From Dog Island to Tarpon Springs

November 21 - We leave Port St. Joe Marina that we enjoyed so much, and follow the GIWW Eastward towards Apalachicola, then St George Sound to Dog Island near Carrabelle, where we anchor. We listen to the marine weather forecast, and determine that Monday and Tuesday opens up the best window for the 24 hours crossing to Tarpon Springs, under moderate North Easterly winds, thereby bypassing the "Big Bend" between the Panhandle, and South Western Florida. You see, the Big Bend, - although quite lovely according to the cruising guides - is very shallow, and we have this little problem with our 6' draft I mentioned previously, so we have to go for an offshore passage. That night, I’m glad we did not leave the relative protection of our anchorage on Saturday because we encounter a gale, with howling winds and pelting rain, a blow the Captain (who stayed up most of the night) estimates at Force 8 on the Beaufort Scale (35-40 knots of wind), stronger than what we had with Ida in Mobile...Fortunately the anchor holds, but we find in the morning that the outboard engine soft cover has disappeared during the night, a testimony to the force of the wind.

November 22 -The wind having abated, we take it easy, and dinghy to the shore to stroll the white sandy beach to gather cockles, whelks, conches and starfishes while watching little sandpipers chasing the receding waves. We are alone on the beach. Lovely day!

November 23 - We cast off early, take the East Pass out of the protection of the Sound, and sail the open Gulf at 5 knots under a cloudy sky and light North Easterlies. We have 140 miles to go from Dog Island to Tarpon Springs. It will be a long overnight ride! We mostly motor-sail all the way and arriving near our destination the next morning after an uneventful night, we have to keep watch for fields of small buoys marking crab pots, hundreds of them, red, blue, white, orange.... Better stay clear and not tangle our propeller.

Some pilot dolphins show up in front of the sailboat and show us the way to our final destination, the entrance to Anclote River and Tarpon Springs. What a treat! They were hard to photograph, but they put up a magnificent display of power, grace, fun and beauty.