Steinhachee River

Our passage across the Gulf would be in three long hops, each about 80 miles. We were a little fearful because three boats set out the previous day and returned to Carrabelle after 3 hours of pounding.  The forecast was the same as on the previous three days: Seas 2 - 4 feet, winds NE 10-15 kts.

We certainly would not pause if we were in Great Ketch, but Remedy sits up very high and has a lot of windage.  We were in 20 kts the day before and found it uncomfortable when the wind was abeam.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, we set out.

During the first hour we were in the lee of Dog Island so there was no fetch for the sea to build up waves. (Fetch is the distance over the water to the next shore in the direction the wind is coming from.) As soon as we rounded the end of the island we were met with 3 to 5 foot waves.  The ride went from uncomfortable to rough. At the speed we were making, the crossing would take another seven hours.

We both rode it out on the fly bridge for the first hour. It was like riding the Gilley's bull. The bicycles on the fore deck would fly up on the big waves. The real big waves would ring the ships bell as well. These rouges I named "the bell ringers".  We had at least seven bell ringers on the trip.

When I went downstairs for a cup of coffee, I found the ride on the back deck was actually quite pleasant, if you placed yourself on the axis of the pitching motion. I invited Marion to join me there. With the autopilot set, and keeping a watchful eye from the aft deck, we rode in comfort for the next two hours.

Around noon we were half way across. The waves subsided to a 6 inch chop and the winds to less than 10 kts. The rest of the trip was a delightful, if somewhat boring, passage.

We arrived at Steinhachee River marina about a half hour before sunset. We were met by a personal sized swarm of no-see-ums. (These are vicious little insects that bite very subtly... you don't feel them until several minutes later. Then the damage has been done, and three or four days later you still have large itchy welts where they bit.)  We closed up the boat and went below for supper.

Crystal River

Steinhachee to Crystal River is a long day, 80 nm. We left a little late in the morning and after we made our way out of the river, the GPS was predicting an after sunset arrival. We made up time by replanning the route and going fast for about two hours. Fast is about 14 kts for our boat.
 

Crystal River is the most scenic waterway we have seen to date. Marshes form the river edge with ocassional islands of palm trees. The distant bank behind the marshes have lush stands of tall and graceful palm trees. This river is home to over 200 manatees and slow passage is enforced.

The trip taught us a new skill, the crab trap slalom. The shelf of the Gulf is about 15 to 24 feet deep from 3 to 10 miles out.
 

Stone crabs abound in these waters and  for the 150 miles of our trip from Steinhachee down to Tarpon Springs we were in someones Crab farm over half of the time.  Traps are spread out in lines about 30 yards between traps and  maybe 50 yards to the next line of traps.  Your mission is to avoid hitting traps by dodging them. It was an all day affair.

We made Crystal River in time to see the sunset as we tied up. One 30 amp circuit was all we got at Twin Rivers Marina, but the price was only $15 for the night at the fuel dock.

Indian Rocks

Our final day of Gulf passage was uneventful except for the crab traps. We were busy all day dodging them. I finally got tired of dodging and decided to study what happened when you ran over them.

There are so many of them out there they must be able to survive boats passing over them. That was my theory... the fittest crab traps will survive. I watched several as our boat passed nearby.  They seemed to be deflected by the bow wave and pass unharmed to one side.  So why was I worrying I said to myself.

Just after this soliloquy the bow passed directly over a trap and it did not come up.  I rushed to the stern and could see it draging behind the boat. Then to the flybridge where I put both engines in neutral. I gave up searching for my snorkle gear and just stripped and dove in with a sharp knife. The water was bracing buy not too cold. I was able to cut the line from the propeller on the second dive and we were soon on our way.

I went back to dodging crab traps having demonstrated that they (and I for that matter) do not live charmed lives.

We had heard so much about Clearwater Municipal marina that we were just dying to get there. Alas, they would not guarantee us either weekly or monthly rate so we started shopping for an alternate while we were about two hours away. Niece Cheryl suggested the Marina at the Holiday Inn Harborside. It would be near the family Thanksgiving festivities.

Yes, they had an opening, so we took it. It has all the amenities... pool, hot tub, tennis court, laundry, restaraunt and nearby post office and grocery shopping. We will make this our Florida west coast homebase for at least a month.