November 6, 2003 --View the Photos
I’m writing this after the fact because either the computer or the operator (me) lost this. We stayed at Carabelle for 5 days while the wind died down. Carabelle is a quite little town and not a bad place to lay over. We meet several new cruisers while we were couple are Bill and Lilly Krumrey. They have a 1965 Hatteras. This boat was at Eddy Creek for several years before we bought the place. They know Sally and Carl.

We were ready to leave “The Moorings” early but the fog kept us until about 7 A.M. This is our first gulf crossing. Bob has the course plotted and we’re ready to go.

We arrived at Clearwater Municipal Marina about 4 P.M. The crossing was easy except for the fog that we ran thru about 2 hours out of Clearwater. It was so thick we had to sound the horn.

November 7, 2003
We’re at “Tween the Waters” resort and Marina. They are a little short on the marina part. To get here from the intercoastal we had to steer with the compass to get in. The water was really shallow and we saw our first manatee. We even had a manatee show us into our slip.  The Resort is really nice and the beach is beautiful. The sunset was the prettiest one yet.

November 8, 2003
We traveled the intercoastal today. What a mistake on a Saturday. We made it to Marco River Marina. The trip was easy once we found a cut and traveled the outside.

Fuel was $1.649 and dockage $1.75/ft (no extras). This is a nice facility. We even found some St. Louis friends that we haven’t seen in years that moved here.

November 9, 2003
We’re at Plantation Yacht Harbor. The last 2 hours were another boater’s challenge. Crab pots, choppy seas, rain, wind, thunder and lightening. We arrived safely at 3 P.M., tied up and fixed a drink.