A week ago , Friday, we made our way out of Mobile Bay into the Gulf of Mexico heading east to Pensacola. We were on our way to Florida.The wind was on our bow or some would say 'in our nose' so we could not sail but had to motor all the way. The wind and waves were supposed to calm midday. But instead the winds increased., a great initiation to the big waters .The waves averaged 8-12 feet with a few almost 16 feet. We had hoped to get to our port before dark but the wind and waves slowed us down.We didn't get to our channel to the entrance to Pensacola Bay 'til 6p.m.and it was dark . We were very thankful for our chart plotter and flashing markers[buoys]to guide us through unfamiliar waters and a harbour master who stayed on to guide us to our slip. Just before 8p.m. we made it into Sabine Harbour . Praise God.
We awoke to a sunny ,warm day and discovered our marina was in a beautiful resort area with white sandy beaches to walk along. We rented a car and made our way out the long peninsula to Fort Pickens. We had a great tour of this historical fort.
We spent the first Sunday of Advent with the 'McIlwain Presbyterian Church'.and thankful for that.Before we knew it we were picking up our son-in-law, Chris at the Pensacola airport.on Monday evening. He came down to help us do the big crossing to Clearwater ,Florida on Tuesday. Monday evening we charted our course on the charts with plans to leave Tuesday a.m.It was much easier finding our way out the channels to the gulf in daylight but at one point we were not sure we were going anywhere, The waters were low due to tide levels and we had to plough thru some 'skinny water'. A two minute distance took more than 10 minutes.We inched thru.We got out to the gulf and we had strong favourable winds, they were coming from a good direction[west] so the sails went up [ partly reefed]. The winds moved us at a good speed..The forecast again was for calmer seas midday but we soon realized as the day progressed that big waves and strong winds were the order of the day. Decking life jackets and all 3 harnessing ourselves to the boat we settled in for the long trip. Bill and Chris took turns at the helm. I had a bag of snacks and drinks in the cockpit area since it wasn't very comfortable 'downstairs'. It did settle a little after dark set in, so we were able to use the autohelm. I did get about 4 hours of sleep but the men only caught short naps. We found we must have been on a good course since other ships were on it too. I think we saw about 7 boats during the night hours.We could detect them on our radar and some bigger ones on our AIS . During the day 3 times dolphins kept us company for a while. They love going up and down in the bow area. pretty cool.
We were very thankful for how well the boat handled in the rougher seas and for the good visibility we were given. The wind had calmed on Wed. but we still had rolling swells all the way to Clearwater markers. Again we had to find our way into the marina in the dark.Our flood light helped us find the markers.Since there was no one to meet us and asign us a slip, we tied up to the fuel dock . Before long we were sitting down to a steak dinner.While having supper a knock was heard on our boat and we were asked to move to our slip after we finished eating.
Again the next day we discovered the amazing beach area of Clearwater , another sunny Florida resort area. Besides looking after getting a rented car we spent most of the day cleaning ship especially cleaning the salt [water] off the boat and freshening the inside. That evening the excitement was to go to Tampa airport to pick up Juanita and Nora.Thanks for making it come together and Chris, we can't thank you enough for your support and help on our crossing. Friday was a beautiful day. we had lunch in a seafood restaurant and walked the white sand beaches collecting sea shells-relaxing and fun. Saturday noon it was back to the airport and farewells to Chris , Juanita and Nora.
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| OIl Rig Mobile Bay |
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| Gulf Crossing |
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| Fort Pickens |
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| Sabine Marina - Pensacola |
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| Chris,Juanita and Nora-Clearwater Beach |
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| Happy hour with John and Ann at Regatta Pointe Marina Palmetto |
Sunday we were able to worship with the American Reformed Fellowship that meet in Palmetto. We met a lot of friends. Among these were John and Ann Bultje. .They joined us on our boat on Monday and sailed with us on Tuesday to our current destination at Regatta Pointe Marina, Palmetto, Fl. We sailed [ mostly motor- sailed]under sunny skies and light winds. Some of their friends were on Snead Island beach when we motored past that area into the Manatee River. We plan to spend the week here and are flying home next Tuesday, Dec. 13.
