19. November 19, 2018: Our Sailing Adventure Starts with a Storm!

November 19, 2018:

We're off!! This morning we left Palafox Marina in Pensacola, Florida and we're heading for the Bahamas! Since our sailboat As You Wish only averages about five miles per hour, this is going to take awhile. 

His boat owner’s smile!

There was very little wind, so after about eight miles we anchored for lunch on our way to Fort McRee (It's the site of a Confederate fort during the Civil War).  After we finished lunch, John tried to start the engine...and nothing. We freaked out, because we're sure something catastrophic is wrong. John went downstairs to look at the engine, and since I don't have a mechanical bone in my body, I sat down at the helm.  I thought, "Well, I don't know anything about engines, but at least I can try to help." I looked around the helm station, and noticed that the boat wasn't in neutral. "John, does the boat have to be in neutral to start?" Yes folks, that moment was the shining pinnacle of my mechanical knowledge! 😂 We soon got underway.

We anchored between Robertson Island (also called Sand Island) and the east end of Perdido Key, where Fort McRee once stood.

 

Sand Island has lots of shells too!

This last photo always makes me chuckle, because Nikki didn't want to leave Sand Island, so she just sat down 😂. Usually she always follows John! We turned on our anchor light, and enjoyed our first night "on the hook".

November 20, 2018:

About 45 minutes before we pulled up anchor, another sailboat, Anna Paul, was cruising by, and the couple yelled, "We like the name of your boat! You must be cool people!" Haha! (“As You Wish” is from the classic movie/book The Princess Bride). This morning predictions said "10 knots of wind". As we sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, we saw 22 knots of wind, and As You Wish got up to 8.1!  "Haulin'!" as our friend Captain David said later. (FYI: one knot equals one nautical mile per hour, or about 1.15 statute mph).  We’re staying within sight of the Florida coastline as we slowly make our way east.

I fished all day: nada. We passed Anna Paul around mid-day, and they anchored in Destin Harbor about 30 minutes behind us. They came over in their dinghy and introduced themselves as Andy and Viv: "It's a good thing we weren't racing for pink slips!" :) (Not bad for an “Island Piglet” :))

 

Destin looks like a fun town, with lots of things to do. It's also very colorful!

 

It's still cold, so clam chowder sure tastes good. Destin looks fun, but when we tried to get somewhere to walk the dogs, we had a hard time finding a place to land and tie up our dinghy. Maybe there is a public dinghy dock in this harbor, but we didn’t find it.

November 21, 2018:

We pulled up anchor at 8:30. There's a 15 knot wind, and our SOG (Speed Over Ground) is 6.4 knots. It's sunny but still cold. Not too cold to fish though :). I used the same lure as yesterday--a pink Tuna Toast--and I'm glad I did. When the reel started clicking, I jumped! Then I began reeling. With the boat moving forward, it felt like I'd just hooked some garbage. Thankfully it was a fish: a bonito tuna! 

I cleaned it and started fishing again. Another fish grabbed my lure, and it was much stronger than the first one! I fought with it for about 15 minutes. Just as it was getting close to the boat, it got away. At least I still have my lure. 

I take the helm while John rests. The sunset is gorgeous!

 

We knew Panama City was still reeling from Hurricane Michael, so we sailed into an inlet at St. Andrew's State Park and dropped anchor. After a dog walking trip to shore, we had a delicious supper of tuna! (It was nothing like canned tuna btw.) The park's showers were closed, so we heated up water on the stove and had sponge baths. It felt good to be clean, even though I rinsed my hair in cold water from the sink. (We have a shower in the cabin, but with it being so cold we don't want the condensation to linger and grow mold).

November 22, 2018:

Happy Thanksgiving! We left the park and set our sights on an anchorage in St. Joseph's Bay. No luck fishing today. It was a short day of sailing, and a longer time motoring into the bay.

 

Once we were settled, we called family and friends and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving. Then we went to shore, and I was amazed at all of the sea shells! I collected a bunch for two pictures, but only kept a few of them.

I liked this next picture. I think it shows that no matter how insignificant we feel, we can always make a difference!

