Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.457
Longitude:-90.9561
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/24/2009 14:32:24 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.457,-90.9561&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
In Pensacola Again
We arrived in Pensacola on Thursday after taking the Intracoastal Waterway from Apalachicola with stops at Port St. Joe and Fort Walton Beach. Those of you who got my SPOT messages saw that the ICW route took us through rivers and bays, but not the open ocean, to Pensacola. The rivers were dredged unforrmly to at least 11'8", and frequently as deep as 15'. The bays were well-marked with channel markers, and were usually at least 11'8" deep (the minimum depth set by the Corps of Engineers).
On Friday Bob Austin (Dr. Bob of Thataway) and I left at 9 AM to drive to Panama City to see Marc Groves' (Wefings) boats in the water at the boat festival. We spent most of our time poking around the new Ranger 29. We did not have time for a sea trial as we had to hit the road again to get through the throngs of college kids on spring break in Panama City (no girls gone wild, unfortunately!) We arrived in Apalachicola about 3:30 PM and immediately turned around for the return to Pensacola. We decided it would be faster to bypass Panama City by heading north to the Interstate. I don't know how long it would have taken us to go through Panama City again, but neither of us got home until about 8 PM.
The trip was hard on both of us. It aggravated Bob's bad back and in my case it sent me to the ER the next day. For a couple of weeks my left knee had been stiff, probably twisted from climbing in and out of the boat to the fixed docks that are common here. On Saturday I could not walk at all. I had to lean on Lori to get up the dock to the truck. At the ER they determined from the X-Rays that nothing was broken and most likely I had sprained my knee. I think that the drive to Apalachicola and back, where I could not move my leg appreciably for 11 hours, probably pushed my knee over the edge. They gave me some pain pills, crutches and wrapped my knee.
Saturday night Lori and I joined Bob and Marie for an excellent dinner at a local seafood restaurant -- I think it was called the Crab Shack. Today was laundry and boat-cleaning in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. This afternoon I drove to Bob's house and went out with him on Thataway to see his home waters. We had a bit of unscheduled excitement when one of the Suzuki 150s shut down and would not respond even after changing the fuel filter. We returned home to Bob's house with one engine. He called later this evening to tell us he had found the problem -- water in the fuel system.
We are putting the boat back on the trailer for the last time tomorrow and are hitting the road west, with stops in Flagstaff, AZ and Salt Lake City. We should be home by April 7th or thereabouts.
On Friday Bob Austin (Dr. Bob of Thataway) and I left at 9 AM to drive to Panama City to see Marc Groves' (Wefings) boats in the water at the boat festival. We spent most of our time poking around the new Ranger 29. We did not have time for a sea trial as we had to hit the road again to get through the throngs of college kids on spring break in Panama City (no girls gone wild, unfortunately!) We arrived in Apalachicola about 3:30 PM and immediately turned around for the return to Pensacola. We decided it would be faster to bypass Panama City by heading north to the Interstate. I don't know how long it would have taken us to go through Panama City again, but neither of us got home until about 8 PM.
The trip was hard on both of us. It aggravated Bob's bad back and in my case it sent me to the ER the next day. For a couple of weeks my left knee had been stiff, probably twisted from climbing in and out of the boat to the fixed docks that are common here. On Saturday I could not walk at all. I had to lean on Lori to get up the dock to the truck. At the ER they determined from the X-Rays that nothing was broken and most likely I had sprained my knee. I think that the drive to Apalachicola and back, where I could not move my leg appreciably for 11 hours, probably pushed my knee over the edge. They gave me some pain pills, crutches and wrapped my knee.
Saturday night Lori and I joined Bob and Marie for an excellent dinner at a local seafood restaurant -- I think it was called the Crab Shack. Today was laundry and boat-cleaning in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. This afternoon I drove to Bob's house and went out with him on Thataway to see his home waters. We had a bit of unscheduled excitement when one of the Suzuki 150s shut down and would not respond even after changing the fuel filter. We returned home to Bob's house with one engine. He called later this evening to tell us he had found the problem -- water in the fuel system.
