Florida Keys: Park Hops & Tourist Stops

 

Walking along the beautiful shore in Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys, facing East along the Atlantic Ocean. A Looper friend influenced me to collect garbage on my walks. Try it! Walking with a purpose.

NAPLES

The Intracoastal route between Ft. Myers and Naples was too skinny for our boat. We had to slip out of the canal into the Gulf of Mexico. Our chosen day turned out to have no swell and fairly low waves of one to two feet. So, it was an uneventful three hour run.

This leg of the Loop found us in real ocean. We watched the forecasts carefully, timing our movement to acceptable wave heights. We quickly moved down the West Coast of Florida and and into The Keys.

Turning into Naples Bay, I was immediately taken with the opulent homes on both sides of the waterway. So many breathtaking homes! The big deal for us in Naples was staying for one night at our friend’s home (thank you Radzins!) and hosting our old college friend, Kevin Melton. At the Radzins’ we got twenty-four hours to relax and catch up. And did a ton of laundry. And, a huge grocery store run. We knew that grocery stores were going to be sparse in the coming month. 

KEY WEST, THE ATLANTIC MILESTONE

Our plan was to take Kevin with us to Key West for four nights—all weather dependent. Our first day was also out in the ocean for a long, seven-hour run. We anchored the first night in Everglades National Park. It turned out that it’s very shallow within the park, so through-boaters like us anchor at deeper holes near the outside edge. We were surrounded by mangroves off in the distance, which was nice, but frankly, we saw little of interest.(1) 

Mike checking in with a fellow Looper about the safe path into Everglades National Park. Shallow waterways!

The next day was also a long run, this time across the gulf to Marathon, Florida. We couldn’t see land for a few hours. We arrived about an hour before sunset which gave us plenty time to have dinner on shore(2) and rest up for a third long run day to Key West.

Considering the rough outer appearances, which was typical for Marathon, the inside was surprisingly fantastic. Talking about the restaurant here—not Mike and Kevin!

Our final long boating day with Kevin was pretty chill, in terms of the waves and wind. What a relief to finally make it, as planned, to Key West. It was exciting to see and place a foot (of the boat) into the Atlantic as we rounded the corner of Key West and then up and into the bay at the downtown tourist area. 

It was hard to put into words how I felt about hitting the Atlantic again. It was about the magnitude of the trip we’ve made. Pride? Amazement? Satisfaction?

We had just two days more with Kevin, so we filled most of our time chatting it up at great, diverse restaurants with drinks in hand. We also took a short, guided tour at The Little Whitehouse, where President Truman used to come during his administration in the 1960s to escape Washington D.C. summer heat.(3)

A first for Mike and Kevin: a bike ride togther! Our marina in Key West had rental bikes. 

I enjoyed simply walking the neighborhoods of Key West, ogling the unique homes. We noticed that here, houses were not on stilts like other parts of the waterways in the South. Homes were tightly packed together and a little smaller than in other Southern tourist towns. 

This lovely, yellow home in Key West was lit up at sunset.

This was one of the larger homes in Key West that I strode by. Also amazing were the imposing trees. Not sure what these were. 

In the dark, the exterior of many homes were completely lit up. So dramatic. 

 

Another charming and surprising aspect of Key West was the colorful roosters and hens that roamed the island. I think there were more roosters, hens and chicks than pigeons! 

And then as suddenly…as Kevin came into our lives…he was gone. He rented a car in Key West and drove to Miami Airport. We appreciated Kevin’s flexible schedule and willingness to endure long travel days with us. It’s really hard to bring guests because of the unknowns of weather and our ability to find a good marina or anchorage. The Looper saying was, “I can target a place or target a date, but not both.” 

BAHIA HONDA STATE PARK

At this point, we were ready to stage our crossing to The Bahamas. We spied some Looper friends at Bahia Honda State Park, so we joined them to wait out nasty winds. We whiled away the hours playing games, going to a community theatre(4) production, and went on some solid hikes. Even though they live far away in Vermont, I hope we get to cross paths with these Looper friends again.

