Right after the Thanksgiving Reunion we packed all of our belongings into a U Haul Trailer and headed home to Texas. The Xmas Boat Parade, the annual TMCA Commodore's Ball, and Xmas itself were on our agenda.  There was no way we could do the trip on Remedy in  just  a week. There were several potential buyers for Remedy so we left her ready to be shown. Robert and Grace Hammers, our friends at the marina,  would show the boat in our absence. Cheryl Schulz, our niece in nearby Largo would spruce the boat up as needed.

The boat did not sell over the Christmas holidays so I made plans to return and show it to two additional prospective buyers.  Marion stayed behind and would meet me in Pensacola, if the boat did not sell. She was not looking forward to crossing the Gulf and there was no real need for her to do so. 

I enticed Robert Hammers to help me by promising a giant feast of Apalachicola Oysters and the end of the Gulf Crossing. He accepted the offer and signed on for an additional three days to accompany me to Pensacola. 

While showing the boat to a prospective buyer the Genset started fine BUT water did not come out with the exhaust. Oh Damn! Now What?

I called Walter Kurish, Marion's nephew and an excellent mechanic. He came by and together we checked out the cooling system. The sea water pump worked fine as long as the outflow hose was disconnected from the exhaust mixer during the startup. Due to slight exhaust back pressure, however, it would not self prime when the engine was being started.  The workaround was: disconnect the hose... start the engine... then wait for the sea water pump to self prime... when flow was established, shove the hose onto the exhaust mixer port and tighten the hose clamp. The flow, once established, would continue until the engine was shut down.

Time was getting short for the return to Texas so we decided to get moving and fix the genset later on. Meanwhile we had an effective workaround.

Wednesday Jan 16 the morning weather report looked fine for a crossing. Robert and I rushed to Albertson's to stock up on essential foods... Frito Scoops and bean dip, mixed nuts and sunflower seeds, a case of Miller light. Also NY strip steaks, Caesar salad and dressing, red potatoes. Lots of Albacore Tuna for the salad. A half case of Coca Cola, and fresh limes to go with Captain Morgan Spiced rum.

At 3 PM we fueled up with $1 per gallon Diesel, said good-bye to Grace and were ready to go. We needed to leave well before sunset so we could  see to avoid the crab traps off of Clearwater. We wanted to leave late enough that we would not arrive at East Pass before daylight.

Robert had never made a night crossing, and my last one was an unpleasant memory. We were both excited about the crossing. It can get nasty at any time of the year, and Winter storms present the worst time to cross. The forecast was All O.K. for the next two days.

At 4 PM we were into the Gulf just outside of the Clearwater bridge. The waves were less than a foot so we were in for a very comfortable ride.  For the next two hours we did the crap trap slalom. I had caught one in my propeller two years ago and had to dive and cut it loose. The traps extend about 15 miles off shore until the water drops off to 10 fathoms. It was around sunset that we saw our last trap.  By this point Robert was thoroughly familiar with operating the boat and I went below to cook us a steak dinner with all the trimmings.

After sunset it got very dark... no moon ... just stars.  The temperature was a chilly 55 degrees so neither of us went forward on deck to view the stars.  The crossing was uneventful. We passed about four boats during the night; none were close enough to see more than their lights twinkling in the distance.

We did alternate three hour shifts and that worked out fine. On our previous crossing Marion and I had only taken quick naps, so we had arrived exhausted.

We arrived at Apalachicola around 11 AM. We had covered 172 nm in roughly 20 hours.

Apalachicola The excitement of a safe arrival kept me from taking a nap. Instead Robert and I got the bikes down and did a tour of the town. This is my favorite restored home in Apalachicola.

We were staying the night at Scipio Creek Marina. There we were told that the Best place to eat Oysters was the new Papa Joe's Oyster Bar and Grill.  It's right at the marina, 12 feet from where we were docked... They were proud to say that the Oyster Bar chef from the legendary Boss Oyster down in town was now doing the oysters at Papa Joe's.

We decided to try them out.

Papa Joe's serves baked Oysters topped nine different ways:

We did them a dozen at a time:

We had six of the nine:  
A. Butter and Parmesan Cheese
C. Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Jalapenos, and Hot Sauce
F. Crab Dip
G. Shrimp, Bacon, and Monterey Jack
H. Scallops, Onions, Green Peppers, and Colby Cheese
I. Oysters Rockerfeller.

I had the house Chardonnay and Robert had Coke and Morgan.  (NO LIME)

Rating **** $$   Yes that's four stars and only two Dollar signs!  It was the Best Ever !!!

We stayed and closed the Bar, met the chef, Sam Norred, and pledged that we would return and spread the word.

Back on Remedy  we had Hot Buttered Rum sundaes with Chocolate Sauce..

Panama City Next morning we fueled up and headed out for Panama City. Robert did a lot of the Driving, The scenery changes from Mangrove Swamp on the West coast of Florida to Cypress and Pine forests in the panhandle ,

At Panama City we met Bill Kline and Beverly Barnett on S/V Imagine . She is a Gulfstar 43 Ketch. Also met Rob and Liz Logan on S/V Mayabi, a Morgan OI 41 Ketch. They joined us for Happy Hour on Remedy. Later Bob and I had dinner at Hawks Nest in town.

Shalimar

The long awaited storm front met us on the way to Ft Walton Beach. Instead of going to the marina there  we put in at Shalimar. It has better protection.  We borrowed their courtesy truck to go into town. We both had a shrimp fix at the local Italian seafood place.

Shalimar Marina has recently changed hand. The new management needs to review their price structure. We paid $1.25 per foot PLUS an extra $10 for electric. Total $70... A better accommodation at Panama City was $48.

Pensacola

Our trip to Pensacola was smooth and quick. We were in by early afternoon and filled up with $1 a gallon Diesel.

Lilla's Italian Restaurant is right on the dock at Palafox Pier. We split a spicy shrimp appetizer and the special Pizza.  Magnifico... Rating **** $$

Marion Flew in from Texas late Sunday Evening. Next morning Robert headed out in a rented car east toward Indian Rocks. There was a Large Thunderstorm for him on I 10 East. It was foggy when we left the Pier. Then it cleared briefly. The wind changed to the North East and we were greeted by this storm.  We dodged it gingerly and were off to Fairhope.