Jan. 11-14; Day’s run: 125 mi We waited 4 days in Steinhatchee for a weather window to Clearwater. In preparation for getting an early start to  Clearwater, a 125 mi/201 km passage, we left the Steinhatchee marina around 4 pm the afternoon before setting off for our destination. We motored out the long approach channel Continue reading

January 7-10, Day’s run: 86 mi. Sunday, January 7th forecast: N to NE winds (offshore); winds 16 knots and diminishing; waves 3 feet and diminishing, with 7 second wave period. The Gulf of Mexico is vast: over 600,000 sq mi./965,000 sq km. But even several miles offshore, depths remain shallow. These shoaly waters create short Continue reading

Jan 3-6, Day’s run: 30 mi Apalachicola, Carrabelle and nearby Dog Island, are the most popular staging locations for crossing the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Peninsula. With cold, wet weather in the forecast, and a tidal river that promised to give us grief when docking, we left Apalachicola early morning to beat a Continue reading

Jan 1, 2024; Mile 351.4; Day’s Run: 32 miles To view in large format, click on ‘reader’ or ‘In new window’ on the top right of this blog. To return to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Port St Joe, we backtracked on the 5-mile long Gulf County Canal to a section of Waterway we hadn’t Continue reading

Dec 29, mile 327; Todays’ Run: 45 miles Leaving South Port Marina, Panama City, we leave the green marina channel buoys to starboard. Entering the East Bay shipping channel, we keep them to port. As we approach the Dupont Bridge, we slowed the boat to have a discussion.  The buoys continue on the other side Continue reading

The Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway The Wharf Marina, Nov. 28-30, 2023, (as reported in the previous post: Mobile to Wharf Marina: 100 mi) Nov. 28; Day’s run 59 miles: Spectra Island, Santa Rosa Sound, (near Fort Walton Beach), approximately 60 miles from Destin Florida. We followed the channel markers across Pensacola Bay, a 13-mile long Continue reading

Dec 3-Dec 25th, Today’s Run: 57 miles We were not surprised to see fog when we got outside Baytowne Marina. It was about 8:00 in the morning and the last two days had been a mix of warm and cool temperatures with lots of rain. How dense the fog was, would be determined en route. Continue reading

Nov 29 – Dec. 2; Day’s run 26 miles.   Note: click on ‘reader’ on the top right corner to view the post in full page mode. Continuing on the Intracoastal Waterway, all-year-round homes and winter get-aways, line both sides of the canal. Boathouses, docks, and boatlifts support every type of motorized pleasure craft. The maximum Continue reading

Nov. 25- Dec. 18; Mile 158; Day’s run: 99 mi (to the Wharf Marina ) *To  learn more about the delta and to watch a short video  of this diverse natural environment, entitled , Land Between the Rivers, click below: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/alabama/stories-in-alabama/alabama-mobile-tensaw-delta-connecting-southern-landscapes/ To watch a 10 min. virtual tour of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, click below: Continue reading

Nov. 24; mile 39; Day’s run: 85 miles The evening before, while anchored in Okatuppa Creek, the Coffeeville Lock, (mile 116), confirmed they would lock pleasure boats through the following morning at 7 o’clock. It was barely light when we lifted our anchors, confirmed that our fenders and lines were in place for the lock, Continue reading