Last couple of Photos end of the road !

Hi F and F, 

So the boat is now over in Juptiper under the care of Dave J our boat dealer. 

We left last Friday and headed south via the Intracoastal to Venice .

After deciding it was too slow inside  , we headed outside at Venice into the open Gulf on to Boca Grande and ended the day with a wonderful dinner at PJ Seafood Restaurant there.

Next day onto Fort Myers via Intracoastal including the miserable mile .It was a slow and go affair with more boats on the water than we have experienced the whole journey south this year.We caught up with Lisa and Tom at Legacy Harbor Marina .They had just complete their Loop .Went out to their local favorite pizza place called Capone's  to celebrate.The third day up early to take the long 10 hour journey across the Lake Okeechobee  and on to Stuart. We had crossed from the East to West coast of Florida.Five locks to encounter in total, three before the lake and two after but they were all easy and no waiting except the last one. Once we arrived at the Sunset Bay Marina , we headed off to eat and were revived by another good dinner at Sailors Return , the on site restaurant.It had been a long day, and we just made it through the last lock at 4.30 pm ( closing time ) thanks to the help of a boat delivering guy who passed us at speed on the Lake and knew the program! Previously we had always stopped at Clewiston for a night, which gives you plenty of time to do this part of the journey. Last morning, we headed to Blowing Rock Marina in Jupiter, where the boat now sits, getting ready for its new owners, hopefully! 

Final two photos.

Last Over and Out, 

E and G.

Last couple of Photos end of the road !

Hi F and F, 

So the boat is now over in Juptiper under the care of Dave J our boat dealer. 

We left last Friday and headed south via the Intracoastal to Venice .

After deciding it was too slow inside  , we headed outside at Venice into the open Gulf on to Boca Grande and ended the day with a wonderful dinner at PJ Seafood Restaurant there.

Next day onto Fort Myers via Intracoastal including the miserable mile .It was a slow and go affair with more boats on the water than we have experienced the whole journey south this year.We caught up with Lisa and Tom at Legacy Harbor Marina .They had just complete their Loop .Went out to their local favorite pizza place called Capone's  to celebrate.The third day up early to take the long 10 hour journey across the Lake Okeechobee  and on to Stuart. We had crossed from the East to West coast of Florida.Five locks to encounter in total, three before the lake and two after but they were all easy and no waiting except the last one. Once we arrived at the Sunset Bay Marina , we headed off to eat and were revived by another good dinner at Sailors Return , the on site restaurant.It had been a long day, and we just made it through the last lock at 4.30 pm ( closing time ) thanks to the help of a boat delivering guy who passed us at speed on the Lake and knew the program! Previously we had always stopped at Clewiston for a night, which gives you plenty of time to do this part of the journey. Last morning, we headed to Blowing Rock Marina in Jupiter, where the boat now sits, getting ready for its new owners, hopefully! 

Final two photos.

Last Over and Out, 

E and G.

Sarasota End of the Great Loop

Hi Fand F,

Again a nice late start to arrive around mid afternoon at Marina Jacks in Sarasota.Before we left ,we visited the St Petersburg YC inside and indeed it is a lovely yacht club with nice dining facilities. Perhaps we will go back there some time by car and try it out. We left in sun and cloud and humidity again going through the intercostal .When we hit the tip of AnnaMarie Island around 1.30 pm we realized  technically this was the place where we could actually say we crossed our wake.

Saw some dolphins on the way , not a lot of boat traffic. Well marked buoys and some quite close together.

Arrived at Marina Jacks and quickly fueled up and got to our slip G 15 which we suspect is the same slip we had back in January 2012. Shortly after that we had our Haddington Cove neighbors /friends arrive on the scene, just as there was an enormous down pour of rain!

Not deterred,  they came down to Lady Erica bearing balloons , wine and food and we had a party to celebrate our arrival.

Champagne toast and 18 of us all fitting inside the boat catching up and enjoying the part. Unfortunately we couldn't use the outside cockpit area (it was so hot and humid) The party went on for 2 1/2 hours and then we got a ride back to our home with Leslie and Bob, one of our neighbors.

Erica holding the CYC flag (burgee) , our home port in Maryland  and Graeme the Loopers Flag.