This cute little Ranger Tug named Foduck and As You Wish were the only boats in the bay, so we dinghied over and invited the owner to our Thanksgiving dinner of tuna. Ross made some delicious steak to add to the tuna and sides. He retired from an EMT job, and now he's been hired as a pilot for Delta. Since they can only train so many at a time, he has three months off. He bought the trawler (somewhere up the Mississippi River) and is taking it all the way to New York City! It's much cheaper to live on a boat than rent an apartment there.  Good luck Ross! (I can’t find the picture of Ross and our Thanksgiving meal, so you’ll just have to see this picture again. Sorry!)

Later, Penelope almost got herself a "turkey" for Thanksgiving: a big pelican landed on our boat! It was dark, but hopefully you can make it out.

 Our chart shows our sea travels thus far!

November 23, 2018:

It's overcast, cold and windy, so we're staying here today. I thought that we would follow the Florida coastline all the way down the western side and around the southern tip, but we can't do that. 

As you can see in the above map, it is very shallow far out to sea in Florida's inner curve. As You Wish drafts 4.5 feet, so we need to stay in deeper water than that. We decide to follow the coast up to Dog Island over the next few days. Then we will get up early, and make a 171 mile crossing through the Gulf to the Tampa Bay area. We should get there late afternoon of the following day.

So this morning is very relaxing for me as I drink my coffee, read, and write with Penelope in my lap. The news from home is that John's nephew David is getting married to Roslyn this summer, and my mom's friend helped her get on Facebook so she can finally see my posts. 

We went to shore after a PB & J lunch. We brought Penelope also, and walked to the other side of this peninsula.  She was doing so well staying with us that I took her leash off. We found big horseshoe crab shells, and John found a dive mask!

John was ahead of me when he yelled, "Kris, come here!" They had found an armadillo, and I even got to touch it (although I've since learned that they can carry leprosy, so it's not a good idea).

While I was looking at the armadillo, Penelope went and hid. I called and called. Thick underbrush started where the beach ended. I thought I heard her rustling under a bush, but no, it was another armadillo. John and I were both searching for her for half an hour. I went back to where I'd last seen her and I finally spotted her, just sitting there in the middle of a thicket! She wouldn't come to me either. I army-crawled through the brush and grabbed her. Neither one of us was very happy with the other. We went back to the boat after that. No more roaming off the leash for this kitty!

I definitely needed to clean up. We noticed that Ross had jumped off the back of his boat earlier, so we thought we'd try that too. After soaping-up sponge bath fashion, we jumped off our swim platform into the water: brrrrrr! We climbed back on and used a freshwater rinse of warmer water.  Very invigorating, haha! We ate the last of our tuna added to seasoned dice tomatoes, rice and beans: yum!

November 24, 2018:

We were awakened at 2:14 a.m. by big swells. There's no rest to be found here, so we hauled anchor and were on our way by 3:40: ugh!  Besides the fact that I'm VERY thankful we are all alive and fine, today SUCKED. Actually, it barfed, because that's what we were doing. Four weather sources all said it would be "light winds and fair seas": THEY LIED. The swells were huge and we were either nearly hitting them head on, or they were broadsiding us.  The glass to the little brass lantern downstairs broke: glass pieces everywhere. Teddy puked all over several times, but they all held their bladders and bowels, for which they got extra treats. 

We had to avoid one area with huge rollers: it seriously looked like the end of the ocean! It wasn't marked well either--the buoys were too far apart to see in those ten foot plus swells. We tried both sailing and motoring.  Motoring was much more direct until we were getting broadsided by the waves. The only other boats we saw out today were big shrimp trawlers. I can't believe that the Coast Guard didn't issue any weather warnings. The only message was about "work in Destin Harbor".  I couldn't even fish; it was that bad!

 

Towards sunset, we slipped through West Pass (it says Indian Pass on the above map) near the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge, and it's finally CALM. We anchor at the Little St. George Lower Anchorage and dinghy to shore so the dogs can relieve themselves. We don't stay for long because of the nasty mosquitoes. As we pull up to the boat, we hear an alarm sounding! Our holding tank (sewage tank) is full, and we are out of our 90 gallons of water! Plus, somehow the bilge pump turned off, so we have LOTS of water in the hold. To top it off, John is now running the noisy generator to power the water maker, and the hose with the fresh water (which was supposed to be going into our tank) was bumped overboard so we need to make even more. AND there's no cell service.

The Bahamas had better be worth this!!