We took some nice walks along the shore at Bahia Honda State Park. So good to stretch our legs when we’re stuck in a marina, waiting out heavy wind.

As expected in a state park, there were campsites. We noticed quite a few of these teardrop types of campers. We were surprised to see many empty primo sites that faced the Atlantic, right up to the beach.

I thought these white ibis birds were pretty cool to look at. You don’t get to see them in California. The dramatic backdrop wasn’t too bad, either.

This bridge with a bite out of it was the original Seven-Mile Bridge in the Keys. Bahia Honda SP ends at the land on the right side of the photo. A swing bridge was removed after the bridge was replaced, creating this hole. The bridge base was part of the original overseas railroad that Henry Flagler built. I learned about the drama behind its construction, maintenance and demise. Hundreds of men died building it. And it was untenable in the regular storms. 

Here was the view of the original car bridge from Bahia Honda. Notice how narrow it was! Imagine passing cars wizzing by from the opposite direction. It made me think about how many fewer people there were living and visiting the Keys in the early 1900s (and in the world, if you think about it). Today’s Seven-Mike bridge is on the right side of the picture. It had two lanes in each direction.

STAGING FOR THE CROSSING TO THE BAHAMAS

Our plan was to work our way up to Key Largo and then cross. A Looper we met at a second visit we made to Marathon organized a small flotilla(5) to cross together. We were a hodge-podge of boaters, but just fine for our purposes. 

The skippers of our flotilla met and shared their sources of information about the waves, wind and best places to go through customs. It looked like we needed to wait just a few days for the planets to align for our crossing.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) Everglades National Park was such a non-event that I can say it was merely a footnote. Because we arrived about an hour before sunset, we opted not to lower the dinghy and we never left the boat. The famous mangroves were a couple hundred of feet from us in the known anchorage.

(2) As soon as I stepped on the dock to tie us down, I immediately felt bugs biting. It turns out no-see-ums are a big issue for me. I really react to their bites and would encounter them just one more time—in Bimini, Bahamas. I’ve read that coconut oil repels them. I avoided walking around with bare legs in Marathon and Bimini around sunset, when they are out. I never had issues with no-see-ums on the boat.

(3) According to this website, President Truman traveled to Key West once via presidential yacht, the  Williamsburg. That was his last cruise to Key West. He got sea sick. Thereafter, he went by land or by plane to Key West. The tour guide told us that Truman had a personal piano transported by the presidential yacht. This piano sits in The Little Whitehouse today. I couldn’t verify this on the Internet, but it’s a fun story. You may like reading more about presidential yachts here. It seemed like a good way for Presidents to vacation or host important guests.

(4) I’ve never gone to any community theatre before. It certainly felt like a retired-person-thing-to-do in Marathon. Frankly, the theatre was tiny and kitschy, we may have been the youngest people in the audience—nothing wrong with that—and, we had great big laughs during the comedy we watched. The actresses were definitely senior citizens and amateurs, but the whole production was good enough to keep us occupied for one night in Marathon, Florida.

(5) A flotilla is a group of boats who agree to boat together. Typically, it’s to give each other support if there is an emergency. Flotillas also share information. We sort of did this as well when we crossed overnight from the Florida panhandle to Clearwater, Florida.  

Sponges, Fireworks, & Shuffleboard

 

We were tickled pink that we landed at an ideal, protected anchorage location at—that was empty too—right in front of downtown St. Petersberg. At night, the lights of the high-rise condos competed with color. 

OUR ROUTE THROUGH THE UPPER HALF OF WESTERN FLORIDA COAST

Sponges, Fireworks and Shuffle Board are an odd grouping, but sometimes oddities are what we’ve come to expect in the West Coast of Florida. We marched down the coast stopping at the small cities.

TARPON SPRINGS

We went to this outstanding seafood restaurant in Tarpon Springs. It was probably the best seafood meal we had on the whole Loop. A fun-loving waiter helps to ready Mike for a crab dinner. The place was packed and we were lucky to get a table for a large group of us Loopers.

Tarpon Springs was our first stop after the overnight crossing from the Florida Panhandle. We actually preferred to start our Florida trek further South in Tampa Bay, but we could not find any available transient slips in the Tampa Bay area. 

