December 15, 2013, Sunday

GO PACKERS!

The Moorings at Carrabelle, FL: Got going by 06:15 and it was warm but overcast. The further east we went the colder it got. On East Bay and Big Cove, about Mile 310, we had very skinny water and even skinner out side the channel. By 08:45 it was time to put the gloves and sweat pants on over our jeans as it got down to the low 50's with strong winds. We had lots of dauphins jumping our wake again today and we saw a few crab pods in the Big Cove area.

The time changed to Easter time zone by White City, FL. Right before Apalachicola we saw a tow waiting along side the GIWW and our guess was that he was waiting for high tide to go out into Apalachicola Bay. When passing through Apalachicola, FL, we were hailed on the radio by Dream Chaser. He decided not to go to Carrabelle as it looked to wavy. We said we were going to try it and if it got too rough we would be back. The water was very shallow the first part of the bay but when we made the 90 degree turn to the port it got better and we got a real good push which helped our speed. At first we were a little worried if we could make it to Carrabelle in the day light but with the push we were getting 12 to 13 mph. On the Bay and on St. George Sound we had good 3 foot rollers with a moderate chop again but they were manageable. We got to Carrabelle by 17:10 with a good 30 minutes or so of day light left.

At 18:00 they had a "Parade of Boats" here in Carrabelle. Surprising for such a small town that there were so many decorated boats. They also had fireworks. There are at least 5 other boats here waiting to cross the gulf and we all got together in the VIP Suite to watch the parade and talk about the crossing. It was a nice evening. Of course, the Packer game was on TV so that made me very happy.

CO's comments: We needed a starboard tie and the only long dock open was in the "back 40".  The dock master said to just drive in and there was plenty of room to turn around.  It ended up that I only had a 3' clearance on the bow and stern; a very tight spin.  I think she thought we had a 40' boat  instead of a.50+ foot boat overall length.

12-15-2013  Parade of Boats parade at Carrabelle

12-15-2013  Fireworks at the Parade of Boats parade at Carrabelle