Decmber 8-9

December 8-9 Gulf Crossing--As we arose the wind was dead calm and the sun was shining brightly. I checked with the dockmaster again and he said the weather forecast changed slightly overnight and it looks good for a crossing today and then the window may be closed for the rest of the week. Winds were to start out at 10-15 knots out of the SE and then diminish to 5-10 until midnight and then pick up to 10-15 after midnight with seas of 2-3 ft. Not entirely ideal but, I considered it for a few minutes, discussed it with the crew and we all agreed lets go. The SE wind was ideal as we will be taking the waves directly on our bow instead of on the beam of the boat. Might be a little uncomfortable but the boat can easily handle the waves. Also a SE wind will allow the seas to calm down the closer we get to Tarpon Springs, our destination and also brother Mike's home. Next decision-what time to depart. There are many crab traps outside of the port of Tarpon Springs. Crab traps are set by the fisherman. They are dropped in the water and a small float marks the spot so they can go back and check their traps. If you get the marker line wrapped around your props, that is not good and it could bring your propeller to a halt. I do have a cutting disc on my propeller shaft to potentially cut the line if it gets wrapped up, but I would rather not test that apparatus. As we will be headed east it is best to avoid arriving at Tarpon until the sun is high in the sky as the glare of the sun when it is low on the horizon makes the floats hard to see. On the other hand wind is supposed to pickup after midnight so the closer we could get to Tarpon Springs the seas would not have as much of a chance to build. The captain made the decision to leave at noon. This would put us in port traversing the 179 miles at about 8am traveling at 8.8 mph. Not an ideal arrival time to see the crab pots but I said lets get there and if the sun is shining brightly we will arrive, anchor outside of Tarpon before we hit the crab pots and have breakfast. Everyone was excited and anxious. The morning was spent securing anything that could move around in the boat as we will probably be bouncing around quite a bit. The navigation lights were checked, the waypoints in the GPS were double checked, the cockpit drains were double checked to make sure they were open and finally I drained off any water in the primary and secondary fuel filters on the engine. One of the life jackets was fitted to Mike. On this voyage anybody that leaves the flybridge must be wearing a life jacket. We shoved off at 12 noon after topping off the fuel tanks. The dockmaster indicated we would encounter some skinny water in the ICW on our way out to the Gulf. Indeed we did--4' in may places. Soon we left the ICW and headed for a cut or waterway that leads from the Apalachee Bay which we were in and heads for the Gulf. As we approached the cut a fishing charter boat captain called to us and said we could be headed for an area that has shoaled recently. He was behind us. I asked him if I could follow him through the cut and he said no problem. I waited until he caught up with us and followed him out Government cut. Lowest water depth was 5.5' and in most places 7-10' on a rising tide. The current was very strong going through the cut so SilverFoxes needed an extra boost to maintain steerage. Once clear of the pass I thanked the Captain of the fishing vessel and we were on our way. I punched in the first waypoint on the autopilot, 159 miles away, at Anclote Cay Red buoy#4, just outside of Tarpon Springs. I would not touch the steering wheel until then. Seas were 2-4'. Speed was 8.9 mph at 1734 rpm and fuel usage was 1.6 gph. A little rolly and bouncy but not too uncomfortable. Mike was excited and entertained us with lots of stories. He has travelled the world, had a gazillion jobs, and a story to go along with each one. Soon the wind died as predicted and the seas calmed to 2'. It was dinner time and cooking on the grill was not an option, as the pork chops would have probably taken a dive off the grill and ended up as fish food. The generator was fired up and a simple meal of hot dogs and cole slaw was enjoyed for dinner about 6pm. A beautiful water sunset. Soon the eeriness of darkness fell. No moon tonight and a few stars only to guide our way. Radar will be our guiding light throughout the night. All lights are dimmed so night vision is improved. Soon the seas calmed down even more, so we glided along with nary a bounce. Radar would pick up a blip and then we would look for a light in that direction. Sometimes we could see the light and sometimes not until it got closer. Saw about a dozen boats throughout the night, but none came closer than 1.5 miles, which we could easily measure on the radar. Not one boat was going in the same direction we were. About 11 pm the wind picked up as predicted. About an hour later the seas picked up as well. 2-3 ft as predicted but it was hard to tell as it was so dark. Mike was anxious to take his watch at the wheel. Told us of his trip to Cuba in which he crewed on a sailboat quite a few years ago. Judy did well, but was a little anxious after nightfall. She was our spotter when a blip appeared on the radar--she would be the first one to see the lights. Mike and I took turns at the helm. I slept a little with short power naps. I was dozing slightly when I heard "cruiser headed east this is the United States Coast guard please respond". That brought me to my feet quickly. I answered but did not get a response. Perhaps it was a fake call from another boat--don't know. Our speed picked up a little and the waves were a little higher so I pulled the throttle back to slow us down so that we would arrive at about the expected time. All is well. As the sun was below the horizon visibility became very good. The seas calmed to almost flat. The Coast Guard was looking for a fishing vessel taking on water in our vicinity but they never could contact him, so I don't know the outcome of that story. The picture is of the sunrise. Shortly after sunrise we started seeing crab pots. I knew the sun would make it difficult to see them so we dropped anchor in 18' of water. Turned on the generator. Enjoyed our breakfast and waited, watched all the fishing boats going out as it was a gorgeous Sunday morning with a high in the eighties predicted. Proceeded into port without incident and in reality didn't see as many crab traps as we thought we would. Maybe it was our approach from Apalachicola rather than Carrabelle. Mike is home! Just as we pulled into port 2 other loopers Time Out and Carol Anne were leaving for Clearwater. We had traveled with them on the Ten-Tom. Great marina with a neat restaurant and outdoor bar here. Mike left at 12:30 to get his car. Said he would be back in an hour. Saw him again at 6:30. Judy and I kept busy so we wouldn't fall asleep. I washed the salt off the boat, we had a beer at the tiki bar and went to dinner at 6pm. Tried to watch the Colts but the game quickly turned into a rout and I was fading fast. We are here until Wednesday. Weather is supposed to be great--eighties. According to the floscan I burned 90 gallons of fuel in traveling the 179 miles