This area was hit hard by Hurricane Helene (September 2024). My impression was that either marinas were closed for rebuilding or were open and eager to have visitors, in spite of missing some conveniences such as a working pump out. By the time we arrived in December, Greek Town, the tourist area in Tarpon Springs, was open. We heard they had five feet of flood waters following the hurricane.There were shuttered store fronts, but that may have been unrelated to the hurricane. 

The history of Tarpon Springs was all about the sponge(1) business. A Greek immigrant recruited Greek sponge divers to Tarpon Springs to more efficiently ply the sponges. This changed Tarpon Springs to a hotbed of Greek culture. A local told us that “the Greeks own everything here.” 

This boat was laden with natural sponges. Our little slip was adjacent to the commercial sponge fleet.

Not far from Greek Town we admired a cluster of turn-of-the-century Queen Anne homes in the small inlet called Tarpon Spring. We spotted a gentle manatee with a local who lived in one of the homes across the street. As he waved to neighbors strolling by, he told us of the strong community in his small town. 

One of the stately turn-of-the-century homes along the inlet called Tarpon Spring.

CLEARWATER

Next, we put the brakes on Sacagawea in Clearwater. We planned to hold Sacagawea at this secure marina near Tampa airport. This enabled us to confidently leave Sacagawea and fly back to Tucson and San Diego to be with family for Christmas. 

After we returned, we stayed through New Year’s Eve to spend relaxed days with our game-playing Looper friends. Yes, we stayed up on New Year’s Eve because the fireworks went off at midnight. It was spectacular. It seemed important, somehow, to ring in the 2025 New Year. There will be a lot of changes for Mike and I (and perhaps the U.S. too?) in the next 12 months. 

We crossed Clearwater Bay to checkout Clearwater Beach. It was a hot day. And, it was December 30, during a tourist-heavy week. I never experienced a beach anywhere with so many people. My experience at California and Pacific Northwest beaches have been much more chill.

Our tourist stop in Clearwater was at the Ringling “Palace.” It was an art museum housed at the unique palatial home of one of the Ringling Circus brothers. We’ve seen a lot of European art, and to be frank, I would characterize the art as the B-side. 

The home’s style was “Venetian Gothic,” something like you’d see in Venice. Being in Florida it also employed a liberal use of pink.

One of the art pieces in the Ringling Museum. Mike and I were wondering why this was important for us to see.  

A part of the museum included refurbished circus wagons. They were colorful and imaginative like you might see on an old merry-go-round.

ST. PETERSBERG

Per usual, I had no idea what to expect from St. Petersberg, Florida, except for a gushing description from resident Looper friends. They couldn’t believe we were thinking of skipping “St. Pete.” So we planned a two-night stay in a protected anchorage and spent our time entirely with the gracious supervision of our friends. 

Our first stop in daylight was The Dali Museum. Our local friends loved it so much that they were museum members. We greatly enjoyed our afternoon there as well. 

Based on what I heard and have read, Dali struck me as a supremely confident man, who enjoyed challenging his viewers, and cultivated unlimited creativity. For example, Dali made a cool picture mosaic(2) of Abraham Lincoln in 1973. Like much of his celebrated art, it incorporated symbolism of life, death and love for his wife, Dala. Our tour group stared at this work for a while as our docent explained what made this large art work extraordinary. 

This was a close up view of Dali’s 8 x 6 feet “Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Homage to Rothko).”

At a further distance, our docent helped us to see the second way of viewing the art as, in fact, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

“Morphological Echo” reflected Dali’s common themes of dreams, psychoanalysis, memory, Dali’s estranged relationship with his father and Catholithism. Many of his paintings made commentary on current cultural or art-making norms. This painting was striking in its detail and regularity, which made us stop and look closer. Dali’s intention? Perhaps so!

Here, in their own niches, were a couple of large format paintings that required us to stand back, like these random visitors, and ponder the symbolism and detail. Everyone around us was clearly enjoying the show.

Ready for something completely different? Our friends were members of the local sports club. It was devoted to shuffleboard! 

