Ft. Walton

I was up at 0500 hours and getting the boat ready for first light departure. The free city docks in Ft. Walton are popular, and there are only six slips available, plus the T-head dock with room for two boats. I wanted to get there early so we could get a spot. Only 3-4 of the available spots are deep enough for our boat.

We were out of the anchorage by 0600 and cooked breakfast along the way. Fresh baked biscuits and scrambled eggs. I’m really spoiling Paula. Nothing new there, though!

We arrived in Ft. Walton an hour later, and it looked like a sailboat was already on the T-head dock, our preferred spot. But it turns out that it was just anchored a short distance away. There was quite a current flowing from astern, but we eased in and moved as far to the end as we could, so there would be room for someone to dock behind us. Got tied up, and called the City Manager’s office to let them know we would be staying the night, as required. The stay is free, but you can stay only one night. They then call the police department to alert them of your presence. They come down later and just chat, and make sure everything is okay.

I was happy to see the police regularly coming to the small park adjacent to the docks. I had read reports of vagrants hanging out there, and that turned out to be the case. They ran several off over multiple visits.

Paula walked to the nearby Publix to do a bit of grocery shopping while I did boat chores. When she got back we filled the water tank and sun shower bag. We tested the water and found 130 TDS, which is very good for tap water. So we also filled all of our empty water bottles. There is no power available on the docks, but that was not a problem. The solar panels are having no problem meeting our power needs, so the batteries don’t need charging. The new 12VDC refrigerator means we use very little power overnight, so the solar panels can replenish the batteries in a few hours each morning.

There were more than a dozen restaurants within a few blocks of the docks. We took the opportunity to get off the boat and have a meal out. Excellent Mexican fare, fish (amberjack right off the boat) tacos for me, and shrimp chimichurri tacos for Paula. 

There were two sailboats moored in the slips. They appeared to have been here for far more than one night. One was definitely a derelict boat, it had no mast, all the handrails were broken off, and the window frames were sealed with black duct tape. There was about three inches of barnacles growing on the hull. Much to our surprise, a youngish couple got off the boat a short while later and left.

Later that afternoon, another trawler arrived. M/V Stylist, a 50’ Carver, owned by a couple who hail from New Hampshire, but now live in Sebastian, FL. They had purchased the boat in July and brought it down the river system, through Mobile, and were on their way around FL to the Sebastian on the east side. Nice folks, we chatted about our respective cruising plans.

A short while after they arrived a young police officer came by to check on everyone. He acknowledged they had been made aware of our arrival that morning. He said that someone had called to complain about the derelict boats in the slips and asked if that had been us. I told him that when I was accepting someone’s hospitality, especially when it’s free, I was not about to complain about anything. He laughed, and said they had been trying to find out who owned the derelict boat next to us. It had been there for months. We mentioned we had seen a young couple get off the boat that morning. He gave us his card and asked we contact the police dept. should we see them again.

An hour or so later, while Bob (from Stylist) and I were chatting on the dock, the girl who got off the derelict boat that morning walked down the dock and boarded the boat. Paula saw her and immediately contacted the police. They were there within minutes and started questioning her. Little did we know what the consequences of this would be later tonight.

As it started getting dark we decided to splurge one more time, and walked up to a small pub a block away. The reviews on the food were good, and accurate. We had a great meal, and some good draft beer from a local craft brewery. Home by 1830, watched a little TV, and in bed by 2100.

I slept fine until a loud noise woke me at 0300. It kept repeating, so I came up to the deck to see what it was. There was band of several teenagers riding their skateboards up and down the boardwalk, and doing jumps over some tree roots that crossed it. Clackety, clackety, clack… THUMP!!  Over, and over, and over, all while they were snapping photos with their cell phones. This went on for over an hour. Finally, they left, and we had blissful silence again.

I was just drifting off when I heard loud voices, very close by. Lots of cursing and shouting. Again I got up to see what was going on. At first, I could not determine where the noise was coming from. I initially thought it was from a nearby condo. But then I heard a loud smack and someone cry out. It was on the other sailboat in the slips! We had seen an older gent board it this afternoon, but now I was hearing two men and a woman. It was a very small sailboat, perhaps 24’. It was bouncing around like crazy as they struggled inside. More smacks, and the woman cried out.  Next thing I know all kind of stuff is getting thrown off the boat; clothes, shoes, a purse, coats, etc. Then the young guy who got off the other sailboat this morning climbed off this other boat. He had an armload of sleeping bag, clothes, and pillows, and proceeded to throw them on the derelict boat. At this point I felt justified in calling the police. They had requested we contact them if anyone boarded the boat, after all.

