The Waterway

The anchorage at Mile 39.2 on the waterway. A storm was threating but it just rained a bit.
Left at first light... but when we rounded the first bend we were socked in by fog. Luckily I ran a track line on my charting software on the the trip down. So... I just followed that line and watched the radar because we could not see a thing.
Soon the sun started up and the wind rose with it. The fog cleared after a few miles.
After a long day's run we arrived at Coffeeville Lock. Had to negotiate with this bird for the pin but he relented.

We are now in Columbus where we found bandwidth so we uploaded a few shots. We will fill in the blanks in a few days so check back with us. we are almost home. Got lots of Waterway pics.


We often stay at Columbus Marina on our trips up and down the Tenntom. So we called Chuck the owner and he told us of a new restaurant on site. We left Demopolis and headed that way.


It's a 135 mile trip and 3 locks so it took all day and luck at the locks. Our luck held out until we got to Columbus where we were hung up for a couple of hours.... but we made it in before dark. We were too tired to go to Chuck's new restaurant but we may stay an exra day and rest up.

As I am posting this I see a http://www.flwoutdoors.com/ truck pulling up. Also a TV van. Guess they're going to have a big Bass Fishing Tournament. So we may not stay. It will become very crowded and we don't know if we are ready for this quite yet.

Next up: Midway or Bay Springs Marina

Mile 39.2.. Bobby's, Demopolis

We got some nice shots but have no bandwidth to post them with.
We will soon.
The trip has been nice so far. Not too many Tow Boats... Weather has been good except for the occasional afternoon storm. Hit every lock with the doors open. Hope this is a good omen.
The lack of rain has shown it's effects in some of the bends. We have seen 2 ft under the boat a couple of times. But stayed afloat. All's well that ends well.
Happy days

TennTom waterway

We are at mile marker 40 on the Tenn Tom . Anchored at the Tensaw river cutoff. Can't believe we have a signal.

Music in the park

On Thurday evenings in Seville Square, Pensacola has a very nice tradition. A local band will play in the gazebo and hundreds of locals of all ages will gather in the park and enjoy the sounds, food, and their neighbor's company on a warm summer's night.
On this night we enjoyed a good jazz/swing band and the folks of Pensacola were dancing in the streets.
We were lucky enough to have been invited by an old Pensacola family, the Bosso's.
Tom and Dottie, Rod and Mary Lee, and Melonie with Eric in the background. A good time was had by all.

Pensacola has been a nice stop on this trip.

But now as bad as we hate to....it's time for us to start heading north.

Next up will be Mobile and the TennTom Waterway.

Then home...

Still draggin' our feet

We just can't seem to turn Istaboa north to start heading home so we've decided to leave Perdido Key and head over to Palifox marina in downtown Pensacola. But as we were entering the channel and I was hailing Palifox marina I heard on the radio "Istaboa, Istaboa, Coast Guard vessel 43201 calling". I thought it was a mistake and I answered back that I'm calling the marina not the Coast Guard. Then Mel looks back and spots this boat.
They asked if I had ever been boarded by the USCG and I answered no. Their reply was "Well this is your lucky day".

I stopped and they came onboard. They were a training crew and, all except for the Lieutenant, this was their first boarding also. They were very respectful and generally a bunch of nice fellows. They just wanted to do what they had been trained to do. We passed our safety inspection, they said thanks, and that was over.

Now on to Palifox marina.

Next up: Music in the park.

Perdido Key

We have been at Perdido Key Oyster Bar and Marina for a few days. It's a nice little place right off the ICW. Thank God it's in a well policed no wake zone because every day here is like a boat parade...especially on weekends.

Our Bahamian treasures

We have been having fun and yes that party we felt was comin on... came off.

Rod and Mary Lee, Tom and Dottie, Shannon and Mike, and Eric all came by the boat and later we all went to dinner at a place called Triggers. (If you're ever around here go to Triggers. It's a small local place but man it is good.)

Later we all came back to the boat and had a really large time.

The next day being Father's Day, we all went to Tom and Dottie's home for dinner. It was a feast! Gumbo, Shrimp salad, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and much more. Some of us were a little fuzzier than others but we all had a great time telling old stories and looking at old pictures to back up the stories. Man we were all funny looking back in the 70's and 80's.

Yesterday it rained all day. The folks around here needed it badly and we didn't mind a day off either. We just layed around the boat and watched TV. (Thanks again David for the 2nd season of 24)

Today Craig from the Boatronix office at Pickwick is driving down to do a few things on the boat before we start the long trudge up the TennTom.

