Ship’s Log: Days 46-50
October 25 - 29, 1999
Monday, Oct. 25
(A week after the last entry)
It was good to have spent the past week at home in Jacksonville. I arrived just in time to experience the edge of Hurricane Irene passing by Jax on Saturday night, October 16. It rained a great deal, and we had some wind gusts to over 50-mph but no real damage. The rest of the week I spent catching up on things at home and sleeping in a real bed.
Today, I left Jax early and drove the rental car back to Pensacola. Ron Berry and Hank Freeman, both from Kansas City and crew for the next week, arrived by plane in Mobile and rented a car to drive to Pensacola. I met them at the rental car agency at the airport, they turned their car in and we drove to Perdido Key and Telesis. We found her safe in her slip at the Perdido Key Oyster Bar Marina. We unloaded personal gear, had lunch and then went to purchase provisions. We put the provisions on board and I left to turn in my rental car. Hank and Ron stayed aboard to begin stowing gear.
When I returned, we had a special treat. A brand new 82 (length in feet) class Coast Guard Cutter, Hawksbill, was at the marina dock and her crew offered us a private tour. They had just picked her up from the manufacturer in Louisiana and were on a shake down cruise. They plan to take here from Pensacola to Key West, Cayman Islands, Cazumel, through the Panama Canal, San Cabos, Alcapulco, San Diego and finally to their duty station at Monterey. Where do I sign up!!! The tour was very interesting and the crew very excited about their boat and jobs.
Later, we finished stowing gear and went to bed early after a light dinner aboard. We were all tired after our early morning travels.
Coast Guard cutter Hawksbill, Pensacola, FL.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
We were up early, ate breakfast, then got ready to depart. We topped off the water tank, installed a man-overboard pole, a radar reflector, launched the dinghy and departed the marina at 8:30 A.M. Winds were light and variable on this sunny but cool day so we motored east along the Intracoastal Waterway passing through Pensacola Bay, Santa Rosa Sound and into Coctawatchee Bay near Destin, FL. Mid-morning the old Atomic 4 engine had to get Hank’s and Ron’s attention by shutting itself down twice, the second time just as we were about to enter a tight narrow cut with other boat traffic. We raised sail, I put on a new fuel filter, adjusted the fuel system, and it ran fine thereafter, but Hank and Ron were a bit unsettled. I explained that the engine was just jealous because I had been gone a week and brought new people aboard and it wanted some attention. We anchored at 5:30 P.M. (17:30 hrs per Hank) in the mouth of Cinco Bayou near a yacht club just north of Destin. We had covered about 52 statute miles. We tried to sail and motor sail several times but with little luck. It was a day of motoring.
Here I need to correct myself from an earlier posting of Thursday, October 14. The Intracoastal Waterway is in statute miles, while ocean charts are in nautical miles, so I will be using both depending which waters I am traveling. Inside is statute while outside is nautical.
Early in the day while on Pensacola Bay, the Navy’s Blue Angles flying team practiced directly overhead of us. We had a private air show for over an hour! After that, Navy helicopters buzzed about us on training missions over the water. Once the Blue Angles were out of the sky, the Navy training planes were everywhere.
We dinned aboard on salad, roasted pork loin and vegetables topped off with red wine. I know my way around the galley and Ron is known for his culinary abilities, so we are going to eat well this week.
Another great day of travel aboard Telesis.
Hank Freeman relaxes as Ron Berry steers Telesis in the gulf off Destin, FL.
Wednesday, Oct. 27
We ate breakfast aboard and were underway by 7:30 A.M. It was again unseasonable cool, low 50’s at night, low 70’s in the day and sunny, just great weather. We went directly to a marina in Destin Harbor and added 16.6 gallons of gasoline and bought ice. By 8:45 A.M. we were underway again headed out to the Gulf of Mexico through the Choctawhatchee Bay Entrance. Very quickly we had Telesis in the open waters of the gulf, her first time to be outside in real ocean waters! We headed directly for the entrance at Panama City Florida. The winds were favorable for a time and we were able to sail about three hours on a close reach, making good 6 knots most of the time. Mid-day, the wind dumped out and we again motored towards Panama City. We used the GPS and self-steering most of the day and it worked great, putting us right at the entrance of the marked channel into St. Andrew Bay. We motored on through Panama City and took an anchorage in Pitts Bayou in a residential area just west of Highway 98 Bridge, having made some 55 nautical miles on the day. We were in front of a restaurant with homes all about. Again we dined on board with baked chicken “a lá Ron,” baked potatoes and greens I brought from Jax that Nancy had cooked.
