Dec. 14 -18: The Gulf Crossing and on to Fort Myers.

So promptly at noon on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, we cast off the lines in Carrabelle and started “The Great Bend” crossing.  We have lots of technology on board but in case it all crashes we also use a paper chart to plot our course.  From dock to dock we would travel 150 nautical miles.

We left the comfort of the intracoastal waterway along Florida’s panhandle with Mother Ocean behind us ….

and the wide open Gulf ahead of us. Calm seas with a somewhat annoying ocean roll on our beam, but minimal winds for the first 10 hours.

At sunset we were treated to a dolphin performance by a pod of 10 (not captured on film unfortunately).  At about 10 pm the winds and seas really kicked up (not predicted) but it wasn’t untenable.

Every hour or two we put our position on the chart to make sure we knew where we were and that we hadn’t strayed too far from the course line.  Bob and I took turns at the helm with two hour watches starting at 8pm.

Dec. 15:  At 6am we entered the beginning of the west Florida intracoastal just outside of Tarpon Springs, but it was too dark to proceed any further in the narrow channel.  We dropped anchor, started the generator and had a cup of coffee while awaiting the sun to rise.

Seemed like a different day as we entered the winding Anclote River leading to Tarpon Springs. After docking we took a very long nap!

Dec. 16:  After giving Islandia a well needed cleaning inside and out, I ventured into Tarpon Springs where their theme seems to be decorated bicycles.

This sponge diver told me he was sitting in the sun to warm up after a morning of sponge diving.

Whimsical mural.

I stumbled upon the exact sponge boat pictured on our “Placemat of Life.”  So cool – only one more picture to go (Florida’s East Coast Intracoastal – bottom right hand picture) before we cross our wake and complete the Loop.

Later, life long friends Paul and Celinda who live 10 miles away came over to visit.  Enjoyed a very nice visit and dinner with them at Capt’n Jacks.  (And sadly, we said goodbye to our friends on Mother Ocean – until we meet again….)

Dec. 17:  Going by colorful Clearwater Beach.

These tourists were treated to quite a dolphin show.  Several times all three dolphins leapt out in unison.

We checked the weather and it looked like smooth sailing out in the Gulf so we exited the intracoastal at Johns Pass.  Zoomed along for about 20 miles…

and then re-entered the waterway through the Egmont Channel.  Went by the Don Cesare Hotel in St. Petersburg.  A million years ago we went spinnaker flying with Bob’s brother Ray off that beach.

Looking back at the Skyway Bridge.

Going by Anna Maria Island – went to a wonderful wedding there last year.

Hmmm…where should be anchor tonight?  How ’bout here – where X marks the spot?  A wide open expanse off the intracoastal channel.  Not a normal type of anchorage for us as we usually seek protected harbors.  But since there were only light variable winds predicted for the night, we set down the anchor.

Downtown Sarasota was our backyard for the night.

Orange sunset in the front yard.

Dec. 18:  When I first woke up and didn’t have my glasses on (I’m quite nearsighted) for about 2 seconds I thought the sun was rising in the west! What?

Turns out the sun was shining directly on this high rise (but not the others!).

Weather prediction was again calling for flat seas so we went out nearby New Pass.  Guidebook said there were buoys to help us get out the inlet.  Not so.  Had to get into the dinghy to sound out a channel for Islandia.  The Garmin in the dinghy definitely paid for itself today! Bob followed me once I made a track out and back.  We went though a narrow pass with a 3 foot shoal to starboard and a 1 foot shoal to the port.  If there had been any seas at all we would have turned around.

After 40 plus miles going on the “outside” we re-entered the intracoastal at the Boca Grande Inlet near Cayo Costa Island.

Happy Bob …

and happy me – a birthday full of great weather and lots of dolphin sightings….

and bonus – stingrays leaping out of the water.

So in two days we traveled the full 150 miles of Florida’s west coast waterway.  Since we had explored this coastline a few years back when we chartered a Grand Banks with another couple and since we were hoping to spend Christmas on the east coast we pushed along. Here we are at the crossroads of “Mile 0” for the western intracoastal and the beginning of the 150 miles Okeechobee waterway.

For the night we meandered through mangrove islands to a small marina just outside of Fort Myers (Port Sanibel Marina). Pleasant end to a pleasant day.  Next up – our trek through Lake Okeechobee and then crossing our wake in Stuart.  So bittersweet to think that in just a few days we will conclude our Great Loop Adventure.