November 25, 2018:

A new day has dawned, and things are looking up. Today was SO much better!  First, I got to sleep in until 9! Then we had a pretty easy sail to Apalachicola (A'-pah-lay-shi-co'-la) , except for some fog as we motored in. I sat on the bow and blew a long blast on our whistle every two minutes to warn any other boat in the area.The picture below doesn’t show the worst of it. We could hardly see the bow of our boat.

 

As we got to town, there was a line at the marina for fuel and water, so a guy told us to go to the nearby City Dock, and even drove his golf cart over and helped us : thank you Stan! (He just happened to be at the marina. He's the city's electrical engineer). As a bonus, we are right next to Foduck!

On the way there, we saw extensive damage from Hurricane Michael. Sad.

We had lunch in one of the cute cafes downtown. Since we needed water, we started to leave the city dock, but the wind was pushing us right into it. We managed a very ungraceful departure, but luckily didn't damage anything. After we filled up our water tanks at the marina, we returned to spend one night on the City Dock. (In 2018, it was "free for one night". Unfortunately, people abused this, and now in 2022 they charge boats $2/ft/night). Trampus helped us dock as we came back. He and his family are on a catamaran, Solarus, going to the Bahamas too! His wife Rachel is an ex-school teacher also. They have their two sons with them. They weren't prepared for this cold weather either.

John discovered what the water problem was: a hose clamp came off near the hot water tank, which we might have yanked off using the freshwater wash-down after all the vomiting yesterday.  He fixed it, and it was nice to wash dishes and take hot sponge baths; everything is good! I even have internet connection here, so I caught up on Facebook and messages.

P.S. Our Island Packet got lots of nice comments!

November 26, 2018:

We walked to the grocery store and Napa Auto Parts, taking pictures along the way. What looked like a large pile of gravel turned out to be oyster shells!

Apalachicola is known far and wide for its excellent oysters, and is known as The Oyster Capital of The World. (Unfortunately I can't tell you how good they are, as I don't like oysters).

I loved this colorful display!

I have to admit: the Jacuzzi Suites were tempting!

Back at the dock we helped Sass and Jim of Salty Dog back their tug up, and she gave me a hand-painted wine bag! Others have helped us in the past, and I wish I'd thought to at least give them chocolates or something. Leaving the dock today was much easier! The wind and current were with us most of the way, so we made good time: usually 5+ knots. The buoys were leaning way over! We met a catamaran trying to sail against the wind and current, and they looked like they were standing still. I hope they got to a safe harbor! 

We experienced wind, rain, then lightning and thunder. One clap was really close, which is scary when you have a 55' metal mast. We finally made it to Dog Island, and anchored right where the anchoring symbol was on Aquamaps. It's a pretty narrow channel, and a guy in a fishing boat keeps blasting past us, and then flips us off. Why? We weren't blocking anyone, although we were on the edge of the channel because of our 4'6" draft. Maybe if he would have stopped by and talked to us we could have accommodated him, but he didn't give us that option.

 

John fixed sliced turkey, cranberries and stuffing for supper: mmm! Then we rolled down and zipped together the isinglass panels around our cockpit: it's so much nicer without the wind! (The picture below is actually two days from now, and these panels helped to save our lives!)

Tomorrow morning we plan to leave on our big crossing—171 miles!—to Tampa Bay. I've told family members they may only get a a Garmin inReach message from us, as I'm sure we'll be out of cell range! Here’s our roughly drawn planned route:

November 27, 2018 (Tuesday):
Brrrr it's cold!! John took the dogs to shore so they could do their business, as they're going to have to go in the cockpit for the next two days. (Luckily that can be rinsed out quickly). John checked four different weather services, and it looks good to go!

We were out of the channel and had our mainsail raised by 7:45 a.m. We're very thankful for the isinglass, as it's windier than predicted. The winds are from NNW, and we're traveling SE, so that's good. Since the winds are almost straight behind us, we tried sailing "wing on wing": one sail on port side (left) and the other on starboard (right). We found that the problem with wing on wing is that you lose the stability one gets from the keel-against-sail combination, so it was rougher riding than expected. The waves started to get bigger, and the wind picked up to 20 knots. We attached our life jackets to the boat using jack lines even though we had isinglass all around. We shut our pets down in the cabin, too.