We are putting the boat back on the trailer for the last time tomorrow and are hitting the road west, with stops in Flagstaff, AZ and Salt Lake City. We should be home by April 7th or thereabouts.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4019
Longitude:-87.2534
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/19/2009 20:30:11 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4019,-87.2534&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4019
Longitude:-87.2534
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/19/2009 20:30:11 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4019,-87.2534&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4061
Longitude:-86.7015
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/19/2009 17:37:47 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4061,-86.7015&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4061
Longitude:-86.7015
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/19/2009 17:37:47 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4061,-86.7015&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4334
Longitude:-86.4595
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/18/2009 21:08:11 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4334,-86.4595&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.4334
Longitude:-86.4595
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/18/2009 21:08:11 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.4334,-86.4595&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.317
Longitude:-85.964
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/18/2009 19:42:51 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.317,-85.964&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:30.317
Longitude:-85.964
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/18/2009 19:42:51 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.317,-85.964&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
OK ESN:0-7399410
Warren & Lori are here:
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:29.835
Longitude:-85.1925
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/17/2009 21:00:58 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.835,-85.1925&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
ESN:0-7399410
Latitude:29.835
Longitude:-85.1925
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:03/17/2009 21:00:58 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=29.835,-85.1925&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Apalachicola, FL Revisited
We have been in Apalachicola for a several days now, and have been either busy or under the weather, but I am finally getting caught up.
This is the neatest town I have been in on this trip. It is an old, funky Florida town on what is referred to as the "Forgotten Coast" of Florida. You may recall that we stopped her briefly on our way down to the Keys, to have Marc and his crew at Wefings dewinterize the Tom Cat and make a few modifications for us. This time we are in the water at the Water Street Hotel & Marina, a new hotel on the edge of town with a new, small marina. It has, wonder of wonders, floating docks -- much appreciated by those of us who go to the sea in boats smaller than trawlers. Strangely, there is only one rest room for the entire marina -- but it is a nice one and seldom in use. Only once have I not been able to get into the rest room when desired. By far, the biggest and basically only negative aspect of our stay here has been the no-see-ums. They are around all the time, but are out in force at dusk. Both Lori and I have been bitten numerous times, resulting in many ugly, red bites that resist a variety of anti-itch remedies.
The day we arrived we contacted Marc, who helped us launch the boat and then went out with me to evaluate whether it had the right props. I was gratified to find out that Marc said it was set up correctly. After checking in at the marina, we joined Marc, his wife Anita, and friend Cory Gracey (from Lake Stevens, WA, who delivers boats all over the country with his pickup and 50-foot transporter trailer) for dinner at Marc's house. Marc is a mean cook who whipped up a showcase meal of Floriday seafood: including tuna sashimi, oysters raw and cooked, and shrimp. Turns out that in a previous life, Marc ran several restaurants.
The next day Marc and Cory and I went out to the barrier islands separating Apalachicola Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the several hours fishing for Sheepshead and Black Drum with moderate success. After we returned from fishing, Cory gave Lori lessons in handling the Tom Cat that I also learned much from.
The day after that Lori and I went out with a local guide to St. Vincent's Island (a large wildlife refuge) and Bird Island. We caught quite a few whiting and two redfish (which unfortunately we had to release because they were bigger than the maximum size allowable.) I caught the first one, which weighed about 8 pounds. Then Brad, Charles' grandson who was with us, tied into a monster redfish which he battled for a good 15 or 20 minutes. Photos of both fishing trips can be found here:
After all the fishing activity we had a couple of days of R&R. Tomorrow we are taking the Tom Cat out for fishing. After that, we plan to spend a couple of days taking photos on the road from Talahassee to Apalachicola while the boat goes back to Wefings to have the pumpout access moved to a more accessible location. Then the boat goes back into the water and we will cruise the Intracoastal Waterway to Pensacola.