I spoke with the dispatcher for several minutes, explaining the situation. She asked some questions and then said they would send someone down. The officer was there in no more than 5 minutes. The older woman on the sailboat rushed out and started screaming at the officer that it was all his fault. It turns out that the girl the police had questioned that afternoon had spilled the beans on the guy with her. So he could not return to the derelict boat and had to bunk on the other sailboat. The older woman was apparently his ex-wife living on the boat with another guy. What a soap opera!

We decided an early departure was called for and got the heck out of there. Now I remember why we prefer a quiet anchorage to a dock, even if free. As we left, the woman was standing on the dock looking at all her worldly belongings floating away.

Spectre Island

Awoke this morning to find the wind still howling, as forecast. So we accepted the fact that we would be here another day. Not that it is a bad place to be, with miles of snowy white beach all to ourselves!

At least, we thought we would have it to ourselves. It was Monday, a workday for most folks, and the weather was cool, overcast, and very windy. But at around 1300 hours a brave soul showed up with his kite sail kit. He was alone, and struggled for a good while to get his kite inflated and flying. But soon he was whipping across the waves. He was not nearly as good as some of the guys that were here yesterday, but he made some halfhearted attempts at getting airborne. He lasted all of 45 minutes before packing it in. I don’t know if he was just too cold, frustrated, or both.

As he was leaving we noticed the wind dropping a bit. The waves were also getting smaller. We had a serious itch to move on so pounced on the chance to get out of here a day early. In short order we had the anchor up and were motoring out to the ICW.

It was only about three hours to Spectre Island, our next planned anchorage. We considered stopping in Navarre for our traditional provisioning stop at the Winn Dixie there. It is easy to get to… just drop anchor right off the beach and walk across the street. But, we did not need much, and planned on spending the night in Ft. Walton tomorrow, so would get groceries there.

Since we didn’t get underway until just after 1400 hours, it was dark by the time we arrived at Spectre. But radar showed no other boats there, and we have been here so many times it was easy to make my way in. Anchor down and set and we were having our evening libations by 1800 hours.

We had a very peaceful night. It was nice not to hear the wind howling through the aluminum framework on the bridge. There were minimal flight operations at nearby Hurlbert Field, very unusual, and I only heard a couple of MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft departing in the night. No gunnery practice at the range, either

No pictures to post yet, as we still don’t have good enough internet access.

Kite surfers

As usual, we were up bright and early this morning. Well, not so bright... it was a truly snotty weather day; cold, dark, raining, and very windy. We would not be moving any where today. But we knew that when we got here. The forecast is for the wind not to abate until Tuesday morning.

Considering the terrible conditions we thought we would not see anyone today. Imagine our surprise when, around 1000, several people showed up carrying small surfboards and bags of equipment. All were wearing wet suits so obviously planned on getting in the water. But, the 1' waves here certainly weren't large enough to surf. Then they started getting material out of the bags and inflating them.. kite sails!

It was not long before the first guy was in the water, and blew past us. He was quite skilled, and was doing air jumps and flips all around us. It was great fun to watch. I got some good video and pictures and will upload them once we get good internet access.

Finally got good enough internet to get a couple of pics uploaded.

They can really get some air!!

 

The next guy hit the water, and buzzed by our stern less than 10' away. Much to my surprise, he was in his 50's. I expected this to be a bunch of 20-somethings. He made several more close passes, and even asked "When's lunch?" as he zoomed by.

Late in the day we heard a loud thump on the back of the boat. My first thought was that one of the surfers had hit us; they had been coming ever closer. But when I looked I found that our brand new American flag, and flagstaff, had  fallen off, bounced off the swim platform, and was drifting away. I was quite upset as I had just replaced our inexpensive nylon flag with a quite pricey, heavy duty, embroidered stars, Tough-tex version. As I watched it float away I considered jumping in after it. But the water was cold, with a strong current. Just not worth it. Then I noticed it was no longer drifting away, but was holding about 30' from the boat. I grabbed a fishing pole and cast past the flag. I reeled back in and snagged the flag in the first try. In 11 years we have never had the flag blow out of the flag holder. That's what I get for mounting an expensive flag!