Yesterday, the Navy provided the air show. Today, the Air Force out of Elgin AFB provided the show. Tanker planes flew overhead with all types of other planes approaching them in what we presumed to be training approaches because they never hooked up to actually refuel. We saw planes big and small, bombers, fighters including stealth fighters, etc. Sometimes we saw as many as a dozen in formations in the sky. The Navy did make up an appearance as a minesweeper, No. 62, the USS Shark, I think, asked us to vary our course so as not to interfere with their training mission. We acknowledged their request with little discussion.
It was a great day on the water and Telesis has now had the deep blue water of the Gulf of Mexico under her keel. She’s been “outside.”
Thursday, Oct. 28
We were underway at first light. We were headed east on the Intracoastal Waterway in narrow rivers, canals and shallow, small bays. It would be a day of motoring in very calm waters. It was mild in the morning and being so far inland it promised to get warm during the day. As Ron and Hank piloted Telesis, I prepared breakfast underway. We had bacon and vegetable omelets. We passed through no significant towns or cities and saw very little development. This area is called the Nature Coast of Florida and it is low and swampy with most water very shallow.
At 5:00 P.M. we arrived in Apalachicola, a small town on the Apalachicola River. We took a slip at the Apalachiola River Inn and Restaurant having made 50 nautical miles per the GPS (60 statute miles). We declared it Hank’s turn to cook, so we went to Boss’ Oyster House and Hank treated Ron and I to some of the best oysters in the world. Apalachicola oysters are top rated, a well-deserved reputation. We had them raw nude, raw with seasonings, steamed, baked and in stew.
During the late afternoon and evening we discussed the prospects of crossing the Gulf of Mexico with other boaters at the Inn. From here it is necessary to go outside, as there is no protected Intracoastal Waterway between here and nearly Tampa. Three trawlers had departed this morning and returned after venturing out about seven miles and encountering very rough and confused seas. The wind has blown from the east several days and the long fetch across the gulf combined with the shallow waters has piled up five to seven foot waves only six seconds apart. Boaters with more experience than any of us aboard Telesis advised we stay put the next day to see what the gulf was up to. The forecast was for more easterly winds and steep seas of seven feet.
Before retiring we decided to stay in port and so some boat work on Friday.
A fishing boat with character in Apalachicola, FL.
Friday, Oct. 29
We ventured into town about 8:00 A.M. to look about. Downtown is only about three blocks away. It is an older city, the product of boom times before the Civil War. It was both a cotton port and sponge center in the early 1800’s. As railroads were built and the cotton trade changed after the Civil War, the town withered until the 1900’s when oysters, shrimp and fish became an important industry. Today it is an active, yet small, fishing village with some tourism based on its history. It reminded me of Hermann, MO. The first weekend in November each year they have the north gulf coast’s oldest seafood festival, which is a big deal in these parts.
We ate breakfast at a small deli/café and then found a maritime hardware store. Hank and I returned to Telesis and began to reinforce the port plywood bulkhead and chain plates with aluminum plates I had on board for that purpose. The plywood bulkheads on the Newport 30 are a weakness of the design. Several years ago I reinforced the starboard bulkhead and the port side now needed attention. I returned to the maritime hardware store for proper size fittings and stainless steel bolts. We spent the late morning and early afternoon completing the work. Ron returned to town in search of a cookbook with local recipes. He claims that such books from distant locals gain him special, intimate favors when presented to his companion, Penny Evans.
During the afternoon we gathered with other waiting boaters at the local waterfront bar when it opened at 4:00 P.M. to view the Weather Channel forecast and NOAA sea predictions. It was not good as the east winds were expected to continue although somewhat lighter for a period of time then building again on Sunday and there was a tropical depression building off Central America. It was sure to get worse after the weekend. Veteran boaters talked of waiting a week or more for the weather to provide a safe crossing. They tell me these are the most difficult sea conditions I’m likely to face during the trip.
Hank, Ron and I decided to leave in the morning. We would venture outside and test the sea conditions. If we determined it too rough, we would return to the safety of the bays. Our point of no return would be four hours, once out four hours, we would continue on to complete the crossing, about 140 nautical miles taking some 28 hours total.
For dinner, Ron purchased fresh shrimp from a nearby processor and fixed a shrimp boil with potatoes and corn on the cob. YUM!
The Inn had a blues band on the patio bar and we went up and listened to a couple of sets and had a couple of drinks, then returned to Telesis for the night.