Around 4:00, the Coast Guard comes on the radio: "...small craft advisory until Wednesday 4 a.m. due to winds 20-25 knots with six foot seas...". Small craft advisory? We'd never heard that term before. I remember Minnesota "tornado advisories" vs "tornado warnings", so it didn’t sound that bad. The wind was already at 20, so 25 didn't seem much worse. The waves looked like they were already five feet from trough to crest. How much worse could it be? We were about 40 miles west of Cedar Keys, so even if we tried to go there, it would be A) dark when we arrived B) an unknown marina and C) very shallow with a high probability of us getting stuck and swamped.

We decided to go with our original Plan A of sailing to Mullet Key, at the mouth of Tampa Bay. We thought we could set a straight course there using wing on wing, but the wind kept shifting back and forth, making As You Wish very wobbly. Not good. We put both sails on the same side and had to tack. Tacking makes a long passage even longer because you sail in a zigzag instead of a straight line. 

I tried my cell phone--nothing--so I then tried my Garmin inReach, only to find that I should have made messages PRIOR to being out of cell/internet service! I had no way of telling our family that we were okay! (I now have 3 pre-recorded messages: "Everything is good, we're just out of cell range", "Some difficulty, we'll call when we can", and "Call the Coast Guard and give them our info and plans"). The winds increased. We rolled up our jib, and reefed our mainsail.

We fought nausea the whole time (although surprisingly neither of us vomited) as the wind and seas increased. As night fell, we were seeing 34 knots of wind, and up to 38 knot gusts! We knew we needed rest.  I'm a better "night person" than John, so I took the first watch after another tack. He showed me how to keep on course in this wind (much easier with our autopilot!), then laid down on the bench in the cockpit and was soon fast asleep.

I couldn't see the waves, but I know at times the bow was at a 45 degree angle below me. As You Wish would slide down a wave, then "round up" to the right at the waves base, then left and up another crest. Over and over and over again. It was pitch black, so I couldn’t see the waves, but they had to be nearly 20 feet tall judging by how our 37 foot boat was going over them. We later learned that storms build up suddenly in the Gulf because it’s so shallow. I never knew a boat could move so many directions at once, and never in a nice rhythm you can get used to either. (Now I tell people, "Imagine that you're on a horrible carnival ride, and you are really sick and want to get off. Then you realize that everyone has left the fair, the carnival worker is passed out, and you won't be getting off until the ride runs out of gas. And the ride has a really big, full gas tank"). (Check out the Wild Ride at Marco Pass blog for the December 10, 2018 video showing a fraction of what this storm is like).

I was sleepy, but suddenly I was shocked at my responsibility: not only for myself, but for John, our pets and our boat! I was humbled to think John trusted me to keep us all safe. (Later he joked that he thought we were all going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it anyways :)) I didn't want to nod off, but how do I keep awake? I remembered reading that Jesus prayed all night. Okay, I can try that. I quickly realized that Jesus wasn't just praying for himself that night, because that doesn't take much time. He was praying for others. So there, in the middle of that storm, I started praying for everyone I could think of, starting with people I knew as a child in Minnesota. I was in an actual storm, but there are many kinds of "storms" that people face, and most of the time others have no idea what they're going through. The constellation Orion was on the horizon. As the night wore on, Orion rose until it was right above me. Ever since reading the children's book The Rough-Faced Girl (a Native-American Cinderella) by Rafe Martin and David Shannon, I've associated Orion with more spirituality than other constellations. The moon rose, very orange at first like the candied orange slices my grandpa used to eat. Instead of feeling very scared and anxious, I felt calm and peaceful. I stayed awake until John relieved me; then I crashed in the cockpit next to him and promptly fell asleep. 

November 28, 2018:

When I awoke, it was around 4:00 a.m. (when the Coast Guard said this would be over). By 5:30 a.m. we were still waiting for the storm to subside. We took turns taking little catnaps as dawn arrived at 6:30.

Finally by 9 a.m. the seas had gone from "stormy" to just "rough". We were able to let the pets out of the cabin. They were so glad to see us! Penelope stayed in my lap the rest of the day.