What was the largest shuffleboard club in the world like?  

Here’s an old timey pic from circa 1930 on the club’s website. I can confirm it looks about the same today. 

Our friends gave us quick pointers and summarized the rules (like: don’t step on the slippery glass-beaded court!). We observed the smooth styles of our friends and the players on nearby courts around us. Mike successfully imitated their easy and balanced technique:

Even though Shuffleboard had a witty reputation associated with retirees, I admired that our friends decided to join. It was a St. Pete institution. And, no one there took it too seriously. It was easy to learn and, frankly, there was no expensive equipment required (looking at you, skiing) or specific dress (ahem, tennis). The casual competition was, dare I say, fun! 

All eyes were focused on my incredible form. Or so I thought. 

Here was the stadium seating for the world championships. We missed it by two weeks. 

We ended a lively day with a sunset drink at the third floor of the Pier, which was perched at the end of (surprise!) a pier. How it will survive hurricanes on its perch in the future, we couldn’t imagine. We enjoyed the colorful sunset with the rest of crowd. 

We didn’t have enough time to enjoy the loads of bars with live music. St. Pete is definitely a town we could imagine living in (like Charleston and Washington D.C.) that we enjoyed on the Loop. At the very least, we would like to visit it again.

SARASOTA, CAPE CORAL & FT. MYERS

We continued to ply our way down the shallow Intracoastal Waterway on the West coast of Florida. 

In Sarasota, I got to meet a second cousin and his wife for the first time. We shared stories at their favorite local seafood restaurant. Again, I loved meeting East Coast family along the Loop.

At Cape Coral, we anchored outside the large Westin hotel at Tarpon Point. We visited here about ten years ago with our son, A.J. It was fun to return in our very own boat and scoot around in our dinghy, admiring the homes along the manmade lagoon “streets.” 

Just spending the pretty afternoon in our dinghy cruising by a waterfront neighborhood in Tarpon Point/Cape Coral. 

Finally, we ended our Northern city hops at Ft. Myers. We had also been here before—about a year ago. Ft. Myers was hit hard by Hurricane Ian (September 2022) and hasn’t recovered. We walked around the town, which gave us creepy Atlantic City vibes. There were a lot of empty building lots (from torn down and removed buildings) and surprisingly expensive, empty parking lots. We had a couple nice drinks and meals, however, at a Margaritaville and a Doc Ford restaurant. I felt sympathy for the locals, but it seemed like there needs to be more in Mt. Myers than a beach to attract crowds of tourists. 

Pretty much everyday we see an old beached boat or two along the entire Loop. It always reminded me of the danger of storing boats in the water during hurricane season. In Ft. Myers we saw this boat near the center of the photo leaning against the roof of a building on a pier. A little unsettling that no one removed it after all this time. 

NEXT STOPS: NAPLES AND THE KEYS

We looked forward to our old college friend and next guest, Kevin Melton, for our trek down to Key West. I had been to the Keys a couple times. But never by boat.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) Sponges are actually animals—described as the most base of animals. If you wash with a natural (not manmade) sponge, you are using an antibacterial material. The maze of tubes and holes in sponges allow them to dry completely, making them an unfriendly medium for bacteria. 

(2) While there have been tile mosaics for thousands of years, Dali used a neural recognition approach in 1973 (riffing on Leon Harmon’s work) using very large mosaic squares which force the viewer to stand dozens of feet back to see the whole picture. His use of mosaics this way was revolutionary. There are automated tools now for you to make a photo mosaic of your own. 

Gulf-ing from Alabama to Florida

Me, on the starboard side, with a familiar view, going down a lock, for the last time. One hundred and ten locks, done and dusted. 

THIS LEG

The bottom of the Tennessee-Tombigbee River was full of twists and turns. Around and around we went from one anchorage to the next. It’s hard to tell from the scale of this map, but we entered the protected salt water of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway just East of Mobile Bay. The last part of this leg was a 170 mile crossing that we accomplished in 17 hours!