We realized we had taken four years to do this whole Great Loop! We had not intended originally to do so, but it has been a wonderful adventure. And we are happy we have now completed it.We covered all the North and Souh East coast plus the Bahamas ; Abacos , Eleuthera and the Exhumas and Canada including Nova Scotia ,Bras D'Or lakes,  Prince Edward Island ,  and St Lawrence Seaway.

Highlights? Too many to name .It has been wonderful , and we have met many friends old and new along the way .On the occasions when we had good friends and family join us for parts of the journey it has been great fun.Having Erica's brother and sister in law on board this year was also a special treat.

The boat will be here on the West Coast for a short while , then we will take her over to the East Coast where sadly she will be put up for sale. It's time for a change for Erica and Graeme ,but we sure have had a great Sabre ride!

Over and Out, 

E and G

Sarasota End of the Great Loop

Hi Fand F,

Again a nice late start to arrive around mid afternoon at Marina Jacks in Sarasota.Before we left ,we visited the St Petersburg YC inside and indeed it is a lovely yacht club with nice dining facilities. Perhaps we will go back there some time by car and try it out. We left in sun and cloud and humidity again going through the intercostal .When we hit the tip of AnnaMarie Island around 1.30 pm we realized  technically this was the place where we could actually say we crossed our wake.

Saw some dolphins on the way , not a lot of boat traffic. Well marked buoys and some quite close together.

Arrived at Marina Jacks and quickly fueled up and got to our slip G 15 which we suspect is the same slip we had back in January 2012. Shortly after that we had our Haddington Cove neighbors /friends arrive on the scene, just as there was an enormous down pour of rain!

Not deterred,  they came down to Lady Erica bearing balloons , wine and food and we had a party to celebrate our arrival.

Champagne toast and 18 of us all fitting inside the boat catching up and enjoying the part. Unfortunately we couldn't use the outside cockpit area (it was so hot and humid) The party went on for 2 1/2 hours and then we got a ride back to our home with Leslie and Bob, one of our neighbors.

Erica holding the CYC flag (burgee) , our home port in Maryland  and Graeme the Loopers Flag.

We realized we had taken four years to do this whole Great Loop! We had not intended originally to do so, but it has been a wonderful adventure. And we are happy we have now completed it.We covered all the North and Souh East coast plus the Bahamas ; Abacos , Eleuthera and the Exhumas and Canada including Nova Scotia ,Bras D'Or lakes,  Prince Edward Island ,  and St Lawrence Seaway.

Highlights? Too many to name .It has been wonderful , and we have met many friends old and new along the way .On the occasions when we had good friends and family join us for parts of the journey it has been great fun.Having Erica's brother and sister in law on board this year was also a special treat.

The boat will be here on the West Coast for a short while , then we will take her over to the East Coast where sadly she will be put up for sale. It's time for a change for Erica and Graeme ,but we sure have had a great Sabre ride!

Over and Out, 

E and G

Last stop before home, St Petersburg

Hi F and F, 

Had a leisurely start and left just after lunch.It was very humid and overcast .Graeme had managed to secure us a spot at the St Petersburg Yacht club using our club resiprosity.

The journey took just three hours going through the intercostal. Several no wake zones and fishing boats so we were down to 6 knots for a lot of the way. Passed Clearwater, Bellair Shores and Indian Shores .Its fairly similar to traveling and scenery to the East Coast of Florida .Around 2.30 pm we saw the skies darken and lots of lightening in the distance.

 We were able to outrun the storm as we had to turn back in a northerly direction to get into St Petes harbor. John the attentive dock master was there to greet us when we arrived, and he expertly tied us up.Then the rain came down in buckets ,another just in time moment.

Later John came back with two packs of sweet goodies from the YC as a gift to us.A nice touch.

Normally the club is closed Monday so we were no going  to be able to try out the Yacht club dining.

But as we had friends Elizabeth and Chuck from Tampa coming over for drinks it wasn't a problem.They had booked a very nice restaurant called Birchwood in the area.

They came for drinks first on Lady Erica , then we went by car to the restaurant.

St Petersburg is a wonderful little to that seems to be growing by the minute!

More and more high rise apartments are going up.

Erica thinks it would be a wonderful place to live, especially if could overlook the harbor area you have a little boat in the harbor . 

Over and Out, 

E and G

The big trip across the Gulf to Dunedin

H F and F,

This is to be our longest journey by water in one day,  about 160 nautical miles . Remember our trip to the Bahamas was only 90 nautical miles across. So another early start and Betsy Marie and Lady Erica left their slips at 7am , just before sunrise, and headed out into the Gulf waters.Within 15 minutes the sun was staring to rise .A pretty picture to start this big trip.A couple of dolphins rode out also as we exited Carabelle harbor.

