" When Pigs Fly"

After leaving Bay Point in Panama City we had a lovely cruise in to Port St. Joe.  It’s a neat little town with a grocery store, CVS and some restaurants within an easy biking distance.  We stayed over one day for the fun of it and a second because of high winds.

As it turned out we stayed one day too long.  The last night there we took a walk down to the water and I fell off the beach.  I ended up in the water with some cuts on my hands from the barnacles on the rocks and a sprained ankle.  My trusty crew helped me back to the boat and we got to explore the contents of the first aid kit.  The next morning a trip to CVS procured an ankle brace and a cane and we were ready to move out.

The pelican was willing to share his space, temporarily

The Captain on the beach at Port St. Joe

I like this one

The beach attack.  Always good to have a camera handy!

One more pelican pic.  It really was his dock.  

The cruise down to Apalachicola was great too, although we really had to watch out for shallow water in a few places.  That was especially true as we entered the Scipio creek on our way to the Water Street Hotel and Marina.  Luckily for us Dave on TD Dreams was watching our approach and got the on the radio to steer us back to safe water. Otherwise our stay in Apalachicola may have really been extended. 

Sunrise from our dock at Apalachicola

Old railroad bridge.  This section turns to make way for boaters.

The oyster operation next to our marina

Apalachicola is another fun little town with lots of good restaurants. We used the bikes a lot and enjoyed exploring the antique stores and art galleries.  We learned a valuable lesson there about not taking services for granted.  We hadn’t bothered to pump out the holding tanks in Port St. Joe since we were only half full.  It never occurred to us that that service would not be available in a boating town like Apalachicola.  When our stay got extended due to weather, bathroom facilities became something of a priority. 

Apalachicola is a spot where loopers tend to congregate and we were lucky to hook up with Dave and Terri on TD Dreams and Mary Sue and Wally on Beulah Belle.  Had a great dinner together and made a plan to catch a weather window on Sunday for the crossing. 

With that in mind we headed down to Carrabelle yesterday.  Gassed up and pumped out, grabbed a few groceries and checked the weather.  We had one little glitch come up.  After getting docked we smelled gas in the salon.  I made the dreaded trip to the bilge and found a leak on the gasket of the fuel sensor on the starboard engine.  I tried to tighten it down but it was still seeping.  Knowing it would probably stop when we used a little gas, I started the engine and called Captain Bryson at Dog River Marina.  We had replaced those gaskets there and he was my first call.  Even at 6pm on Saturday night Captain Bryson was there for us.  It just happened that one of his guys, Bill Sullivan was in Carrabelle, planning to make the crossing on Sunday as well.  Sully was at the boat in no time to check us out.  Running the engine had relieved the pressure on the gas tank and the leak was stopped.  We made a plan for a more permanent fix when we got to Clearwater.  Gotta love the professional level of all the guys at Dog River. 

So, it’s Sunday morning and we are making last minute preparations: checking the oil, securing loose objects in the salon and generally trying to think of things that will make the crossing run smoothly.  We’ll meet up with the other two boats around Dog Island in a couple of hours and head out.  This is something Anna and I have both been anticipating since the trip started and we’re glad the day is here.   It’s going to be a great day!

See ya on the water.