December 7

December 7--Panama City-Apalachicola. A long way to travel today(60 miles) so a 7:30 push off was planned. We have several miles across open water today and no wind which presented a little problem after traveling several miles--fog developed. It was not dense enough so that we had to slow down but it kept us on our toes. Mike was amazed at the accuracy of the chartplotter. The trip was through open water, a canal, a creek, and finally the Apalachicola River. Lots of dolphins playing around us but none seemed to want to follow us. We finally passed into the Eastern Time Zone and this time we are truly right with Indiana time wise. Arrival time was 3pm EST at Scipio Creek Marina in Apalachicola Fl. We are now in the eastern part of Florida just before the coast makes the "big bend" to the more famous Gulf Coast of Florida. The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW or GIWW) continues east from Apalachicola for another 30 miles to Carrabelle Fl where the ICW ends. At that point you have a choice (1) to cross the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico to Crystal River or Tarpon Springs, a distance of 175 miles, or (2)scotch hop across the Bend from port to port also in open Gulf water but you do not travel as far offshore but you still need 4 days of pretty good weather to cross the Gulf this way. Option 1 requires 24 hours of good weather and ideally with winds around 10 knots or less and waves 2 ft or less. We had determined long ago that we would cross the Gulf using option 1 which requires traveling at least 20 hours making a night time crossing. I could crank up the Yanmars to 15mph but with the distance involved that still means traveling at night and there is no guarantee you can travel at that speed depending on the sea state. Our plan is to go to Carrabelle and wait for a weather window and do the Gulf crossing. On the way to Apalichicola I listened to the weather forecast and my ears perked up as a one day weather window might be good for a Gulf crossing tomorrow-but we are not in Carrabelle! However when we crossed the Gulf with the fleet of Formulas some years ago we left from Apalachicola and went to Crystal River. I talked with the dockmaster at Scipio Creek and we reviewed the weather forecast both here and at Tarpon Springs. The possibility did not look too good but we said we would talk again in the morning, No other loopers here. There is a quaint Oyster restaurant on site, Papa Joes, at the marina. The three of us had another great meal. Oysters and more oysters and shrimp. Many of the restaurants in Florida get their oysters from this area.