Seas were 1 to 1and 1/2 ft  with some 2 ft and easterly winds. NE had been predicted and only 1 ft seas but this was not the case.

We had been hoping for a more northerly aspect so we would have following seas . Now it was more of a beem sea, i.e. waves hitting the side of the boat 

We had set the course and chose to both run at around 15 knots. It was rather rocky and rolly for the first five hours but not too bad so we were able to maintain that speed for most of the way . After the initial first two hours Graeme and Erica alternated the driving , doing one hour each. This worked well as one could rest or read while the other kept a lookout and drove the boat.

Graeme saw a pod of about 15 to 20 small Dolphins at some point and we both saw flying fish.

Apart from that there was no water traffic apart from one sailing catamaran going in the other direction The sea started to change in the last four hours and it became quite calm.A real treat. Sun was getting hot but not in our faces as we had at the star of the journey.

We kept in radio communication with Lisa and Tom, a good idea to keep us alert. Finally came back into the intercostal just before Dunedin ( near Clearwater ) after 10 hours.

Being a Sunday there was a lot of boat traffic of fishing boats and jet skies just inside the inlet were zipping all over the place .A slow 45 mins brought us into the Marker 1 Marina around 5.45 pm. We fuelled up then both of us side tied at the long transient dock.Erica headed off to the office just in time before they shut for the evening , signed in and picked up a nice welcome package from Jill. Began to recognize this Marina was where Helen and Bob picked up there 2nd hand Sabre boat from here earlier this year.

We also saw two brand new Sabre 42 's ,( hull no 126 and 128 ) as well as a new Back Cove at this Marina.We bought our first Sabre 40( now called 42) of the same design back in 2009 and we were hull number 3!

Time to wash down the boats while it was still light . Lots of salt from this trip on the hull, railings and deck. Showers and then the four of us headed to Frenchies Restaurant for a celebratory dinner.Good food and we were able to miss the thunderstorms and rain while sitting under cover.

Back to the boats, pretty wiped out and ready for bed.But a good and successful day.

Over and Out, 

E and G

Next stop Carabelle

Hi F and F, 

Another early start 730 am again, but another lovely sunny day. This has been a surprisingly lovely part of the journey , traveling around the Florida Panhandle.

We prefer it to a lot of the ICW on the East Coast.Not as built up or as busy and nice scenery.

Again we were able to run at 15 kts for much of the time, although being a Saturday it did bring out more fishermen in some of the areas . We passed a big paper mill just after leaving Panama City. It had that distinctive strange smell you recognize once you have smelt it.

We saw what looked to be evidence of wrecked boats along the shores, probably from old hurricane damage.

This part had some narrower channels all tree lined on both sides, so lots of tannin in the water turning it a dark tea color.It reminded us a bit of the Dismal Swamp in Virginia

The channels would lead into a lake like area and back again to another narrow channel .Later we started seeing crab pots ! Just after noon , (we had just gone forward an hour ) , we arrived at Apalachicola, a quaint  little town right on the intercostal.This has some lovely old historic buildings and lots of eating places with fresh seafood like Blue crab, Grouper , and local mussels .Erica had called one of the marinas to check if there was anywhere we could dock for a couple of hours and have lunch there.

Yes , one of the marinas said there was a city dock you could probably just tie up to .

He gave us instructions how to find it, and it was easy enough.

We walked down to Caroline's River Dinning and had a wonderful lunch on the porch overlooking the water.Erica had blue crab cakes in lobster sauce and Graeme fresh grouper Reuben!

Then a stroll around the town, checking out the bakery on the way. A nice break off the boat for two hours.

This area is known for its sponges.Further down the coast at Tarpon Springs there is a sponge museum and lots of Greek restaurants.

The Greeks came over and started the sponge diving here and made Tarpon Spings the sponge capital of the  world .Well , so says the waterway guide we use! 

Back underway and two hours later arrived at Carabelle.This is a big fishing port as well as the place to stay for Loopers and boaters waiting to cross the waters to Tarpon Springs, Clearwater Bay or Dunedin. Our friends Lisa and Tom had decided to skip Apalachicola and were already in their slip ready for tomorrow's adventure to cross the water to Dunedin.We were all keen to go as with this hurricane in the Caribean , you never know how the Gulf can be affected even if it goes end up going up  the East Coast of Florida.Tomorrow will be an even earlier start with possibly a 10 hour trip or longer. Light supper on board and early to bed.