Happy days

Panama city

So here we are at Baypoint Marina in Panama City. We always stop at Baypoint. The marina personel are nice and the food at 30° Blue is incredible. They're going through some changes now as St. Joe paper company has bought them but it seems the changes (so far) are for the better. Hope it stays that way.

We tied up in front of a 53 Marlow motor yacht. A very cool boat and brand new. "Silver Lining"
The captain and his wife were pleasant folks. Bob, Bernie, and their dog Brutus. We enjoyed their company and Bob's stories. They're from Naples where Bob is one of the few natives left. Bob says his claim to fame is he is the only man in North America to have caught an Oarfish. I googled him and low and behold this is his story

Sunset view from 30° Blue

Actually as I am writing this we are back in the Gulf and steaming toward Pensacola. Melonie's brother and Sister in law are live aboards on their boat NoMoYdWk.... I am sure everyone can figure out the meaning of their boat name.

It will be fun to see them again. They did the Abacos with us last year. This year they decided to hang out on the Panhandle with friends from Pensacola.

I feel a big party comin on.

Crossing the Gulf - Panama City: Day two

This is the way our second night started

As we said in an earlier post, a good crossing is a boring one, and day two was just that. About the only excitement we had was watching a huge storm cell take shape just north of Panama City and of course it was headed in our direction.

We have a computer weather system onboard provided by XM radio and Barons weather (WxWorx) and with a bit of time on our hands watching that turned into our entertainment

But our luck held out and we were able to cut around the storm and go in behind it. So now more boredom.

Meanwhile 80 miles to the northwest, the population of Panama City was getting pounded. Timing is everything.

It's gets very dark out on the Gulf during a moonless night and about all we saw was the occasional shrimp boat. But the stars light up brilliantly and on this dark night they were out in all their glory. The Milky Way looked like an image downloaded from the Hubble Space Telescope.

As we rounded Cape San Blas and made our way northwest toward Panama City things got a little crowded. We had never seen so many blips on the radar. Must have been 50 fishing boats anchored just off the Cape. It was about 4:00 am, tired and a little goofy from lack of sleep, we picked our way through. But again our luck held out and the next thing we saw was good old Sol coming up to start another day. We had timed this to happen just as we were about 10 miles from the sea buoy at Panama City... our timing was right on the money.

We had a couple of milestones on this last day in the Gulf. One being my 55th birthday but more importantly... Radar and Sadie both relieved themselves on the small patch of Astroturf on the aft deck. (now called the poop deck) Woo Hoo!!!

This is a big deal for boaters with dogs. Other folks will probably not understand.

But anyway....

We made the cut into St Andrews Bay, rounded the buoy into Grand Lagoon, then eased through the Baypoint marina channel to tie up. Our first long crossing was over.





It was one of those bitter sweet moments folks talk about. We were happy to be on Terra Firma and really looking forward to sleep but a bit sad because we knew our sea voyaging days had come to an end for a while. We had a cure for this....

At 7:00 am we hosed off the boat, mixed up the celebratory Bloody Mary, and lit my last Cuban cigar. We consumed all that, told a few stories, laughed a lot (from drinkin one of Mel's Bloodies at 7:00 am) and went to bed.


Bitter sweet moment over.



Happy days

Thank God for Dolphins

We think a good Gulf crossing is an uneventful one and at this point it's been a really good crossing. Not much to do out here... just point at Panama City and keep an eye out for any obstacles. We didn't alter course for well over 400 miles... so not many obstacles.

But when the Dolphins show up it's like old friends stopping by unexpectedly. We're always excited to see them and they actually seem to enjoy us also. They love to play and show off in our bow wave.
Mel likes to go out on the bow and play with them by waving and talking to them. They do play a lot more when she does and when she tires they leave.
It's kinda funny... but when we cruise by them and they're off in the distance they'll quickly sprint over to see us.

Then the show begins

I like it when they look me in the eyes... and they always seem to be smiling.

A few more Dolphin photos here

Happy days

Next up: Crossing the Gulf - Panama City: Day two

leaving Marathon-crossing the Gulf: Day One

As we motor under 7 Mile bridge at Marathon... This day is beautiful! The seas in Florida Bay are flat, the sun is shining, and it's gonna be a good run.