BOTTOM OF THE TENN-TOM RIVER

At the bottom of the inland fresh waterways, America’s Great Loop funneled all Loopers down the Tennessee-Tombigbee River (“the Tenn-Tom”). There were no side trips. While we saw many public boat ramps for recreational fishing boats(1), there were few marinas along this rural byway. There were fewer pines and more straight oaks. A bit of Spanish Moss clung to certain trees. 

At this point, we were buddying up with another Looper-friend boat. One of us would drop the anchor in a known good anchorage spot, and the other boat would raft to the anchored boat. In the evenings we played games, taking turns at hosting. We were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of our little anchorages. Based on the dictionary definition, I would describe them as bayous: creeks off The Tenn-Tom. 

On the Tennessee-Tombigbee River between Demopolis and Mobile, Alabama. Mike’s drone took this while we were moving.  

Not all the bayous were slow-moving. While anchored at one creek, we experienced a crazy two MPH current. Out the window we saw mats of floating water hyacinth (my guess) moving past us, giving us the illusion that we were moving.(2) 

Those days moved by in a flash because they became routine. Awake and pulled anchor. Cruised by rural country for four or five hours, anchored. Dinner. Games. Bed. 

TRANSITION TO SALTY OCEAN WATER

Huge milestone: We went through our very last lock on this leg! Mike counted 110 locks on our entire Loop.(3) Locks were amazing feats of engineering. As we entered each and every one we were awed by the manpower that went into the planning, design, and maintenance of these extra large bathtubs. The patience that the professionals who operated the locks lended us—as well as the tug boat captains—made for a positive experience. 

It was clear that these locks made massive changes to the environment that needed to be mitigated. I think the next generation will figure out solutions to restore health to these waterways. 

As we passed out of the last lock we immediately experienced changes in the environment. We saw sandy banks. And palmettos. As we inched closer to Mobile Bay, Alabama, the air became more briny. We spotted an alligator and noticed more pelicans.

Hey, Mr. Alligator! It was easy to spot this one sunning in the lower Tenn-Tom near our anchorage one day. It’s the white/black cylinder on the bank in the middle of the photo.

We had this bayou all to ourselves in mid-November. Okatuppa Creek, off the Tenn-Tom.

The Tenn-Tom dumps out into Mobile Bay. Mobile Bay was much bigger than I had imagined at about ten miles across and thirty miles long. 

As we drew closer to the Northern tip via a deep-enough, man-made channel, we saw evidence of the importance of this port. Lots of huge cargo ships were being loaded, unloaded and sped off via our channel to parts unknown. Since this was a large bay we experienced the first bumpy water since Lake Michigan. When we stopped at a rough and tumble marina that night we saw salt crystals formed from the day’s sea spray on Sacagawea’s deck once again.

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

At the bottom of Mobile Bay we turned East, into the Gulf ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). I think no one gets tired of seeing dolphins. These bow riders escorted us into the Gulf ICW:

Our first stop was at a super-new and pleasant marina. It had been a while since we felt pampered at a marina! It was at The Wharf, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Pleasant = new, wide docks, modern, clean shower rooms and a shopping center with multiple upscale restaurants. I even got my teeth conveniently cleaned at a dentist office while there. Amazing. 

These days, I sure appreciate these small conveniences and niceties. We stayed about two weeks here because we left Sacagawea for a week over Thanksgiving.

One especially memorable day at Gulf Shores, Alabama, we got out on our folding bikes and spent a long day in Gulf State Park. We stopped to capture this lovely short stretch of an elevated boardwalk across a lagoon. It was a perfect day with the sun, pleasant temps and easy-on-the eyes nature. I asked my sisters over Thanksgiving if they would be willing to return here someday for some shell collecting and a hotel stay with me. “Yes,” they said. Happy dance.

For Thanksgiving we visited Beaverton, Oregon for a five-day visit with resident and out-of-town family. So many of us converged in one place this year. (Miss you, those who couldn’t join us. XO!) 

As we continued East we stayed in downtown Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola was better known for the being the home of the Blue Angels. There were many other active bases in the area and they seemed to sustain the local economy. The Blue Angels whizzed around while we were cruising and visiting the vibrant National Naval Aviation Museum. 