We slogged on until we reached Mullet Key, Florida late in the afternoon. We hoped we could stay there, but the waves were still so crazy that John barely got the dogs to shore for a potty break and back, as our swim platform was bobbing 3-4 feet at anchor. I had to haul the dinghy up with them in it just to make it easier for them to get out and into the boat. Staying there was not an option, as our boat would have been a "vomit comet".  As much as we wanted to be done sailing, we continued on until we eventually found calm water near the De Soto National Memorial near Bradenton, Florida. After everything we'd been through, I really wanted to be at a marina, but that was further inland, and we were done in. I tried to call our family again, and still no luck. We were finally able to eat a real meal--sliced turkey, stuffing and gravy--instead of dry roasted peanuts and granola bars. Then we both crashed after sailing more than 40 hours.

November 29, 2018:

 

There is a very large cross near the De Soto National Memorial, and it is very fitting! I'm so thankful that God kept us all safe! I'm also thankful that we bought an Island Packet, as they are known for being stable, safe boats (aka "sea friendly"). Our lower backs just above our pelvis' both hurt from all the bouncing around we did over the last two days, but we are all in one piece!

After a good nights sleep and a tasty breakfast (turkey and gravy omelettes), we motored over to the Regatta Pointe Marina (now the Harbor Safe Regatta Pointe Marina) in Palmetto, a mile or so up the Manatee River. Nice! (There was even an adorable floating chapel here!) It was wonderful to finally reach family members and let them know we were all okay.  Yes, they'd been worried sick! 

Then we got to work cleaning out the inside of the cabin. We didn't blame our pets for their accidents, as it was hard enough for us in that storm.  You know those mechanical bulls that you see at fairs? Strap a potty on top of one of those and try to use it. Just sayin'.

After we got our laundry going in the clubhouse, we met Bill and Judy from Charbonneau, an Island Packet 40. It's for sale, as they're now done sailing and are ready to start a life of RV-ing.  This nice couple invited us over to their boat. They've been all over the Bahamas and the Caribbean, so I took notes! 

November 30, 2018: 

We talked with Jessika and Kyler: our Coast Guard documentation for As You Wish finally arrived there, so we're legal! 

We walked to the grocery and hardware store, spotting some cool stuff on the way. Back at the marina, we worked on our Oregon registration for our boat, and the registration and license for the dinghy ALL afternoon.

I was craving ice cream, and the marina office had Magnum Dark Chocolate Raspberry...heavenly! Even at the exorbitant marina price of $9, every bite was worth it! (Yes, I even shared it with John😋).

December 1, 2018:

West Marine is "only three miles" from the marina, so we decided to walk. It was hot, and that was the longest three miles of my life: I ended up with blisters on both feet by the time we got there. Michael, one of their employees, had lived on a sailboat for 6 years, so he kindly offered us--and our dogs--a ride back to the marina.  I don't know who was more thankful; me or the dogs!

We got back to the boat, and I cleaned the fridge:

(Big fridge, tiny freezer!) Oh, and it finally feels like Florida!

December 2, 2018:

Forrest and his sister Terri were so nice to pick me up for our fellowship meeting in Sarasota. It was nice to meet Cheryl, and also Brad and Vinda from out of state who were visiting too, as well as many others.

John has decided to buy a new Mercury 9.9 hp outboard motor for our dinghy instead of the 4 hp that came with the boat. We pulled out the big rugs and washed them down, so now they're drying on our lifelines (boat "railings").

December 3, 2018:

Last night some guy must have been showing off his new car stereo to a friend at the end of the bridge around 10:30. He kept playing with the volume, and at its peak it sounded like the voice of God above us. It was very clear though, so I guess I have to compliment him on the quality.

John left to get the rental car, motor and groceries. I need to put the carpet back in and do more laundry before we check out at 1:00, so I'd better get busy. After four nights in the marina, it's time we were back on the water. Yes, the storm was very scary, and we could quit right now. But then we would have done all this work for what, a few months? Nope, we haven't even experienced real warm-water sailing, so we're not stopping.  Kind of like falling off a horse; it's best to get right back on.

John's back, and here he is taking his new motor for a spin. It works!

Someone here at the marina is ready for Christmas! We left the marina, and since another cold front is coming in, we decided to just anchor back near the De Soto National Memorial. This time I went to shore, and I'm glad I did! The park has wonderful walking trails and informative signs. 