We do see a dark cloud on the horizon but it's downwind of us and shouldn't be a problem. But if you enlarge the photo above you will see the beginnings of a waterspout. Luckily it didn't develop.
Ole and Radar hangin out on the bow, soakin up rays, and havin a cigar.
And this is the way the day ended.

As the sun sinks into the Gulf we are anticipating a nice night. We are always a little apprehensive during the first few hours of night running. Getting our eyes acclimated, adjusting the electronics, and convincing ourselves that if it's not on the radar, it's not out there... takes a little while. But soon we gain our confidence and later we just become sleepy.

If you like sunset pics like we do click here

Happy days

Backtracking

We have finished a really nice and interesting leg of our long journey home. Ft. Lauderdale, to Miami, to Marathon, and finally Panama City. We weren't connected very often and we haven't done much posting. So as we are resting up in Panama City we will catch up on our blog.

A typical run out of Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale.

When we decide to get moving... we get moving. What took us almost a month to do on the way down to Ft. Lauderdale, we did in 4 days on our way back up to the Panhandle.

It was a good trip around the Keys and across the Gulf. The seas were flat for the most part, the sunrises and sunsets were beautiful, even a little weather drama toward the end to keep us awake on the long last night out.

This boat didn't make the cut at Port Everglades.

We left the yacht club on Saturday afternoon to make a short run to Miami. It's a day's cruise down Hawks Channel to Marathon so by leaving from Miami we will be able to arrive at Marathon Marina in the daylight. This way we can give the pups a couple of walks to get them ready for the long 50 hour Gulf crossing coming up.

Leaving Goverment cut in Miami at 0:dark:30; we turn the corner only to be forced to share the inlet with this huge cruise ship.

We stayed at Miami Marina. It's very expensive ($4.00 a foot) and very rolly. None of us cared for it much but because it is located on South Beach we thought we would find a good restaurant. We forgot it was Saturday night and we didn't have reservation anywhere. So it was a forgettable/early night/early start down to the Keys.

Next up: Leaving Marathon and crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

Can't believe we have internet

We are about 15 miles offshore west of Ft Myers. Can't upload pictures but it's a beautiful night so far.
We will be in Panama City Wednesday morning (my 55th birthday).... Wish us luck.


Happy days

Lauderdale Yacht Club

We moved from Bahia Mar over to the Yacht Club. Nice place LYC. Our friend Ole is a member and sponsored us in. LYC is an old and very prestigious yacht club not to mention a nice bunch of folks. We have enjoyed our stay here. Click here to learn about the Lauderdale Yacht Club

LYC's version of summer camp. Sailing Camp.
Melonie, Mason, and Karen in front of Istaboa
Two Taylor men on Istaboa's bow
Ole joined us later.

We have really enjoyed Mason's company. It was nice he was able to meet up with us here. We think he enjoyed Ft Lauderdale a lot.

Tomorrow we will leave Ft Lauderdale and head to Miami for a night. Ole is going to do the next leg of our trip. It will be nice having a third crew shift for the long crossing we are planning to do.

Down to Marathon then under 7 mile bridge and head for Panama City. The last leg will be about 500 miles and will take us two days or so to complete. Non-stop. The pups will not like this leg.

Happy days

Back in the land of the free (water that is)

Back at Bahia Mar (big and rich) Marina

We left West End yesterday at about 7:00 am and plowed through about 15 miles of 4' head seas. Not bad just sloppy. The plan was to head for Palm Beach but after doing the math we decided it would not only be a better ride but also more economical to head further south toward Ft Lauderdale. The Gulf Stream slowed us down a bit but we still made it in by 4:00. Even after waiting 30 minutes for a cruise ship to pass through Port Everglades and back in to dock, we made it to Bahia Mar by 5:00 pm.



We got tied up and was desalting the boat when our son Mason and a fellow from the Memphis office, Rob, walked up. They were in Miami on a project and the timing worked out just right. Good to see both of them. Mason is going to stay a few days with us.

As you can see in the above photo we all need hair cuts.
I think Radar is still looking for all the Sea Spray folks.

I got an email from our friends on "Duet". They had quite an adventure going home. Here is an excerpt from that email.