At the entrance of the museum was this A-1 Triad 1911 replica (see video below). Our engaging, retired test pilot/tour guide pointed out that the A-1 Triad was a test plane—and a seaplane. As it spins in the video below, note the retractable landing gear. Surprising for one of the earliest planes, I thought.

Our tour guide was pointing to the NC-4 biplane over his shoulder from 1919. I hope you can see the enormous scale of this early seaplane. It was 68 feet long with a 126 foot wing span! It was first plane to fly across the Atlantic (with stops). I can’t imagine taking that dangerous ride—but what an inspiring milestone in the history of aviation.

Fast forwarding to the 1970s, this helicopter was used by Presidents Nixon and Ford. I weakly imitated Nixon’s famous two-handed victory sign before boarding. 

There were so many planes, helicopters and jets at the museum, it was a little dizzying (and repetitive). What I found striking was the speed of technology change on display. What people have accomplished in 100 years made me wonder what will be accomplished still in my lifetime. Flying taxis, practical hydrofoil jet skis, and environmentally gentle electric airplanes?

Here was a typical downtown building in Pensacola. Do you see in it a little bit of New Orleans and Charleston, like I did? We found Pensacola charming. Its history as one of the first conquistador towns was interesting as well.

STAGING FOR OUR LONGEST OPEN WATER CROSSING

Here was the interesting view—flora unlike any we had seen—along the Gulf ICW between Pensacola and Apalachicola: 

When we returned from Thanksgiving, we continued our trip East, and began to stage our crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. While it didn’t look like much on a map, it was going to be our longest nonstop crossing to complete on The Loop.(4) 

We resumed our trek with our card-playing Looper friends, picking a few anchorages and visiting the old Florida towns(5) of Port St. John, Appalachicola and Carribelle.

Here was a typical looking building in downtown Apalachicola. We stopped for a few hours and took a walk to…

…the local Piggly Wiggly! It was fun to say and interesting to shop at for groceries. Also notice the price for gas: $2.78 a gallon! It was like being in a country with a different currency. 

A sure “sign” that you’re in a Gulf Piggly Wiggly—the FISH FRY isle. 

You can find industrial-sized “Liquid Boil” seasoning and countless brands of cornmeal/flour dredging mixes.  

Maybe, or not, surprising was the tea aisle. It was full of iced tea bags. I did not know that some teas were marketed just for iced tea. Incidentally, we could find neither decaffeinated coffee nor tea at the Piggly Wiggly. 

By this day, the waves were still too big in the Gulf of Mexico for our crossing to West coast of Florida. But we had a good idea of a day coming up when the waves would be minimal. So, we continued to a multi-day stay in Carrabelle. Here was what it was like to arrive in Carrabelle (five minutes fast forwarded to a few seconds):

We had the good luck to arrive on the day of their annual Christmas boat parade. It was followed by a spectacular (Christmas?!) fireworks show. I found Carrabelle a little rough around the edges. Admittedly, I only saw the waterfront village. I was eager to leave and start the next leg. Let’s get into it!

CROSSING THE GULF OF MEXICO

With just one extra day in Carrabelle we had a good crossing day in sight. It seemed that crossing plans and strategies was all the Loopers could talk about in Carrabelle.(6) Since crossing days happened about once every one to two weeks, there were usually a flotilla of Looper boats that crossed together. 

The crossing would take about seventeen hours. Boats target to arrive after 10:00 a.m. in order to avoid a strong East-facing sun glare on the water. So it’s a mostly nighttime crossing.(7)  

I found solace in Mike’s thoughtful but also cool-as-a-cucumber approach to the crossing. He told me he was just eager to complete it. I, on the other hand, had been dreading it since I learned about it five years ago. I get sea sick. We wouldn’t be able to see anything because most of the trip is at night. I have trouble staying awake all night under normal circumstances. We wouldn’t have Starlink or cell coverage, for Christ’s sake. 

But also, I had always wanted to see all the stars from the open ocean. It’s a manageable, good challenge for me. I wasn’t alone. We had our buddy boat. I had Mike. 

