  Karen and I finished our work, then we all dinghied over to town to explore.  A lot was closed since it was Monday, but we walked through some shops and had a beverage.  Then back to our boats.  Wild Goose came shortly before sunset.  They also rafted to us, but they dropped their anchor.  We all had anchortales on Dragon the Line and talked about the weather for our crossing.  It keeps changing daily.  Then back to our boat for dinner, a little TV, then bed.

Tuesday. Dec 9:

Another short travel day to anchor by Dog Island, so we didn't get moving until a little after 0800.  We all untied and set off towards Carrabelle.  The other 3 boats went to C Quarters Marina while we anchored out at Dog Island.  It was a cool day by it was finally sunny!  I worked all day, and Wes did boat projects.  We had a beautiful sunset and a nice peaceful night on anchor.

Wednesday, Dec 10:

We decided to head into Carrabelle to explore, so we went to C Quarters for the night.  We had a dolphin escort into the marina.  There were 8 to 10 of them just "playing" with us.  We got tied up, then checked in.  We walked around town and saw the world's smallest police station, went to a fish market, got some bread and snacks for our crossing, then hung out with other loopers.  Then we went to Fathom's for dinner with lots of loopers.  It was delicious.  We got back to the boat around 2000 and relaxed a bit before bed.  I was beat so we went to bed early.

 Thursday, Dec 11:

We pulled out of the marina around 0900 then headed to Carrabelle Beach to anchor.  We had one dolphin play with us a bit then got the anchor set before my work call at 1030.  I worked all day.  Wes made some sweet tea and did various boat projects and computer projects.  We enjoyed a quiet night on anchor.  We stayed up late in hopes that we could sleep in a little bit to prepare for doing the overnight gulf crossing tomorrow night.

Friday & Saturday, Dec 12 & 13:

We slept in a little, but not too much.  Wes got up and made us breakfast while I worked.  In between calls, I did the dishes and made a seafood pasta salad (something easy for us to grab and eat while underway).  Then I did my work call, put the dishes away and made sure everything was secured for when we pulled the hook.  Around 1430 we pulled the anchor and started our way towards R2 (the red buoy just outside Carrabelle's passage out to the gulf).  It was a little lumpy at first, but wasn't bad and got better as time went on.  We had a beautiful sunset and it was amazing to watch the sun actually go down.  It happened so fast!  Then it was DARK!!  It was smooth as glass and the stars were AMAZING!  The sky was full of such bright stars and I even saw a falling star.  The moon rose around 0130.  Wes thought the moon was another boat at first, then realized that it was a red moon rising.  The pictures don't do it's justice.  Once the moon rose it gave off some light but it was a waning moon.  It was so peaceful.  We also had a gorgeous sunrise.  Then we had to start looking out for crab pots.  We saw a lot of them, but no one in our flotilla hit any.  As a group we did hourly check-in's to make sure everyone was doing well.  Wes laid down twice for a little over an hour each and I laid down for about an hour and a half.  We rested, but neither of us really slept, but it was a great crossing!  We made it to Max Marina around 1130.  We got secured, chatted with Shane, the owner, then dropped the dinghy to head to Rusty Bellies.  There were a bunch of us that wanted to celebrate our crossing with breakfast salads (Bloody Mary's).  Maleo, Solstice, Roam, Givit a Go, Over Yonder, and Bobcat enjoyed some beverages, a little food and some great conversation.  Then we explored some in the dinghy (we were afraid to go back to the boat too early as we knew we'd both just want to sleep).  We got back to the boat shortly before dark.  We relaxed a bit then went to bed early!!  
 

 Sunday, Dec 14:

We both slept good and long.  We got up about 0700.  Wes did some things around the boat, we watched church, then got things together to head to the city marina to visit with other loopers.  We got there around 1330 and tied the dinghy up between Inspiration and Roam.  We visited with lots of loopers.  Then we walked around town.  We learned about the sponges, went through some shops and had a nice afternoon.  Then back to the marina for docktales.  The 7 boats of us all went to Niko's for an authentic Greek dinner.  (The owner of the bakery highly recommended it)  It was us, Inspiration, Dream Weaver, Blue Lobstah, Roam, Ramble On, and Over Yonder.  We split a big platter with Inspiration and Dream Weaver so we could sample all the different meats.  It was huge and DELICIOUS!!  It was a very enjoyable night.  We didn't get back to the dinghy until about 2115 and well after dark.  It was a chilly ride back but the Christmas lights were beautiful and no one else was on the water.  We got the dinghy secured, put some things away then went to bed.