In the end, there were about a dozen kite surfers all around us. Even though the conditions were miserable, they remained here most of the day. The last stragglers did not leave until it was getting dark. They were all cold and tired, but were babbling excitedly about how great the day had been.

It sure looks like something I would like to try sometime!

New refrigerator

A few weeks before we left on this cruise we installed a new refrigerator/freezer. It is a Vitrifrigo 8.1 cu. ft. 12V high efficiency unit. It replaced an aging Summit 10 cu. ft. refrigerator, and GE 5 cu. ft. chest freezer. These dinosaurs were real power hogs. They used about 25-30 amps between them, when running. And they ran a lot. The new unit draws only 5 amps, and runs far less often.

 One of the first things I do each morning is to check the Link 1000 battery monitor to see how many amps we have pulled out of the batteries overnight.  This morning we are down 140 amps since around 1600 yesterday. This is less than half of what it used to be. Before we would typically be down around 300-325 amps, which is about 25% of our battery capacity. I don't like to let them get any lower than that.

We lost about half our storage capacity. But it has been worth it. Our energy consumption is way down. We used to have to run the generator 2-3 hours each morning, and evening. Since installing the new Vitrifrigo, as well as 716 watts of solar panels, we now run the generator for 1-2 hours every 4-5 days. Usually just to get the hot water tank up to temp. It will stay hot for 3-4 days.

The solar panels are one of the best investments I have made on the boat. On a good sunny day they will put out as much as 40 amps. Even on overcast days we get as much as 12-15 amps. Since our total electrical load is only around 10 amps, with fridge running, the panels can keep up with that and have enough left over to charge the batteries. Free electricity, what could be better!

Now, if I could just install a water maker, we would only need to go ashore for groceries!

Pensacola to Big Sabine Point

We slept great last night. Of course, we were pretty tired from our early rise that morning. But we still got up at 0500 as we wanted an early start. Since this was Saturday, and with the airshow starting at 0930, I figured there would be lots of boats coming out.

Once we got up to the pilothouse we knew we would not have to worry about a huge influx of boats. The fog was so thick I could not even see the boats already anchored around us. We decided to leave anyway, so cranked the engines and had the anchor up by 0600, heading east.  We idled through the anchorage over to the Pensacola land cut (very narrow channel between Big Lagoon and Pensacola Bay). Keeping a close eye on the radar we proceeded through the cut. We could just barely see each side of the channel.

Once out in the open bay I saw a radar target approaching rapidly. It looked like it would pass close down our port side, so I altered course a bit more to starboard. A couple of minutes later a large workboat loomed out of the fog moving fast and throwing a huge wake. As soon as he saw us he slowed down, but I was not sure if it was soon enough. We slowed to idle and turned into his wake. It was not as bad as it could have been, and only a couple of things fell off the counter.

A few minutes later I picked up another fast moving target on the radar, but this one was heading directly at us. I altered course to pass at a safe distance, but he turned towards me again.  I changed course again, and he did the same... right at me!  He was getting very close now, still moving at 25 knots. I changed course yet again, and gave 5 blasts on the big air horns. He changed course towards me again, and shortly after a small center console fishing boat blasted past me only about 30' off the port side. He did have radar. I can only assume he was using it, and saw a large target (me) and wanted to see what it was. I can't think of any other reason why he would continually change course to make a close approach. At the very least, he should have slowed down once he got close. Vis was less than 1/8 mile, so we could not see anything until we were on top of each other.

That was pretty much the excitement for the day. As we traveled further east the fog began to lift. By the time we were passing Pensacola Beach we had clear conditions, but overcast.

We arrive at Big Sabine Point, the beginning of the Gulf Islands National Seashore in this area. So just white beaches and sand dunes. no buildings. Only one road on the other side of the dunes, and traffic is limited to 35 mph. So it is a very quiet anchorage. No other boats are here, we have it all to ourselves.  We go all the way to back and anchor in the deep hole in the middle of the shoals. We will be exposed to the high winds that are forecast, but the shoals will protect us from any major wave action. Anchor down and set by 0900. Due to the expected wind of 30+ knots for the next two days I let out more chain than usual to get 7:1 scope, and back down hard on the anchor to be sure it is well set. But the oversize SuperMax anchor has never let us down yet.

