We arrived in Carrabelle just before dark on May 8th. We unloaded the truck and stowed our belongings aboard Steal Away before crashing from the long trip. Next morning, we were up and showered early so we could drive the 45 minutes (each way) to Walmart to provision and get back to the marina before our cousins, Sundy & Bill, arrived from Ft. Walton Beach. They had graciously agreed to store our truck during this final leg of our Great Loop journey.
After a late Mother’s Day lunch with Bill and Sundy and bidding our transportation farewell, we discussed our Gulf crossing plan with the dockmaster, Kim. She advised our best weather window would be Tuesday. So, with one day to prepare the boat for crossing, we worked like Trojans to get ready. But Monday afternoon, pouring rain set in preventing us from completing our preparations.
We needed 3 days to cross the Gulf and get back to the safety of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. We contacted our first planned stop, Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee for a transient slip. They could accommodate us on Tuesday night, but we had to be off the docks by Thursday morning as they were tearing out the docks for repairs. With high winds in the forecast Wednesday evening, we weren’t comfortable with the possibility of no where to go but an anchorage for several days in 15 knot winds. So, we decided to stay in Carrabelle until the front passed.
Little did we know that these high winds out of the east would continue for 2 weeks!! We had a small -craft advisory on the Gulf for 10 days: 15-20 knot winds gusting to 30, 5–8-foot seas. We settled in for the long haul. Fortunately, everything we needed was within walking distance: IGA, 2 hardware stores, post office, ATM, a few restaurants and a Dollar General!
Jim spent his days on the phone with Charleston job site issues and managed to make a few repairs as well. I spent my time completing continuing education courses online when I wasn’t cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. We made friends with other boaters on the docks and enjoyed a few fabulous seafood meals at our favorite local dive, Fathoms. We spent a good bit of time with a gentleman from Arizona, Otto Rolwing, soloing on a houseboat, Ripple. We visited 3 local museums: Carrabelle History Museum, WWII Museum (250,000 troops trained here for amphibious warfare – D-Day) and climbed the Crooked River Lighthouse.
We spent many happy hours on the docks with a glass of wine…until the no-see-ums drove us indoors. They were vicious! After the small-craft advisory was lifted, we began to look for our weather window once again. It took a few days for the waves to settle down and the winds to turn around from the west.
As the temps heated up, Otto decided to pull his boat out of the water and return home until cooler weather. He caught a ride to a rental company and returned with his truck. When his trailer repairs were complete, he allowed us to ride along with a stop at Walmart to pick up a prescription (no pharmacy in Carrabelle) and re-provision. In turn, we agreed to help him load his houseboat on the trailer.
A small marina in Steinhatchee agreed to let us tie to their fuel dock for an overnight (no power, no facilities), our second night would be at anchor in Cedar Keys and our third day would end in Tarpon Springs.
On Sunday, we pulled Ripple out of the water and bid Otto farewell. We spent the rest of the day stowing and securing everything on Steal Away for the trip across the Gulf. We hoisted the dinghy onto the davits and secured the bicycles, SUP, sails, etc. on the cabin top. We enjoyed dinner in the cockpit, showered and turned in early. We depart for Steinhatchee at first light!