Over and Out,  

E and G

 

 

Panama City on the GIWW

Hi F and F, 

Another sunny day , light breezes and cooler weather which makes these days very pleasant on the water .We continued our way round the Florida Gulf Panhandle .Left at 7.30 am after Erica had got fresh croissants at the Innerlight coffee shop on site. As this is mainly a charter fishing boat Marina , these places are open early.

We had a great run and were able to do 15 kts  for most of the way. Where were all the fishing boats and small water craft of yesterday? Very little traffic today thankfully  .Check out this fishing Dad and son!

The corps of engineers had done a great job cutting channels to link Pensacola with Panama City inbetween the areas such as Choctawhatchee Bay, Fort Walton Beach ( home of the Eglin Air Force Base ) and Destin.

We passed under the Hathaway bridge and the entrance to the Gulf and a Navy lab situated there.

Saw lots more water activity . A naval boat underway ,a  guard boat zipping past us light flashing.We had previously just seen two small either military or coast guard style boats practising their maneuvers.

Looked like boys having fun, making circles with their blue lights flashing and chasing each other .

Arrived at fuel dock at 2 pm and were greeted by Rick the  handy dock master. Good price here for fuel  and soon we were done and checked in. We received a little welcome pack with pen, notepad, key ring and even a popcorn packet, plus the map of the area. Nice touch. Rick then carefully guided us to our transient slip nearby. 

Checked with our new friends Lisa and Tom here on Betsy Marie who want to go on to Carrabelle  tomorrow and then crossing the big chunk of water over to Dunedin with us. We are both mindful of the hurricane forming in the Carribean and how that might affect our crossing. I would be nice to take it a little slower,  but weather conditions are an important factor we need to consider.

Went for a walk in the town , not much open and several shops closed for good. Decided to have dinner on board and enjoy the great organic pork chops we had bought at a farmers market in Illinois .

Saw another beautiful sunset again then time to relax and bed.

Over and Out, 

E and G

  

  

On to Pensacola on the Intercostal route

Hi F and F, 

Had a nice leisurely morning , no early morning start today! Watched our brown pelicans fishing, (they are so funny to watch) and having breakfast at a reasonable hour. As the diesel pump was fixed and the pipes cleared and filters replaced it was safe  , we decided to fuel up. ( Loopers get free night if you do so)

In our case, having  service done on the boat give you the nights free anyway.just like Aqua Marna.

Going back out on to Mobile Bay we were able to follow our line in i.e. the breadcrumbs on the charts.

Lots of seabirds around getting their daily quota of fish as well as the fishermen and the drag net boat was out operating again in the channel.We also passed a big container ship coming into Mobile Port.

Soon off the main channel and heading east to the inner coastal route called GIWW which started for us at 119 Green and 120 Red markers. There were dolphins in the channel and lots of houses on the waterway .

We had heard the place to stop for lunch is LuLu's , the popular waterside restaurant belonging to Jimmy Buffet's  sister. Free dockage right outside the restaurant, so very handy to ie uo and go on in.

Had a nice nice fresh grouper fish sandwiches and tacos.Left at 2 pm and headed for the Pensacola Beach Marina , our destination for the night. There was a lot of activity on the water fishing ,  jet skiing pontoon joy riding etc.

This meant we had to keep vigilant with our wake and speed for most of the run.

We even passed a couple of towboats.At marker 31 we finally left Alabama and crossed the line into Florida waters.Arrived at the Beach Marina 5pm and Justin the helpful office guy helped us with docking.

Not his normal job but he was friendly and willing.Two important aspects all marina staff should have.

 Went off for  Pina Coladas at Bamboo Willies a frozen drinks speciality Bar, on the waterfront opposite the Marina. There we enjoyed the well earned drink and the cool ocean breezes. Indeed the sand here is white and finely grained, and we watched some little children playing on the beach enjoying the interesting sensation.

We came back to the boat with a beautiful deep red orange sunset in sight across the water.

We had bought LuLu's fresh Gumbo to go, which we had for dinner onboard.

Over and Out, 

E and G.

