Yesterday started off wonderfully with an early morning walk on the beach before work. It was eerily calm but thankfully not too hot. As the day progressed the wind slowly picked up and shifted to the Southeast. At first it was nice as it was keeping me cool, but as the wind increased it became very choppy. By late afternoon conditions had worsened to the point that we had no choice but to leave. Huge rollers were pounding into the boats and threatening to send us to shore. I quickly got everything ready to leave which only took about 5 minutes. Lucky for me I had no anchor to raise as I was rafted up to DJ’s boat He untied me and I was quickly off trying to power through the rollers. It was a bit scary as I was really hoping the engine would be able to keep up. Soon I was far enough away that although there were still huge waves it did not feel as threatening as I was far from shore. I watched through the binoculars as DJ worked really hard with the windlass to pull up all the chain and line.
A few minutes later we were pounding our way into the waves headed toward the ICW. There really was no other good place to anchor in Port St. Joe Bay given the wind direction. It was only about 4 miles to the ICW but it seemed to take forever as it was hard to make progress against the waves and current. It was very messy near the entrance to the ICW but I managed to make it in without incident. Just as I had predicted once I made it in – huge difference – although there was still a nice breeze it was all very peaceful.
The canal from the ICW to Port St. Joe is about 5 miles long and a couple hundred feet wide. The high banks are strewn with Cypress roots creeping downward, Cypress, palms and vines growing on the bank. Occasionally there were stretches of barren white sand. Birds were abundant and I could even hear them singing over the drone of the engine. Snowy egrets, heron, even blue jays. Brightly colored fishing buoys were spotted frequently near the banks and I had to be on the lookout not to get tangled in the occasional one that had drifted free. It was nice to run the autopilot. I stood perched on the companion way stairs with binoculars, a notebook, and huge glass of iced tea – just enjoying everything as I crept along at barely 5 m.p.h. The current was strong – making that my top speed. Still it was very pleasant and felt comfortable.
After departing the canal we headed east on the ICW for another two miles to White City Park. There is a very nice little free dock, with water, electric (the regular kind), lots of covered picnic tables and restrooms. There is even a nice little playground which Coleen would have very much enjoyed. Unfortunately cell service is poor to nonexistent. I had to hike a bit to find a signal. I’ve had to do that a few times today to check my work e-mail – but that’s not too bad. I grilled cheeseburgers for dinner and more strawberry shortcake. Unfortunately I didn’t feel all that well last night and still felt like I was rolling although it was actually quite still.
This morning an older gentlemen in a little golf cart stopped by to say hello. He lives in a houseboat down the river a bit. Said he moved there after losing his boat to Katrina in Louisiana. He offered a ride to the little – barely empty store where we replenished ice supplies. It’s pretty quiet here – except for the prisoner crew that has been working on the park grounds all morning J We saw alligators near the boats last night. So far there has been a very nice breeze and it’s not been too hot.
I have the day off tomorrow and am probably headed down the ICW a bit more. I am planning to take lots of time to make the 20 miles to Appalacola by Sunday. If all goes according to plan I’ll do the crossing next week – as I have 5 days off.
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January 2019
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