Two Days on the Water

Friday, my lovely wife and I finally got back to our sailing adventure. We launched at Bayport Florida, a bit later that I wanted, but stuff happens. Winds were favorable but light. Later in the afternoon winds changed direction and hit us square on the bow. There was no help for it but to motor.

Even so, the last hour of travel was in the dark. Thanks to a depth gauge, GPS, and a chart ap on the phone, navigation went well. My lovely wife used our spotlight to pick out hazards along the way -mostly crab pots.

Our running lights failed but between a battery powered white light for the stern and the spotlight, we were not running dark. Once at anchor a quick inspection revealed it was only blown fuse, so that was an easy fix.

We anchored the boat at North Anclote Bar. The island provided protection from the worst of the wind and waves. Late at night another boat landed at the other end of the island. We were already in bed. They built a campfire and we could hear them talking. In the morning they were gone. My lovely wife discovered the coals were still warm so she built the fire back up. Nothing like breakfast next to a campfire.

Saturday proved to be damp and foggy. By one o'clock the fog had thinned considerably. Under good conditions it's only a two hour motor to Calidesi State Park. Rather than spend another night at the island, we motored out.

Of course, the fog settled in again. It's a weird feeling to have to rely completely on instruments. I like to see where I'm going. The fog was thin enough that we could see hazards in time, but too thick to be be able to see from one channel marker to the next.

Then the wind picked up, directly on our bow. Our 2 hour trip stretched out to 3.5 hours. We made it to the marina just before 5, and ahead of a thunderstorm. So here I am, at the marina pavilion, sipping hot coffee and blogging.

-Sixbears