We definitely hope to return to Apalachicola -- it is everything I hoped to find in Florida (including, unfortunately, the bugs.) I am glad we experienced South Florida -- now we know what the Keys are like, and Naples and St. Petersburg. But the only area of South Florida that would draw us back is the Pass-A-Grille area of St. Petersburg.
This is the neatest town I have been in on this trip. It is an old, funky Florida town on what is referred to as the "Forgotten Coast" of Florida. You may recall that we stopped her briefly on our way down to the Keys, to have Marc and his crew at Wefings dewinterize the Tom Cat and make a few modifications for us. This time we are in the water at the Water Street Hotel & Marina, a new hotel on the edge of town with a new, small marina. It has, wonder of wonders, floating docks -- much appreciated by those of us who go to the sea in boats smaller than trawlers. Strangely, there is only one rest room for the entire marina -- but it is a nice one and seldom in use. Only once have I not been able to get into the rest room when desired. By far, the biggest and basically only negative aspect of our stay here has been the no-see-ums. They are around all the time, but are out in force at dusk. Both Lori and I have been bitten numerous times, resulting in many ugly, red bites that resist a variety of anti-itch remedies.
The day we arrived we contacted Marc, who helped us launch the boat and then went out with me to evaluate whether it had the right props. I was gratified to find out that Marc said it was set up correctly. After checking in at the marina, we joined Marc, his wife Anita, and friend Cory Gracey (from Lake Stevens, WA, who delivers boats all over the country with his pickup and 50-foot transporter trailer) for dinner at Marc's house. Marc is a mean cook who whipped up a showcase meal of Floriday seafood: including tuna sashimi, oysters raw and cooked, and shrimp. Turns out that in a previous life, Marc ran several restaurants.
The next day Marc and Cory and I went out to the barrier islands separating Apalachicola Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the several hours fishing for Sheepshead and Black Drum with moderate success. After we returned from fishing, Cory gave Lori lessons in handling the Tom Cat that I also learned much from.
The day after that Lori and I went out with a local guide to St. Vincent's Island (a large wildlife refuge) and Bird Island. We caught quite a few whiting and two redfish (which unfortunately we had to release because they were bigger than the maximum size allowable.) I caught the first one, which weighed about 8 pounds. Then Brad, Charles' grandson who was with us, tied into a monster redfish which he battled for a good 15 or 20 minutes. Photos of both fishing trips can be found here:
 |
| Apalachicola |
After all the fishing activity we had a couple of days of R&R. Tomorrow we are taking the Tom Cat out for fishing. After that, we plan to spend a couple of days taking photos on the road from Talahassee to Apalachicola while the boat goes back to Wefings to have the pumpout access moved to a more accessible location. Then the boat goes back into the water and we will cruise the Intracoastal Waterway to Pensacola.
We definitely hope to return to Apalachicola -- it is everything I hoped to find in Florida (including, unfortunately, the bugs.) I am glad we experienced South Florida -- now we know what the Keys are like, and Naples and St. Petersburg. But the only area of South Florida that would draw us back is the Pass-A-Grille area of St. Petersburg.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Waiting out the cold front
We decided to stay a few extra days here in Tierra Verde to give the panhandle a chance to warm up a bit after this last cold front passed through. This is the same cold front that brought snow to Alabama.
Yesterday I took the truck to the dealership to have a couple of minor warranty issues resolved and to get the oil changed. The truck has sensors in the tires that transmit the pressure to the dashboard -- a great idea in theory, but in practice it leaves much to be desired. If the tire pressures vary very much from the programmed values (which are not user-changeable) I get messages telling me that one or the other of my rear tires has only 1 pound of pressure. It's a PITA to have to keep making these warning messages go away. Other than that, I have been very happy with this GMC Duramax with the Allison transmission. I've been able to get up to 22 MPG on flat highways, and when towing the Tom Cat I've gotten up to 12 MPG.