Full day I Mobile at Dog River Marina

Hi F and F, 

Today Lynne and John head back to Virginia so after breakfast , they packed and were ready for Enterprise Car rentals to pick them up at 9.30am.

Last minute photos and brown pelican entertainment.The  car arrived at 10 am and off they went back up to Columbus Mississippi to pick uo their car and then head north.

The arrangement worked out very well for them and for us. Provides flexibility for both parties.

Erica and Graeme did a big boat clean inside and then  at 11 am the technician arrived with the new washer part and it was installed in 10 minutes! Then time to tackle the outside cushions and covers which had the evidence of spider activity i.e. Poop!

Easily washed off fortunately using Erica's  Wonder soap a eucalyptus based soap ,which she gets from NZ.

After lunch we got the courtesy car which had now turned up for our use , thanks to Glenn the service guy.Headed off to visit the famous Bellinggrath gardens and home.

It belonged to Walter and Bessie Bellinggrath.Walter was Mobile's first Coca Cola bottler and distributer and made a lot of money with this business.

Bit of a workaholic it seems , so his doctor advised him to buy an abandoned fishing camp in 1917 and get some relaxation there . The  gardens were developed ( Bessie was the gardener) and a new 15 room house as built.It sits on 65 acres.Bessie was also a collector of fine porcelain and furniture from France ,England and Germany.

They had no children so the estate became a foundation and the public since 1935 have been able to enjoy visiting the fruits of their labors.Seems Exxon Mobil support the Bayou Observatory  area which is a boardwalk beside the Gardens.

Lovely visit well worth it, about 1/2 hour drive from the Marina.

Got back and enjoyed a beautiful sunset after the clear blue skies of the day.

Had a pasta meal on board.

We heard from Lynne and John they had got to Columbus in just under 4 hours.

The same journey in reverse had taken the four of us 7 days by boat!!!

Over and Out 

E and G

Mobile here we come

Hi F and F,

We got up to a light mist hovering over the water after a very quiet night. Apart from Lynne and John had hear owls calling in the night.They are known in the area.

We set off at 8 am and headed back to the Mobile River junction. We started to see fewer herons on this river don't know if that's because we are near Mobile and the industrial area surrounding it or if the salt in the water has anything to do with it. The scenery was changin also and we saw more swamps and the trees looked different.

Started also to see evidence of the industry with the huge Barry's Steam Plant  at mm 33.

Then a train with an enormous amount of containers passed us by on a rail line beside the river. As we got closer to the Port of Mobile we saw lots of activity.

Container ships , Naval ships and more barge activity also. Last five miles we slowed down to wake speed and also took lots of photos.

Past the city of Mobile and just past Little Sand Island we saw a fishing boat dragging a net.This had attracted lots of seagulls and even a pod of dolphins.

We had crossed the 0 mile marker!!!

Then into Mobile Bay to find the entrance to Dog River Marina , our stop for two nights.Graeme had  called ahead to get a serviceman to look at the leaking window washer issue.

He planned to be at our boat by 1 pm. It was a little tricky at the entrance but fortunately there we good buoy markers to guide us in.

We have to say this Marina wasn't quite what we expected looking at the brochure! Definitely a no frill place, but the people are great and helpful. Good place to go to if you have any boat issues.

Arrived at the fuel dock to find the diesel  pump wasn't working , in fact it was completely dismantled.

Did a pump out and them tied up around the corner at the transient long dock. The serviceman duly arrive on time and Glenn the supervisor couldn't have been nicer.He soon had the problem diagonised ( another faulty solenoid ) and organized the F150 tuck belonging  to the boss of the Marina for our use.( the courtesy car was not in use today)The new washer part would be sent overnight and replaced tomorrow.

We were highly entertained by all the brown Pelicans just outside our boat dive bombing for fish , more like crash landing on the water.They weren't very elegant but certainly the method was  effective.Usually they came up with a fish which was swallowed whole. Lots of fishing boats going back and forth so a good spots for us to watch everything.

Found out the city is at least  10 miles or so from here so no fancy restaurant tonight!

Checked out the local scene and ended up going to Dick Russell's BBQ  for dinner.

Lynne and John wanted to host as it was their last night with us. The food was very good and as usual way too much , so  we got a doggy bag for lunch tomorrow!

Back to boat and Lynne and Erica played canasta, last round about 10 pm.

Guys had retired f the evening.

Over and Out, 

E and G