I think the Sea Grape plants are so cool!

And the Saffron Plum smells wonderful.

Yeah, De Soto was the first European to find this place, but I sure feel sorry for the natives; the Spaniards/Portuguese were NOT nice to them, to say the least.

We found a coconut on the beach, and I hope it's not too sacrilegious to open it on the memorial. The edge was very useful!  

It's calmer here than at the marina, and no one is testing his stereo either. :)

December 4, 2018:

We motored down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) to Sarasota. We went through our first two drawbridges, the Ana Maria and the Cortez. 

Usually we listen to Channel 16 on our VHF radio for all information, but when you need to talk to the drawbridge operator, it's usually Channel 9.

We anchored near the Bait Shop, and I saw an anhinga! They're also called snake birds because of their slim neck and head, and also water turkeys because of their tail. They are different from the cormorants we usually see (those have hooked bills). I really like this picture too!  I also bought some live shrimp at the bait store, but I didn't catch anything.

As we walked to the marina, we also saw a dead Goliath Grouper washed up on shore. It really stank, but I wanted to get close so everyone could get a perspective as to how huge this fish was!

The flowers here are splendid: it's finally feeling tropical! (These smell much better than the fish :))

December 5, 2018:

We were going to leave at 9, but it got really windy and another "small craft advisory" was issued, so we're staying put! (We learned our lesson on that one!) We walked downtown with all of our pets, and even stopped at ofKors Bakery. We had delicious pastries and coffee at their outside tables. Penelope got several compliments!

I really like Sarasota from what I can see (which I'm sure is mainly the high-rent district). I'm writing this from the cockpit of our boat, and it's warm, so it seems odd that Christmas is only 20 days away:

I like the statue near the marina:

And the birds:

 

Oh, this building demonstrates how popular boating is in Florida:

December 6, 2018

The tropical weather ended: it's 42 degrees.

We motored to Venice, Florida then sailed to Cayo Costa Key. As we came into the bay, the sailboat that had been in front of us got stuck. They were waving their arms for us to go around, so we did...on the wrong side. We got stuck too. What we had interpreted as "Go around this side" was really "It's shallow over here!".

Ron, who owned a nearby trawler, came over with his dinghy and got us both free! We gave Ron and his wife Gayle a bottle of wine for their help. (Hint: Keep some wine onboard for gifts. Even if someone doesn't drink it, they can cook with it). 

We went to shore after we anchored in a deeper spot. Cayo Costa State Park is known for its abundant shells, and even had a "Shells of Cayo Costa" display. (As of August 2023, the park is closed due to damage from Hurricane Ian).

Supper was canned corn beef hash and Swiss cheese on toast: better than it sounds 😋.

 

December 7, 2018:

We left Cayo Costa Key around 9:30, and sailed through shallow waters until lunchtime when the wind died, and we motored to Lovers Key State Park.  We were going to go under the bridge, but it was too shallow and ill-marked so we anchored off a beach on the Gulf side.  There was a gorgeous sunset and calm seas. John dinghied the dogs to shore, only to be told that dogs aren't allowed there.

December 8, 2018:

After a Pet Relief Operation to shore, we left at 7:30. Sometime mid-morning we got a call from Ross on the radio. Foduck was passing us! Ross took some good photos of As You Wish in full sail, and sent them to me. Thanks Ross! 

It was a short day of sailing to Factory Bay on Marco Island. We anchored and went into town, stopping at Publix, West Marine and Sweet Annie's Ice Cream: scrumptious! I was waiting with the dogs for John outside of Publix, when a lady exited the store and saw Nikki and Teddy. She liked them so much that she opened up her deli ham and gave them each a very generous portion! They also got treats at West Marine, but wow: deli ham! I think Nikki and Teddy were more than ready to follow her home.

As we put groceries away in the fridge, I discovered the very dead and stinky shrimp from Sarasota. Gross, but I caught three catfish with them, and one was a Gafftopsail catfish. A pretty catfish, with long feathery fins, but very slimy! 

 

 

A TowBoatUS boat stopped by to tell us that there was a Christmas Boat Parade tonight. We thought that the boats would just go past on the main channel, but they circled the bay, going all around us! Even Penelope enjoyed the parade!

Catch what's next in "December 10, 2018: Wild Ride at Big Marco Pass”!