Here was the view from our staging anchorage, close to Carrabelle, inside of a barrier island called Dog Island. 

We thought we’d stop here and take a nap before heading into the great unknown. However, the beach looked like sugar and was so inviting that we took a dinghy ride in and walked around.

Footsteps, not our own, on Dog Island. Last walk on land for a while!

We departed our Dog Island anchorage at 4:00 p.m. We decided that starting at 10:00 p.m. we would switch off ant the helm every two hours. I took the first shift. 

As they say, spirits were high. Click here—> This is how it felt.

Excited to make it happen! Underway, happy and wide awake at sunset, behind us. Mike put up some modest Christmas lights. That’s what’s hanging from the ceiling. At this point we could not see land.

The sun. Going, going, gone. Waves were from the Northeast, as expected. One to two foot chop. As expected.

Darkness fell slowly and steadily. Mike adjusted the instruments to be readable in the dark. The cloud cover increased. We realized we would not see a meaningful amount of stars.

I was feeling completely fine—no sea sickness while using my Relief Band and Dramamine. I was not drowsy.

Mike, in the glow of our instruments. Probably looking forward to his first nap!

About an hour after moonrise I saw the glow that moonshine made on the water. It was just like sunshine streaming through a hole in the clouds. All color was gone from our surroundings. Outside it was cool, but we were comfortable in the wrap-around of our flybridge.

When we started our shifts I was fine just listening to podcasts. On my second shift I alternated between standing and sitting for ten minutes each. In the wee hours, Sacagawea and our buddy boat became enveloped in fog. Technically, it was no different than being in the dark. But I no longer saw the comforting running lights of our buddy boat behind us in the fog. 

The fog persisted even as the day began to glow and the blue ocean color returned. It was important to have good visibility in order to see commercial crab pot buoys. Some crab pots were miles from shore.  

We reached the dredged canal entrance to the Clearwater, Florida area in one piece. Yes, we were tired but needed to stay sharp in the morning fog, avoiding crab pots. We ended up in a small marina in Tarpon Springs. 

Like the locks, this challenging aspect of The Great Loop was done and dusted. I think I got the best sleep of my life in that marina.

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) So many of the most basic types of boat ramps! The boats we saw were almost entirely bass boats.

(2) Current reinforces the need for a solid hold. Our anchorage in one bayou turned out to be soft mud, so it took three tries, increasing the scope each time, to get our anchor to stick. On the third try, we dragged anchor when we used two engines in reverse, even though we used a hefty seven to one scope. But we didn’t drag with one engine in gear. We decided this set would be good enough and we would keep an eye on it while it was still light out. 

By morning, we seemed to have stay put. A hyacinth mat about six feet wide wrapped around our anchor line. It came off as we winched the anchor up.

(3) We plan to run down the West Coast of Florida, around the Keys. If we have a poor weather window for this we’ll duck into the Okeechobee Canal. It has five locks. Imagine this: five locks hold back the great Gulf of Mexico and the mighty Atlantic Ocean. This is unlikely because there was a recent issue in the Okeechobee Canal, blocking recreational traffic.

(4) Loopers watched the weather predictions closely and compared strategies about when they leave the Carribelle, Florida area and their target on the West coast of Florida. They can go the long way, making many, multi-day hops around the “big bend” area. Or, go mostly straight across to a town near Tampa Bay. 

(5) “Old Florida” is term we saw to describe the Florida towns that were established before 1825. They have nothing to do the touristy lure of the fun and games of Orlando or Miami. 

(6) Strategies we discussed where: When to leave—and what time do we want to arrive? How fast should we go? Should we go in a straight line or do we travel on a curved path? Etcetera and ad nauseam. All these factors varied by boat. And, it varied depending on the predicted direction of the waves (avoiding taking them straight on or abeam). Also, Looper boats have varied comfortable cruising speeds. Many Loop boats traveled at 7-8 MPH. Sacagawea liked 9.5 MPH.

(7) I wore my Relief Band, which I wrote about before, for the entire crossing. I also took a non-drowsy Dramamine an hour before we left. These worked perfectly for me.