We spend the rest of the morning continuing to stow away provisions and gear we brought aboard last week. It is nice to finally get it all put away. Now it is time to relax. Put the hammock up on the bridge, have a Bloddy Mary, and listen to the waves crashing on the gulf side of the dunes.

We had one small mishap. Paula set her phone and drink down on the back of her seat, just below my hammock. I let my leg dangle off the side and bumped her drink, spilling Bloody Mary all over her phone. I quickly turned the phone off, shook as much liquid out of it as I could, and wiped it clean. Put it in the sun to dry. Check it an hour later, and it still works! Well, mostly... the earpiece speaker must have gotten saturated, as you cannot hear anything while on a phone call. It does work in speakerphone mode, though, as well as with a wired headset. So we can work around the issue for now. So if any of you call her, don't get mad when she puts you on speakerphone!  ;)

It was a warm and pleasant sunny afternoon. I alternated between napping and reading. Paula read and puttered around the boat. Sat on the bow and enjoyed the sunset, then the wind started picking up. Everything was secured already so no worries. We went inside to cook dinner, watched a little TV, and went to be early.

I woke at 1:00 am to the sound of howling wind, and waves slapping at the side the boat. I went up to the pilothouse to check on things. It was pouring rain and wind was gusting up to 40 knots. The boat was bouncing a little from the 1' waves, but the shoals were doing a good job blocking the big stuff. I had left the Drag Queen anchor app running on my Android tablet to monitor whether the anchor was holding. I checked the app and could see the anchor was holding fast. Double checked the alarm settings in the app, made sure the volume was turned up, and went back to bed.

Blue Angels homecoming air show

Paula and both awoke at 0100 for some reason. We lay there chatting hoping to drift back to sleep. No such luck. So, at 0300, we decided we may as well get up and get something accomplished. I had some work to do in the engine room; Paula was still trying to get all of the stuff we brought aboard stashed somewhere.

One of the things we chatted about was whether to stay here for another day, or move on to Pensacola to watch the Blue Angels homecoming air show. This is a whopper of an air show, and is the last one of the Blue Angels season. We had talked for years about bringing the boat over for this event, but it never happened. So here was our chance, as it was on our way, and only a couple of hours away.

One of the issues of attending the show in a boat is that LOTS of people like to do this. The best spots are taken early, and the anchorages can get crowded. We figured since we were up so early why not leave at daybreak and get there before everyone else. Good plan, right?

We were ready to go by sunrise. However, within just a matter of minutes, thick fog rolled in. We debated on waiting for the fog to lift, then decided to proceed. There would little boat traffic this morning, and we did have radar. So anchor up by 0600 and underway. The fog turned out to be a non-issue. As soon as pulled out of Ingram Bayou there was no fog, just a bright, sunny morning.

We had an easy two hour ride to Big Lagoon. I fixed breakfast while Paula handled the piloting duties. Upon arrival at our anchorage site we did find a few boats already there. But our most favorite spot was still available. We got the anchor down and settled in for a fun day of watching the show. The weather was near perfect, with clear skies over the coast. There were clouds over the field, though, so sometimes we would lose sight of the planes that only flew directly over the runway. By the time the Blue Angels flew that afternoon, the weather was picture perfect. In addition. their flight path took them directly over the boat many times. It was an ear-splitting blast!!

One of the unique features of this air show is the inclusion of night flying displays and a big fireworks display to end the show. I had never seen, or even heard of, a night air show. I was really looking forward to it, but did not know what to expect. It turned out to be a real treat. Even Paula was ooh-ing and ahh-ing.  Several planes did aerobatics while spewing sparklers and ejecting fireworks. It was amazing. Unfortunately, I was so focused on watching them I completely forgot about shooting video. I did get video of the fireworks finale, though. I will upload the videos when I get a better internet connection.

All in all, today was the best day of our trip so far. The air show continues tomorrow, but we are ready to move on to our next anchorage. The weather is supposed to get nasty tomorrow night and I want to be someplace secure for the expected high winds. We'll head out first thing in the morning.