We had a pretty good trip, we ran nonstop to Charleston from Hopetown. It was flat calm most of the way, very little sea. We were about 200 miles offshore, which was new for us, but not that different from being 50 miles off frankly. We were planning for Beaufort or even Norfolk but the weather started to deteriorate and rather than arrive at Beaufort in 25-30 SW at 3AM (Beaufort as you probably know, faces SW and is unjettied) we turned for Charleston. We were out for about 60 hours, about 500 miles or so, one of our longer trips and good practice for the Caribbean.We love Charleston. Unfortunately, we got stuck there for 2 weeks (about 1 week too long as we needed to get north) due to Andrea. The conditions at City Marina during the storm were interesting. We were on the outside of the mega dock, at the very end, since we were leaving any time *smile*. During the height of the storm we had a 3 foot swell coming straight up the river, although it didn't blow much over 25. We bounced so much we chaffed right through a 3/4 braided dockline. The entire marina was undulating up and down, even on the inside. Fortunately, it only lasted 24 hours.The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We went outside around Cape Fear, not bad, 4 footers off the stern most of the way, and into Beaufort. ICW from there. Every time we go in the ICW we swear we will never do so again, and this trip was no different *smile*. Going south in the fall we are hoping to go around Hatteras into Beaufort.

Good to hear they are home and safe. Hope to run into them again next year.

Happy days

Blowin when we got here... Blowin when we leave

The effects of Tropical Storm Barry.

Winds were 30 to 40 and seas were 8 to 10 with some higher.

We are happy to be tied up at a marina.We walked out to Settlement Point to watch a fellow bring a Sport Fish boat through Indian cay channel.

Man... he got his hat handed to him... but he made it in OK

Later a fellow in a 32' sailboat called out on the radio asking for help getting into the marina channel. A tow?

No one answered...

You can't tell by these photos but the rollers into the marina channel were 6 to 8 and breaking. no one was going out there. Finally a captain from a boat here at the marina talked the guy into anchoring just onto the Bahama Bank behind a shoal. The sailboater would have never made the cut and and ended up on the rocks. He later called back to say he was safely anchored at Barracuda Shoal. That it was very rough but they were safe. Good decision.

This poor guy had his new wife onboard and they had been sailing through this stuff for two days. Great way to start a marriage. If she sticks with him through this... he better hold on to her.

Today will be the last day for us in the Bahamas. We have been tucked away at Old Bahama Bay for a few days and we are ready to get back home to the USA.
This trip has been like climbing a mountain... working like hell to get here, fighting the wind all the way, only to get to the peak, have a big time, and start working our way back down.
It has been worth every minute and every mile. Now it's time to head for home. We are sure this will be a trip also.

Happy days

Nice Pics

Our friends from Biloxi sent us these.

More art from the hurricane damaged treesBobby took this one on Cat Island just last week. Nice shot.

Too pretty not to post.

Ruh Ro!! Redux

Here we go again.

Glad we aren't crossing the Gulf today.

Runnin from the wind... into the wind

Spanish Cay was a much more enjoyable experience than before. The power worked, the wind was out of the east, and we actually walked around the island. The beaches are deserted and out on the flats you could see schools of Bonefish. I wish I would have taken my camera because we walked through a forest of overturned trees that were bleached out. Kinda like a horizontal silver forest. Picture the silver trees back lit by the white sand beach contrasted by the turquoise waters. That would have been the picture.
Left Spanish yesterday with a following sea. A nice run.
As we were passing Mangrove Cay I heard a British fellow making a distress call to Ocean Rescue Freeport. Then he asked for a radio check so I answered him. He asked if I would relay a call to Ocean Rescue. I tried but got no response. He told me he had a battery explosion and asked for my help. I asked if he was in danger and he replied no. I then asked if he was a sailboat and he replied, "yes, I am the black pirate ship anchored in the lee of Mangrove".
Well we are pretty considerate folks.... but when he said Pirate ship and my radar showed no one around us at all. He may as well have told us he was the guy with the TB super bug. Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent. He was a sailboat, he could sail. So we passed by Mangrove uneventfully

Turning to port at Memory Rock. Went from 12 feet to 900 feet in 30 seconds

Went to Memory Rock and hung a hard left. Then the nice following sea we had enjoyed all day turned into a nasty port quartering sea. About an hour and a half later we were sittin pretty at Old Bahama Bay.

All's well that ends well.

I told the folks at OBB about the Pirate boat in distress and asked if they could get in touch with Ocean Rescue Freeport. They just looked at me funny and nodded. Whatever that meant.

Looks like we will be here till Monday. Just noticed on my weather system there is a Tropical Depression down on the Yucatan Peninsula. Hope it stays there.

Happy days