There are quite a few liveaboards in the Tierra Verde marina, and from talking to a number of them, have learned something of the history of this deteriorating facility. From what I hear, this was once one of the finest marinas in the area. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, the facility consisted of the marina, a dry stack boat storage, a timeshare condo, 2 or 3 restaurants, and a pool with a dance floor/lounge. Apparently the owner at that time got tired of all the management necessary for all these services and sold out to an investor who intended to flip the $20M purchase. From what I understand they could not do that right away, as various stakeholders and leaseholders had to be bought out. In the meantime, the economy tanked and now the marina is slowly falling apart, the timeshares are vacant magnets for homeless and worse (none now, fortunately) and the dry stack business is the only thing making money. What is really sad is that when the economy recovers, all of the current facility will be torn down and replaced by eight-story condo units. Very sad, but a common fate for marinas everywhere.
You may have read in your local news about the small single-engine 21' center console boat that capsized while anchored in 30-50' waters, 38 miles offshore from here near Egmont Key. Passengers included two NFL players and two former South Florida football players, who had gone out fishing for Amberjack. When the boat was found, only one of the 4 was still holding on to it. The others lost their grip in the 6-foot seas after 12-16 hours in the water and are still missing. It is common knowledge that cold fronts here can turn the Gulf from 2 foot waves to 8 foot in 15 minutes. Another boat following the 4 men turned back after the seas increased to 6 feet in 20 minutes. It took them 2-1/2 hours to battle their way back to shore.
I find the shallow waters here much more intimidating than what I am used to in the PNW because you are much more constrained in where you can go -- unless you have a shallow-draft boat you are by and large confined to the marked channels. Wind has a much greater effect here on wave height and on tide depths because the shallow depth of the Gulf. Although I am enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine, I now have a greater appreciation for what we have in the PNW.
Yesterday I took the truck to the dealership to have a couple of minor warranty issues resolved and to get the oil changed. The truck has sensors in the tires that transmit the pressure to the dashboard -- a great idea in theory, but in practice it leaves much to be desired. If the tire pressures vary very much from the programmed values (which are not user-changeable) I get messages telling me that one or the other of my rear tires has only 1 pound of pressure. It's a PITA to have to keep making these warning messages go away. Other than that, I have been very happy with this GMC Duramax with the Allison transmission. I've been able to get up to 22 MPG on flat highways, and when towing the Tom Cat I've gotten up to 12 MPG.
There are quite a few liveaboards in the Tierra Verde marina, and from talking to a number of them, have learned something of the history of this deteriorating facility. From what I hear, this was once one of the finest marinas in the area. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, the facility consisted of the marina, a dry stack boat storage, a timeshare condo, 2 or 3 restaurants, and a pool with a dance floor/lounge. Apparently the owner at that time got tired of all the management necessary for all these services and sold out to an investor who intended to flip the $20M purchase. From what I understand they could not do that right away, as various stakeholders and leaseholders had to be bought out. In the meantime, the economy tanked and now the marina is slowly falling apart, the timeshares are vacant magnets for homeless and worse (none now, fortunately) and the dry stack business is the only thing making money. What is really sad is that when the economy recovers, all of the current facility will be torn down and replaced by eight-story condo units. Very sad, but a common fate for marinas everywhere.
You may have read in your local news about the small single-engine 21' center console boat that capsized while anchored in 30-50' waters, 38 miles offshore from here near Egmont Key. Passengers included two NFL players and two former South Florida football players, who had gone out fishing for Amberjack. When the boat was found, only one of the 4 was still holding on to it. The others lost their grip in the 6-foot seas after 12-16 hours in the water and are still missing. It is common knowledge that cold fronts here can turn the Gulf from 2 foot waves to 8 foot in 15 minutes. Another boat following the 4 men turned back after the seas increased to 6 feet in 20 minutes. It took them 2-1/2 hours to battle their way back to shore.
I find the shallow waters here much more intimidating than what I am used to in the PNW because you are much more constrained in where you can go -- unless you have a shallow-draft boat you are by and large confined to the marked channels. Wind has a much greater effect here on wave height and on tide depths because the shallow depth of the Gulf. Although I am enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine, I now have a greater appreciation for what we have in the PNW.
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