Petit Bois Island, MS to Ingram Bayou, AL

After a peaceful night, although a bit humid, we were up at 0600. Checking the weather forecast, it appeared it was going to be a bit windier than forecast yesterday. But still well within our comfort limits. But I wanted to get underway as soon as possible, in case the wind picked up this afternoon.

A quick engine room check, top off the day tank, and engines started by 0635. By 0645 we had the anchor up and were on our way. Once underway I prepared breakfast. Paula was having a hungry day so I cooked up scrambled eggs and big pot of buttery grits.

Passed under the Dauphin Island bridge and entered Mobile Bay (our nemesis).  But wind is only 10-12 knots, with 1' waves. So this should be an easy crossing. We are currently 2/3 of the way across, and should be finished by 1230. Just in time for lunch!

We finished the crossing and entered the ICW at 1225. Easy peasy!

Uneventfull trip through the ICW to Ingram Bayou. Lulu's was kickin' when we passed at lunch time, but we were already munching on leftover Domino's pizza. No boats here when we arrived at Ingram at 1400 so we were able to anchor in our favorite spot. We had it to ourselves for all of an hour before another boat arrived. Of course, they came all the way to the back and anchored next to us. Then another boat arrived shortly after that and tried to anchor between us. I had to call him on the radio to let him know he was about to drop his  anchor right on top of ours. Fortunately, he agreed to move further back and anchor behind us. But it looks like just the three boats here for the night.

Everyone launched their dinghy's to take their pets ashore. Duke will do his business on the bow if there is no other choice. But if there is a beach in sight he will put on his pretty face and stare at shore until we give in. It has been two days since he has had a bathroom break. He was doing the pee pee dance as we approached shore. He was barely off the dinghy before hiking his leg. Poor guy!

Back to the boat for sundowners and we are all happy campers.

The Big Adventure

Well, the day we have been looking for has finally arrived. After 11 years of wishing, and planning, we are finally going to be full time cruisers!

We have spent the last two weeks preparing the boat, and moving, what feels like, half of our house aboard. As well as extensive provisions for us and the dog. I don't know where we are going to put it all, or how we are going to remember where we put it once we need it!  It's not like we can't make a grocery store run when we need to. But, we like to avoid marinas as much as possible so hope to only have to go to the grocery every 2-4 weeks. We'll need to stop at least once a month to top off the water tank, anyway.

Forecast for today is east wind at 3-8 knots, calm seas. That is supposed to continue until Friday, so good news for crossing Mobile Bay tomorrow. It's time to go!

I had hoped to leave around 7:00 am this morning, but that was not to be. I woke in the middle of the night with the realization I had not checked to be sure I had plenty of motor oil aboard, for the main engines. So, up at 6am and checked, to find that I had only two gallons. That meant that we had to make a trip to the auto parts store. Since we had left my truck at friends house (thanks Tyrone & Alice) last night, and they shuttled me back to the boat, we had no transportation. Paula made a quick call to a local taxi service and solved that problem. I ordered the oil online, and she went to pick it up while I continued getting everything ready in the engine room.

By the time Paula returned, I was ready to go. We stowed the oil, then realized we still had to load stuff still on the dock. Bicylces, crab traps, utility cart, water hose, etc.  That took us longer than I expected. In addition, the valve on the dock water connection would not turn off, so I could not remove the hose without water spraying everywhere. We called the marina maint. folks to alert them, and asked they come repair it, or turn off dock water. We waited for over an hour, made another call, then finally gave up. I removed the water hose, and as we pulled away from the dock, water was spraying everywhere. Paula made a final call to the casino to let them know we were leaving, and advise the issue with the water. I hate to leave something like that, but the maintenance folks have never been very responsive. I could not wait there all day. In the end, it was 10:30 am before we got away from the dock.

45 minutes later we were approaching the CSX RR bridge across Bay St Louis.  After repeated attempts to contact the bridge tender on the VHF radio, we finally had to resort to calling on his cell phone. That resulted in an immediate opening, so we were only delayed a few minutes. Good enough!

Conditions were as forecast, and we had a beautiful day, with smooth seas. Upon transferring fuel to the day tank I found there was a small amount of water in the bottom of our main fuel tanks. That was easily remedied by running the fuel through the polishing filter. All in all, an easy and uneventful day... the best kind!

After a 7 hour run we ended the day anchoring off Petit Bois Island for the night. Great dinner, beautiful sunset, and a little TV and we were done for the night.